Iraq's new prime minister-designate Mohammed Shia al-Sudani hails from the Shiite Muslim political class that has been in power for almost two decades.

But, on top of the challenge of forming a government for the crisis-hit country, he must now win the backing of fiercely rival Shiite factions.

More than a year after general elections left Iraq in political paralysis, 52-year-old Sudani was nominated as prime minister by new President Abdul Latif Rashid, to succeed Mustafa al-Kadhemi, in power since 2020.

Iraq's new President Abdul Latif Rashid is a veteran Kurdish politician and former water minister with valuable experience in navigating the fractious politics of Baghdad.

The 78-year-old, British-educated hydraulic engineer, chosen by parliament on Thursday to replace Barham Saleh, also faces the task of mending ties between the central government and Iraq's Kurdish minority.

When Hazem Attar fled the stricken Syrian city of Aleppo seven years ago, he could not have imagined his brutal journey would lead him to a World Cup football match.

Then aged just 10, Attar told of how seven members of his family packed into a bus to escape the city that had endured more than three years of bombs and bullets from government forces.

They were put in a flimsy boat from the Lebanese coast that took them to Turkey, where they are now based.

"We escaped that tragic situation and now we are here today," he told AFP.

Divided Palestinian factions met in Algiers Thursday amid efforts to persuade them to sign a reconciliation deal to lay out timelines to hold elections within a year, officials said.

"The Palestinians have been divided for more than 15 years, which has hugely weakened our cause," said Azzam al-Ahmed, the head of the Fatah delegation in the Algerian capital.

Ismael Haniyeh, chief of the Islamist movement Hamas, said the Algerian-mediated talks which began Tuesday had been "positive and calm".

Iran's president accused arch-enemy the United States on Thursday of seeking to destabilise the Islamic republic, which has been rocked by nearly a month of women-led protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini.

Outrage over the 22-year-old Kurdish woman's death, three days after she was arrested by Iran's notorious morality police, has fuelled the biggest wave of street protests and violence seen in the country in almost three years.

Israeli police said Thursday they arrested nine Palestinians during overnight clashes in east Jerusalem, with tensions surging in the city and across the occupied West Bank.

Palestinians launched a rare general strike Wednesday in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, including closing shops, in response to a days-long operation by Israeli security forces in the Palestinian refugee camp of Shuafat.

Israel is searching the camp for the suspected killer of 18-year-old Israeli soldier Noa Lazar, shot last Saturday at a Shuafat checkpoint.

Virtual cars whizz by with engines roaring, as 26 drivers vie for the top spot at an online tournament in Jordan -- many dreaming one day of transitioning to real racers.

Professional racing requires not only talent, but also support from well-established teams and sponsors who can help cover the hefty costs that go into acquiring and maintaining race cars.

Young people in the Middle East and elsewhere with a passion for the sport have instead been opting for a far more affordable and accessible alternative followed by millions of fans -- eSports.

Despite a rocket attack on Baghdad's Green Zone, Iraqi lawmakers Thursday elected a new president who swiftly named a prime minister in hopes of ending a year of political gridlock and violence in the war-scarred nation.

Abdul Latif Rashid, a 78-year-old Iraqi Kurd, was elected as head of state, replacing Barham Saleh, by the assembly in the capital's heavily fortified Green Zone government and diplomatic district.

Rashid won more than 160 votes against 99 for the incumbent Saleh, an assembly official said.

A US citizen on temporary release from prison in Iran was taken back into custody Wednesday, his family said, in what Washington called a "tremendous setback" after hopes for his permanent freedom.

Siamak Namazi, 51, was returned to Tehran's Evin prison, a day before the seventh anniversary of his detention on espionage charges which he denies.

He was temporarily released a week ago when his father, 85-year-old Baquer Namazi, was permitted to leave the country for medical care.

Thirteen people, mostly fighters, have been killed in two days of ongoing clashes between rival factions competing for power in northwest Syria, a war monitor said Wednesday.

Fighting between two pro-Turkish Syrian rebel groups began in the town of Al-Bab in northern Aleppo province before spreading to other areas and drawing in other factions, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a jihadist group headed by ex-members of Syria's former Al-Qaeda franchise, has also weighed in, it added in a statement.