Thousands of Iraqi protesters have occupied the parliament in Baghdad's Green Zone for the past five days, the latest political turmoil to strike the war-scarred country.
The mass sit-in is led by followers of powerful Shiite Muslim preacher and political kingmaker Moqtada Sadr, who is facing off against a rival, Iran-backed Shiite faction called the Coordination Framework.
She's southern Iraq's celebrity photographer, a former political prisoner who has spent more than 60 years behind the lens documenting people and places and defying convention.
Samira Mazaal is 77 and still going strong more than half a century after turning to photography to feed her family -- because she had no choice.
"Peasants, intellectuals, I've photographed them all," says the mother of two, her black hijab framing a face lined by life.
Paul and Tracy Naggear have lived in grief since the massive explosion that tore through the Lebanese capital in 2020 killed their three-year-old daughter, and their anger boils over the stalled investigation.
The August 4 mega-blast, blamed on a fire that ignited tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertiliser haphazardly stored for years at Beirut harbour, was one of the largest non-nuclear detonations ever recorded.
The OPEC+ oil cartel agreed to a tiny increase in production Wednesday, an amount analysts say will disappoint US President Joe Biden after he personally lobbied Saudi leaders for help to tame soaring energy prices.
The cartel led by Saudi Arabia and Russia decided to raise production by 100,000 barrels per day for September, much lower than previous increases, according to a statement issued after a ministerial videoconference.
The United States announced Tuesday the sale of major missile defense systems to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates worth more than $5 billion.
The approval was announced two weeks after US President Joe Biden met leaders of the two countries in Saudi Arabia on a trip seen as crucial to strengthen frayed relations with them, and as both nations perceive a heightened threat from Iran.
Yemen's warring parties agreed to extend a four-month long truce just hours before it was due to expire, the UN envoy announced Tuesday, vowing to "intensify" efforts to secure lasting peace.
Yemen has been gripped by conflict since the Iran-backed Huthi rebels took control of the capital Sanaa in 2014, triggering a Saudi-led military intervention in support of the beleaguered government the following year.
But a truce came into effect on April 2 and was renewed from June 4, providing a rare respite from violence for much of the country and alleviating some of the suffering.
A top official from Iraq's Sadrist movement Tuesday urged followers who have occupied parliament for four days to move their protest outside, as calls mount for dialogue between political rivals.
Supporters of powerful preacher Moqtada Sadr -- whose political bloc in October won the largest share of seats in elections -- stormed parliament on Saturday to protest against a rival Shiite faction's pick for prime minister.
Nearly 10 months on from the elections, the oil-rich country still has no government and no new prime minister or president.
A Syrian ship cleared for release by Lebanon after it was seized over allegations it was carrying flour and barley stolen from Ukraine left port on Thursday, officials said.
The Laodicea, which was docked in the northern port of Tripoli, was cleared to leave after investigations failed to prove it carried stolen goods, officials said.
It set sail at 8:00 am (0500 GMT), according to Lebanese state media, and was later reported by authorities in Damascus to have arrived at the Syrian port of Tartous to unload its cargo.
Iran's ultraconservative President Ebrahim Raisi plans to travel to New York for the UN General Assembly next month despite US sanctions against him, the government's spokesman said on Tuesday.
"The preliminary planning has been done for the president's attendance at the UN General Assembly session," Ali Bahadori-Jahromi told a weekly press briefing.
Israel's army closed areas near the Gaza border to civilians Tuesday, citing a risk of reprisals, following the overnight arrest of two senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad members, the military and Palestinian sources said.
A 17-year-old Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli forces during a late Monday raid in the flashpoint West Bank district of Jenin.
Islamic Jihad identified the teenager as Dirar al-Kafrayni, and said he was a member of the group and "our heroic martyr".
The army said it had operated alongside police, who arrested "two wanted terror suspects."
