In a 500-year-old stone theatre in the Egyptian capital, two young dervishes spin ceaselessly. Slowly, then all at once, they are consumed in a flurry of vivid fabrics.
Born into a lineage of whirling dervishes, Mohamed Adel, 20, takes great pride in the uniquely Egyptian interpretation of the centuries-old ritual known colloquially as "tanoura", or skirt in Arabic.
An ancient lake-side fortress once used by jihadists to launch attacks is slowly regaining its status as a key cultural destination, attracting visitors from across war-torn Syria.
Families posed for pictures under the hot June sun, some perched on an ancient brick wall overlooking the banks of Lake Assad, a man-made reservoir in northern Syria's Raqa province.
Abdullah al-Jaber was visiting Qalaat Jaabar with his children for the first time even though they live less than an hour away by car.
Algeria said Wednesday it was suspending a decades-old co-operation treaty with Spain, after Madrid backed the position of the North African country's arch-rival Morocco on the disputed Western Sahara.
"Algeria has decided to immediately suspend the treaty of friendship, good neighbourliness and co-operation," the Algerian presidency said in a statement.
Madrid and Algiers had signed the deal in 2002 to promote dialogue and cooperation on political, economic, financial, education and defence issues.
Sudan on Wednesday began UN-facilitated direct talks between rival factions hoped to resolve a political crisis sparked by last year's coup, but with a critical civilian bloc refusing to participate.
Since the coup, Sudan has been rocked by deepening unrest -- near-weekly protests, a violent crackdown that has killed over 100 people, and a tumbling economy.
As talks took place in the capital Khartoum, hundreds of people rallied in the east of the city calling for civilian rule, in the latest protest against the October 25 power grab led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
Greenpeace on Wednesday urged the Arab League to drum up funds to rescue a stranded, oil-filled tanker that is rusting off war-torn Yemen, threatening a major environmental disaster.
The environmental group said an urgent meeting was needed for the FSO Safer, after a UN pledging conference last month fell far short of its $80 million target.
The decaying 45-year-old tanker, long used as a floating storage platform and now abandoned off the rebel-held Yemeni port of Hodeida, holds 1.1 million barrels of oil and is in "imminent" danger of breaking up, the UN has warned.
Russia and Turkey made little headway on Wednesday in talks aimed at securing safe passage for Ukrainian grain exports, as a Russian sea blockade triggered new warnings of deadly famine.
Prior to the war, Ukraine was a major exporter of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, but shipments have been blocked since Russia invaded its neighbour in late February, causing food prices to soar worldwide.
Countries in the Middle East and Africa depend on Ukraine's exports, raising fears of hunger in those countries.
Sudan on Wednesday began UN-facilitated direct talks between rival factions hoped to resolve a political crisis sparked by last year's coup, but with a critical civilian bloc refusing to participate.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people rallied in east Khartoum to call for civilian rule, in the latest protest against the October 25 power grab led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
Security forces fired tear gas to disperse them, said an AFP correspondent at the scene.
Iran said it disconnected some International Atomic Energy Agency cameras monitoring its nuclear sites Wednesday, hours before the UN nuclear watchdog adopted a resolution criticising the Islamic republic for failing to cooperate.
The move by Iran's atomic agency came in anticipation of ratification of the censure, drafted after the Vienna-based IAEA raised concerns about traces of enriched uranium previously found at three sites Tehran had not declared as having hosted nuclear activities.
Emergency teams brought under control a massive blaze in Lebanon's largest pine forest on Wednesday that authorities said could be deliberate, as the country braced for another summer of fires.
The fire in the northern Dinniyeh region broke out on Tuesday night, prompting the army and volunteer firefighters to scramble to save one of the Middle East's lushest pine forests.
The army on Wednesday said it dispatched helicopters, dropping water by giant buckets onto the blaze.
"Unfortunately, the forest fire season starts," Environment Minister Nasser Yassin said.
At least 21 people were killed and dozens injured Wednesday when a train derailed near the central Iranian city of Tabas after hitting an excavator beside the track, state media reported.
The train was on its way from the northeastern city of Mashhad to the central city of Yazd and was carrying 348 passengers, according to the national rail authority, when it careered off the track in the desert at 5:30 am (0100 GMT).
