Tens of thousands of Israelis packed Tel Aviv streets on Saturday for the 16th consecutive week to protest government judicial reforms they see as an attack on democracy.

The weekly protests have continued despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on March 27 announcing a "pause" to allow for talks on the reforms which were moving through parliament and split the nation.

Saturday's demonstration comes ahead of another mass protest planned for the coastal city on Sunday to coincide with a Netanyahu speech to the general assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America.

More than 150 people, including foreign diplomats and officials, rescued from battle-scarred Sudan arrived Saturday in Jeddah, the Saudi foreign ministry said, in the first announced evacuation of civilians since fighting began.

The evacuation was carried out by the kingdom's naval forces with the support of other branches of the army, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Fighting in Sudan between the forces of two rival generals could have far-reaching consequences not only for the northeast African country but also for an already unstable region, experts warn.

Clashes erupted on April 15 between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, the commander of the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Violence in the capital Khartoum and in other parts of the country quickly escalated, with air strikes in the capital and tanks battling on the streets.

Foreign countries on Sunday rushed to evacuate their nationals from battle-torn Sudan where deadly fighting raged into a second week between forces loyal to two rival generals.

As gunfire again echoed through Khartoum and fighter jets roared above, foreigners also fled the capital in a long United Nations convoy, while millions of frightened residents hunkered down inside their homes, many running low on water and food.

An exhibition of work by female artists on women in the Middle East opens in California this weekend, as a fierce battle over women's reproductive rights grips the United States.

"Women Defining Women in Contemporary Art of the Middle East and Beyond" brings together the creations of 42 female artists, depicting what curators say are the personal and universal stories of women in Islamic societies, and aims to challenge stereotypes about this part of the world.

A Paris court on Friday sentenced a Lebanese-Canadian sociology professor to life in prison in absentia for the 1980 bombing of a synagogue in the French capital that left four people dead.

The court followed the prosecutors' request for the maximum possible punishment against Hassan Diab, now 69 and a resident of Canada, a decision that was met with silence in court.

Some victims and their families could be seen embracing at the end of three weeks of proceedings during which the suspect's box remained empty throughout.

Europe's military spending grew at a record pace in 2022, reaching a level unseen since the Cold War following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, global security researchers said Monday.

The rise in Europe helped global military expenditures reach an eighth straight record at $2.24 trillion, or 2.2 percent of the world's gross domestic product, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Sudanese families who have fled fighting in Khartoum celebrated on Friday the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, trying for a sense of normalcy, the sound of explosions still ringing in their ears.

A day earlier, they were sheltering from gunfire and air strikes in the Sudanese capital as two rival forces vying for control fought in the city, killing hundreds.

"I was lost, until my work friend Mokhtar suggested we join him as he was leaving Thursday night," said Al-Shafie, his seven-year-old daughter tugging on his arm and asking for a toy.

Children hit by bullets and patients treated in corridors: one of the first accounts from medics since fighting erupted in Sudan provides a harrowing report of the conflict's "catastrophic" impact.

The testimony, provided by Cyrus Paye, who works for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in the war-ravaged western Darfur region, paints a terrifying picture of the violence that erupted across the country at the weekend.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis has announced an international tour of several key US allies, building momentum for an expected White House bid.

A statement from his office said the Republican presidential hopeful would visit Japan, South Korea, Israel and Britain, announcing the trip as a chance to "expand economic partnerships" for the southern US state.

Japan's foreign ministry said DeSantis would be in Japan on April 24 and 25, and is scheduled to visit Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.