The world can't forget the plight of Syrian refugees this winter despite the global upheaval caused by Covid-19, fantasy author Neil Gaiman said on Tuesday as he helped launch the UN refugee programme's cold weather appeal.

As the Pentagon pulls troops out of the Middle East in the coming weeks, under orders from President Donald Trump, U.S. military leaders are working to find other ways to deter potential attacks by Iran and its proxies, and to counter arguments that America is abandoning the region.

A senior U.S. military official with knowledge of the region said Monday that Iran may try to take advantage of America's troop withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan, and the planned departure of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz from the Persian Gulf.

Iran on Monday flatly dismissed a call by Saudi Arabia for Gulf states to be consulted on any potential negotiations with the Islamic republic on its nuclear programme.

Pope Francis will visit Iraq in March, the Vatican said Monday, in his first trip abroad since the coronavirus pandemic gripped Italy, grounding the pontiff, early this year.

Israel-based broadcaster i24NEWS and Abu Dhabi Media, a public conglomerate in the United Arab Emirates, announced Monday a content sharing arrangement after the Jewish state and UAE normalised ties.

i24NEWS, which broadcasts in French, Arabic and English, and Abu Dhabi Media have signed a memorandum of understanding that allows for shared reporting and archival content.

Suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen killed five south Yemen separatists in Abyan province on Monday, in the terror group's biggest attack in the region for months, a secessionist security official said.

Ten years ago, millions dared to dream that political change could sweep across Arab capitals, but in most places such hopes have been crushed as thousands languish in jail.

In Syria, Libya and more recently Sudan, Arab revolutionaries have begun brandishing old independence-era flags, attacking newer ones as symbols of the dictatorships they want to topple.

Israeli authorities have cleared police of any wrongdoing in the case of a 9-year-old boy who lost an eye after apparently being shot in the face by an Israeli officer earlier this year.

Malik Eissa was struck by what appeared to be a sponge-tipped munition last February and lost vision in his left eye, and his family says he hasn't returned to school because of recurring medical treatments and the embarrassment of being disfigured and reliant on a prosthetic eye.

Jailed Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul is accused of contacting "unfriendly" states and providing classified information, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister told AFP, after the campaigner's trial was transferred to a terrorism court.