The nine Lebanese pilgrims that were being held in Syria's Aazaz region will likely be released within the upcoming hours, reported al-Akhbar newspaper on Tuesday.

It revealed that they were moved to safe location at the Syrian-Turkish border, which lies under Turkey's security, ahead of their imminent release.

Claims that migrant workers are treated like slaves in 2022 World Cup host Qatar were center stage on Thursday as global football's governing body FIFA met behind closed doors.

Already scheduled to debate shifting the 2022 edition from the World Cup's traditional June and July slot in order to escape the stifling Gulf heat -- a plan which has angered European leagues that fear mid-season havoc -- FIFA found the spotlight shifting to alleged human rights abuses against the workers paving the pay for the tournament.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced Friday that long-sought peace talks aimed at bringing a political transition to Syria are tentatively planned for November.

"We are aiming for a conference in mid-November," Ban told reporters after the U.N. Security Council adopted a historic resolution to rein in Syria's chemical weapons.

President Michel Suleiman met on Wednesday with several world leaders during his visit to New York in the United States.

Suleiman held talks with new Iranian leader Hasan Rowhani at the headquarters of the United Nations in the U.S. state.

After several years in the doldrums, demand for upscale Paris properties is starting to pick up with an unlikely helping hand from upheaval in the Middle East.

With the bloody Syrian civil war generating fears of instability across the region and Egypt teetering on the brink of chaos, well-heeled Arab investors are looking for boltholes and Paris is a perennial favorite destination for their funds, according to real estate professionals.

Qatari-owned news channel al-Jazeera has launched legal action against the Egyptian authorities, saying that its journalists have been detained without charge and attacked, its London-based lawyers announced Thursday.

The network said it had asked renowned legal firm Carter-Ruck, a specialist in international law, to take action in the international courts and before the United Nations over accusations of harassment.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that Arab League ministers had agreed at talks in Paris that Syria crossed a "global red line" in its alleged chemical weapons attack, defending the publication of graphic videos showing victims of the reported assault that has catalyzed an American push for military strikes.

Kerry said a number of Arab countries were willing to sign a statement agreed by 12 countries of the G20 that called for a reaction to the alleged attack, and that they would make announcements in the next 24 hours.

UEFA has signed its first broadcasting deal for the 2015-18 Champions League seasons, with Qatar-based Al Jazeera.

UEFA says Al Jazeera has bought exclusive rights for the Middle East and North Africa across all media platforms.

Pakistan on Saturday announced the release of seven senior Afghan Taliban figures to help the peace process in war-torn neighbor Afghanistan, the foreign ministry said.

"In order to further facilitate the Afghan reconciliation process, Pakistan is releasing seven Taliban detainees namely Mansoor Dadullah, Said Wali, Abdul Manan, Karim Agha, Sher Afzal, Gul Muhammad and Muhammad Zai," it said in a statement.

A woman has died in Qatar after contracting the MERS coronavirus, becoming the first recorded fatality from the SARS-like virus in the Gulf state, local press reported on Wednesday.

The 56-year-old Qatari victim, who already had chronic illnesses, died on August 31, a week after she was admitted to intensive care at a Doha hospital, newspapers quoted the emirate's Supreme Council of Health as saying.