From new neighbourhoods and commercial towers to leisure developments, Syria's authorities are seeking to attract foreign investors through a sovereign wealth fund created by President Ahmed al-Sharaa that critics say lacks transparency.

The ambitious development proposals even include the former army headquarters in central Damascus, prime real estate left abandoned after an Israeli strike damaged it last year.

After 13 years of civil war and decades of sanctions, the country is in dire need of reconstruction, but money to do so is scarce.

July 23 (Reuters) - At least 82 people have died after heavy rains across northeastern India, Pakistan and Afghanistan this week, authorities said, as flooding caused widespread damage to farmland, infrastructure and public facilities.

• At least 10 people have died in floods in India's northeastern state of Assam over the last 24 hours, in what authorities said was "unprecedented devastation", taking the total death toll during the week to 36.

By Haseeb Alwazir and Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA/CAIRO, July 23 (Reuters) - In the sprawling tent camps of southern Gaza, a disposable cigarette lighter has become an unlikely luxury item, as essential to daily survival as food, water and fuel.

For displaced mother-of-four Nisreen Abu Saada, lighting a cooking fire can be a daily struggle in a territory where gas remains scarce and families rely on burning cardboard, plastic and scraps of wood to prepare meals.

"The tent is useless without a lighter," she said.

KYIV, July 23 (Reuters) - Shipowners halted vessel arrivals at Ukraine's Black Sea ports due to intensified Russian strikes, Kyiv said, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned Moscow might escalate attacks in order to block the country's main corridor for grain exports.

In recent weeks, Russia has pummelled logistics and port infrastructure in the southern Odesa region with missiles and drones. On Sunday, a missile strike on a ship carrying corn killed 10 people, mostly foreigners, Ukrainian officials said.

By Timothy Gardner

July 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. and Saudi Arabia reached an agreement on civil nuclear power, letting the kingdom enrich uranium and build nuclear reactors using U.S. technology, without requiring the snap UN inspections that Washington has previously demanded from Iran.

A civil nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia has been in the works for years during both President Donald Trump's first administration and that of former President Joe Biden.

ATHENS, July 23 (Reuters) - Greece has approved the purchase of a multi-layer air defence system worth up to €3.5 billion ($4 billion) from Israel, several types of drones and Embraer's C-390 military transport aircraft, its defence minister said on Thursday.

The country's security council, KYSEA, gave its initial approval earlier this year and approved the procurement contracts on Thursday, Nikos Dendias told journalists.

By Michael Martina and Mikhail Flores

MANILA, July 23 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reassured Asian allies that a U.S. pursuit of positive ties with Beijing did not mean they were being abandoned, as top diplomats joined a regional security gathering on Thursday held amid an escalating Middle East conflict.

By Jonathan Landay, Gram Slattery and Timour Azhari

WASHINGTON/RIYADH, July 22 (Reuters) - Iranian drone attacks on CIA facilities in the Gulf have prompted U.S. intelligence analysts to investigate whether Russia assisted by providing targeting information or advanced drone technology, said four people familiar with U.S. intelligence.

July 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to attack a site linked to Iran's nuclear programme known as Pickaxe Mountain, a fortified facility buried deep underground near one of Tehran's main nuclear sites.

The threat reflects escalating tensions as Tehran and Washington trade fire in the Gulf, setting back efforts to end the conflict.

Here is what we know about Pickaxe Mountain:

WHAT IS PICKAXE MOUNTAIN?

Pickaxe Mountain is located 220 km (140 miles) south of Tehran and 2 km (1.2 miles) from the Natanz nuclear complex.