In the decade since Syria's regime pronounced her jailed husband dead, Ramya al-Sous was threatened by security forces, locked out of her spouse's estate and forced to flee abroad.

The mother of three, now a refugee living in Lebanon, was never told how her husband died and is unable to sell or rent the properties confiscated by authorities.

"By virtue of me being a woman, everything becomes nearly impossible," she told AFP, echoing a plight shared by many wives and widows of Syrian prisoners.

But the 40-year-old wants to put up a fight.

The leader of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad in Gaza accused Israel on Thursday of reneging on its commitments under a truce that ended a flare-up earlier this month.

The televised remarks of Ziad al-Nakhala came as the armed group held simultaneous rallies in the Gaza Strip, Damascus and Beirut, weeks after three days of violence that ended in the Egyptian-brokered truce.

"The enemy is still evading the commitments it made to our brothers in Egypt," Nakhala said.

An exile group announced a New York lawsuit against Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi Thursday, challenging US authorities to take action against him as he is expected to arrive next month for the UN General Assembly.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran said the suit accused Raisi of torture and murder in a 1988 crackdown on Iranian dissidents.

Grain prices have dropped sharply from the record highs they reached following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but another menace to global food security remains: a shortage of fertiliser.

The conflict sparked fears of famine in poorer countries reliant on agricultural goods from Ukraine and Russia, two nations that were responsible for nearly a third of global wheat exports last year.

US forces killed 11 pro-Iran fighters in eastern Syria, a monitor said Friday, after a drone attack claimed the life of an American -- the latest flare-up in an area dominated by foreign-backed actors.

The US military operation occurred in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, which is bisected by the Euphrates river with a patchwork of rival forces having taken up positions on opposing banks.

AFP unpacks the deployments in a porous region on the Syrian border with Iraq where the United States and its Iran-backed rivals operate in close proximity.

Saudi Arabia will offer multiple-entry visas to fans at the Qatar World Cup, officials said on Thursday, as neighbouring Gulf countries look to reap benefits from the competition.

People with a Hayya Card, which is reserved for ticket-holders and used to access Qatar during the tournament, will be able to apply for the electronic visas, the foreign ministry said.

More than 20,000 people have flocked to an Iranian museum showcasing renowned Western artists' works, some for the first time -- part of a treasure trove amassed before the Islamic Revolution.

The museum's collection is reputed to be the greatest line-up of modern masterpieces outside Europe and the United States, and includes multi-million-dollar pieces, much of which has been kept under wraps since the 1979 revolution.

The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art "surprises me every time," said visitor Shahin Rajabi, 35. "The current show is no exception."

Eight ancient glass vessels shattered in the 2020 Beirut explosion go on display at the British Museum from Thursday, walking visitors through the painstaking international project to piece them back together.

The vessels, from the Roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods, were reconstructed at the world-famous museum's conservation laboratories, and will be shown as part of its "Shattered Glass of Beirut" showcase, before returning to Lebanon later this year.

US President Joe Biden said Thursday that US air and artillery strikes that killed four militants in eastern Syria were ordered to protect US forces from attacks by Iran-backed militia.

"I directed the August 23 strikes in order to protect and defend the safety of our personnel . . . and to deter the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iran-backed militia groups from conducting or supporting further attacks on United States personnel and facilities," Biden said in a statement informing Congress of the action.

The United States on Wednesday responded to Iran's suggestions on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal as momentum builds to bring back the landmark agreement trashed by former president Donald Trump.

Just weeks after the deal looked dead, the European Union put forward on August 8 what it called a final text to restore the agreement, in which Iran would see sanctions relief and be able to sell its oil again in return for severe limits on its nuclear program.