Israel and the United Arab Emirates agreed Monday to visa-free travel, an unprecedented arrangement between Israel and an Arab state, signed after the first ever official UAE delegation landed in Tel Aviv.   

A top U.S. official recently visited Syria for rare, secret high-level talks on securing the return of two Americans missing in the war-torn country for years, the daughter of one of them said Monday.

The visit of Kash Patel, deputy assistant to President Donald Trump and the top White House counterterrorism official, was first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Sunday.

Iraq's anti-corruption commission on Monday said it had arrested an ex-governor accused of embezzling millions of dollars, including aid for citizens who had fled their homes in war.

Sixty-five European lawmakers have signed a letter calling for the EU to downgrade its attendance at next month's G20 summit in Riyadh over human rights concerns, according to a document released Monday.

Tunisian authorities said Monday police are investigating an MP who in a Facebook post appeared to defend the beheading of a French teacher who had shown his pupils satirical cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

The first ever passenger flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel landed near Tel Aviv on Monday, a month after the countries signed an agreement normalizing ties.

Etihad Airways flight EY 9607 from Abu Dhabi landed at Ben Gurion airport early in the morning with only crew on board, a spokeswoman for the Israel Airports Authority told AFP.

The rival sides in the Libya conflict sat down for fresh talks on Monday in another bid to try to end a decade of bloodshed, the United Nations said.

Long-time chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat was in "critical" condition and in a medically induced coma on Monday, said the Israeli hospital in Jerusalem treating him for coronavirus complications.

Israeli police said they arrested several people who attacked protesters with tear gas during demonstrations in major cities on Saturday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Long-time chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, diagnosed with coronavirus, was being hospitalized in Israel on Sunday after his condition worsened, the Palestine Liberation Organization and his brother said. 

The PLO said in a statement that "following his contraction of Covid-19, and due to the chronic health problems he faces in the respiratory system, Dr Erekat's condition now requires medical attention in a hospital."