As the sun beats down on Iraq, most people swelter in their concrete homes -- but not the inhabitants of one mountain town known for its ancient and cool stone houses.

Tracing its roots back 2,700 years, the picturesque Kurdish town of Akre says it is better adapted to the modern-day perils of climate change than other parts of Iraq.

"Stone houses are far more resistant" to the rising temperatures and also preserve the town's unique character, said Mayor Baland Reda Zubair.

Turkey's foreign minister signed a deal in Libya's capital Monday allowing for oil and gas exploration in Libya's Mediterranean waters, three years after a maritime border deal that angered European nations.

"We've signed a memorandum of understanding on exploration for hydrocarbons in Libya's territorial waters and on Libyan soil, by mixed Turkish-Libyan companies," Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a press conference in Tripoli.

President Joe Biden said Monday that the United States will place "further costs" on Iran in response to the violent crackdown against "peaceful protestors" in the country.

"This week, the United States will be imposing further costs on perpetrators of violence against peaceful protestors. We will continue holding Iranian officials accountable and supporting the rights of Iranians to protest freely," Biden said in a statement.

A six-month truce in Yemen that expired Sunday had provided a rare respite for the war-ravaged country, but failed attempts to extend it have stoked fears of fresh conflict.

Fighting between the Iran-backed Huthi rebels and pro-government forces began in 2014 and escalated the following year when a Saudi-led military coalition intervened in support of the loyalists.

The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, directly and indirectly, and created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations.

The European Union said Tuesday it was weighing tough new sanctions on Iran over a lethal crackdown on protests sparked by the "killing" of Mahsa Amini, after a similar move by the United States.

Amini, 22, was pronounced dead on September 16, days after the notorious morality police detained the Kurdish Iranian for allegedly breaching rules requiring women to wear hijab headscarves and modest clothes.

Turkey's foreign minister signed a deal in Libya's capital Monday allowing for oil and gas exploration in Libya's Mediterranean waters, three years after a maritime border deal that angered European nations.

"We've signed a memorandum of understanding on exploration for hydrocarbons in Libya's territorial waters and on Libyan soil, by mixed Turkish-Libyan companies," Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a press conference in Tripoli.

Major oil-producing nations led by Saudi Arabia and Russia are expected to make this week their biggest output cut since the start of the Covid pandemic in efforts to buttress prices.

Energy prices soared after Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year, pushing inflation to decades-high levels that have put pressure on economies across the world.

But crude prices have fallen in recent months on concerns over demand amid a slowdown in the global economy.

It is still possible to revive Iran's nuclear deal with world powers, the foreign ministry said Monday, despite long-stalled talks over the 2015 accord.

"There is still a possibility and a chance to resume the implementation of the nuclear deal," ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said at his weekly news conference.

"Efforts are underway with the European coordinator and other mediators, including the foreign ministries of neighbouring countries, to exchange messages to reach an agreement," he added.

The conflict in Yemen between the Iran-backed Huthi rebels and pro-government troops escalated in March 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition intervened in support of the loyalists.

The civil war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, directly and indirectly, according to the United Nations.

A truce in place since April ended on Sunday with no agreement to renew.

Here is an overview of the conflict:

- 2015: Saudi steps in -

Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Monday during what the army called an attempted car-ramming attack on soldiers carrying out an arrest operation.

The deaths came during one of the worst periods of unrest in years in the West Bank where Israeli forces have conducted near daily raids since March.

The latest deaths were in the central West Bank, at the Jazalone refugee camp near Ramallah, where the army said it "apprehended an individual suspected of terror activity".