Despite punishingly high temperatures, dozens of Iraqis took to the streets of Baghdad on Tuesday to protest water and electricity shortages, and to blame Turkey for reduced flow of rivers.
Designated by the United Nations as one of the five countries in the world most touched by some effects of climate change, Iraq is experiencing its fourth consecutive summer of drought.
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited gas-rich Qatar on Tuesday to wrap up a Gulf tour centred on energy security and cooperation with Tokyo's main suppliers.
He was making the first visit to Doha by a Japanese premier in 10 years.
Kishida arrived in Qatar from the United Arab Emirates after starting his tour in Saudi Arabia where he met the de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Joe Biden and his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog on Tuesday discussed tensions over a controversial judicial shake-up inside Israel that the US president has branded the work of an "extremist" government.
Biden hosted Herzog in the Oval Office at the White House, telling him, "You know my love for Israel is deep-rooted and long-lasting."
But the warm greeting did not mask a split over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's divisive push to reform the court system and expand Jewish settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.
An Egyptian court on Tuesday sentenced rights researcher Patrick Zaki to three years' prison, a rights activist said, prompting figures to walk out of a government dialogue aimed at giving the opposition a voice.
Human rights defender Hossam Bahgat, who runs the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights where Zaki worked, said no appeal is possible against the conviction over an article he wrote about religious freedom.
The Egyptian musicians' syndicate announced Tuesday it would not allow a planned concert at the Giza pyramids by US rapper Travis Scott, in a rare move citing offence to "traditions".
International music stars often perform at the feet of Egypt's famed pyramids near the capital Cairo.
The powerful musicians' union rarely opposes such events, but in recent years has spearheaded a fight against musical genres deemed improper in Egypt, with rap a frequent target.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Doha Tuesday, the second leg of a Gulf tour after a stop in Saudi Arabia where he clinched a deal to provide drones to the kingdom.
Erdogan, who won another five-year term in May elections, is seeking support for Turkey's faltering economy.
The Turkish leader arrived Tuesday evening alongside his wife Emine Erdogan in the capital of key ally Qatar ahead of a meeting with Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, according to Qatari state media.
Thousands of Israeli protesters crowded railway stations and blocked roads on Tuesday in the run-up to a parliament vote on the government's judicial reform agenda opponents say would "dismantle democracy".
The proposals have divided the nation and triggered one of the biggest protest movements in Israel's history since being unveiled in January by the hard-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Weekly rallies have drawn tens of thousands of protesters aiming to prevent what they believe could pave the way to more authoritarian government.
Israeli protesters on Tuesday took to Tel Aviv's streets in the run-up to a parliament vote on a key component of the government's judicial reform agenda they say would "dismantle democracy".
The proposals have divided the nation and triggered one of the biggest protest movements in Israel's history since being unveiled in January by the hard-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Weekly rallies across Israel have drawn tens of thousands of protesters aiming to prevent what they believe could open the way to more authoritarian government.
Israel has decided to "recognise Morocco's sovereignty" over the disputed Western Sahara region, the royal office in Rabat announced Monday, citing a letter from the Israeli prime minister.
According to the letter, Benjamin Netanyahu informed Morocco's King Mohammed VI of "the State of Israel's decision to recognise Morocco's sovereignty" over the mineral-rich desert region, the royal office said in a statement.
President Joe Biden agreed Monday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later this year in the United States but declined, amid months of tension, to specify if this would be at the White House.
The offer of a meeting, made on the eve of a White House visit Tuesday by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, marks somewhat of an easing of tensions between Biden and a leader he recently described as heading "one of the most extremist" coalitions in half a century.
