Intel Corporation has terminated a $5.4 billion deal to buy Tower Semiconductor in Israel after failing to get needed regulatory approval, the US chip maker announced Wednesday.

Regulators in China were apparently the obstacle, having shown no sign of approving the merger which had been agreed on early last year, according to a Bloomberg report.

Intel will pay Tower a $353 million termination fee as per terms of the agreement, the companies said in a release.

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday executed a US national convicted of torturing and killing his father, state media reported, bringing to at least 19 the number of foreigners put to death this year.

The death sentence for Bishoy Sharif Naji Naseef was carried out in the Riyadh region, the official Saudi Press Agency said.

The Gulf kingdom is frequently criticised for its prolific use of capital punishment, which human rights groups say undermines its bid to soften its image through a sweeping "Vision 2030" social and economic reform agenda.

French firm TotalEnergies said Wednesday that a drilling rig had reach Lebanese waters ahead of exploration for offshore gas reserves, months after a landmark accord demarcating the Lebanon-Israel maritime border.

"TotalEnergies, the operator of Block 9, announces the arrival of the drilling rig, Transocean Barents, on the block, at around 120 kilometres (75 miles) off the coast of Beirut," a statement said, adding that a transport helicopter had also reached Beirut airport.

As Iranian seizures threaten oil tankers plying the Gulf, the United States is raising its military presence -- a move long demanded by Gulf Arab states who accused Washington of retreating from the region.

Three thousand additional US personnel on troop-landing warships have already passed through the Red Sea, and US-led maritime forces are warning ships against approaching Iranian waters.

Tripoli's worst armed clashes in a year have killed 55 people and wounded 146, Libyan media reported Wednesday, after a truce took hold in the capital and air traffic resumed.

Fighting raged from Monday night into Tuesday between the influential 444 Brigade and the Al-Radaa, or Special Deterrence Force, two of the myriad of militias that have vied for power since the 2011 overthrow of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

In August last year, 32 people were killed and 159 wounded in Tripoli during battles between divided Libya's two rival administrations.

For desperate Syrians, a WhatsApp message saying "I want to go to Europe" can be all they need to start a treacherous journey to Libya and then across the Mediterranean.

Twelve years after conflict broke out when President Bashar al-Assad repressed peaceful pro-democracy protests, Syrians are still trying to escape a war that has killed more than 500,000 people, displaced millions and pulled in foreign powers and global jihadists.

A court in Iran has sentenced prominent movie director Saeed Roustaee to six months' prison for the screening of his film "Leila's Brothers" at the Cannes Film Festival last year, local media reported Tuesday.

"Leila's Brothers", a rich and complex tale of a family struggling with economic hardship in Tehran, has been banned in Iran since its release last year.

The movie was in competition for the Palme d'Or at last year's Cannes festival. It missed the top prize but won the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) award.

Saudi Arabia has emerged as a force in the football transfer market this year, offering eye-watering salaries that have lured a host of big names including Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar to the oil-rich Gulf kingdom.

Here, AFP Sport takes a look at some of the biggest names to make the move:

The stars

Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival in January to play for Riyadh-based Al-Nassr is what first drew global attention to ongoing efforts to boost the Saudi Pro League.

Iranian authorities have re-arrested a journalist who interviewed the father of the woman whose custody death sparked months of protests, just two days after her release from jail, activists said on Tuesday.

Nazila Maroufian walked out of Tehran's Evin prison on Sunday, posting on social media a picture of herself without a headscarf in defiance of the Islamic republic's strict dress code for women.

"Don't accept slavery, you deserve the best!" she wrote in her posts.

Neymar said he was relishing "new challenges and opportunities in new places" after he joined Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year deal Tuesday, becoming the latest big name lured to the oil-rich Gulf state.

The Brazil forward, 31, ends a six-year stay in the French capital and follows in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane in swapping Europe for the Middle East.