Leaders from the Middle East and beyond pledged Tuesday to support Iraq's "stability" and called for Baghdad to distance itself from foreign influence, at a summit aimed at helping resolve regional crises.
Iraq has been caught for years in a delicate balancing act between its two main allies, the United States and Iran, and Baghdad only recently arrived at a fragile compromise government after a year of political stalemate.
A Libyan court on Monday sentenced 17 people to death after finding them guilty of joining the Islamic State group and carrying out atrocities in its name, the prosecution said.
The Tripoli court also sentenced two people to life in prison and 14 others to lesser jail sentences, it said.
They had been found guilty of other IS-linked acts and of having "attacked the state and social peace" as well as "armed violence" in the western city of Sabratha and surroundings, it said in a statement.
Tunisia's electoral board revised the turnout in parliamentary elections slightly upwards to 11.2 percent on Monday, a poll that opposition groups said undermined President Kais Saied.
The ISIE electoral authority had initially announced participation of 8.8 percent after the close of voting for a parliament largely stripped of any power, the final pillar in Saied's overhaul of the political system in the birthplace of the Arab Spring uprisings.
A Tunisian man appeared in court Monday in the latest hearing in a long-running case that could see him returned to prison for more than two years for homosexuality.
Rights activists protested outside the appeals court in the central city of Kairouan, as the man known only as "Daniel" appeared before judges on the first day of the hearing.
Daniel, along with five other men, was originally charged in 2015 with "homosexual acts", which is punishable by up to three years in prison in the North African nation.
Tunisia's massive election boycott has further challenged the legitimacy of President Kais Saied, but a divided and discredited opposition poses little threat to his grip on power, experts say.
Just 11 percent of voters showed up for the elections on Saturday for a parliament stripped of most powers under Saied, who last year launched what critics have labelled a bloodless coup.
On Monday, the electoral board revised the turnout slightly upwards from an earlier figure of nine percent.
- Why was turnout so low? -
Iran's foreign minister said Monday that a summit to take place this week in Jordan will be a "good opportunity" for negotiations aimed at restoring the 2015 nuclear accord.
On-off talks to revive the deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), started in April last year directly between Iran and Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia, and indirectly with the United States.
Sudanese security forces fired tear gas Monday at protesters in Khartoum who rallied against a tentative deal aimed at ending the crisis provoked by last year's military coup, AFP correspondents said.
Thousands of pro-democracy activists took to the streets in Sudan's capital to reject the agreement signed by military and civilian leaders on December 5, which critics have dismissed as vague.
"We will not accept anything other than a civilian government," said protestor Samira Hassan.
The parents of a young man who rights group warn is at imminent risk of execution over his involvement in Iran's protest movement issued a video pleading with the judiciary to spare their son's life.
Their appeal for the life of Mehdi Mohammad Karami comes as Amnesty International warns that at last 26 people are at risk of execution over the protests, the biggest challenge to the authorities since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution.
Iran sparked global outrage by executing two protesters earlier this month.
Sweden's Supreme Court on Monday blocked the extradition of exiled Turkish journalist Bulent Kenes, a key demand by Ankara to ratify Stockholm's NATO membership.
There were "several hindrances" to sending back the former editor-in-chief of the Zaman daily, who Turkey accuses of being involved in a 2016 attempt to topple President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the court said.
Some of the accusations against Kenes are not crimes in Sweden, which along with the political nature of the case and his refugee status, made extradition impossible, the court added.
After the World Cup earned Qatar both plaudits and censure, the energy-rich Gulf state is now starting a marathon to secure the 2036 Olympics and a place as a pillar of world sport.
Even as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo scored goals and shed tears in Qatar's multi-billion-dollar stadiums, its sports administrators were booking new victories off the pitch.
During the tournament, Qatar was awarded the 2025 world table tennis championships and the opening race of the world endurance championship in 2024, adding to its packed sports calendar.
