Hundreds of Israeli ultra-Orthodox Jews protested on Tuesday to voice their religious objections to planned autopsies of two babies who died in an incident at an unlicensed nursery in Jerusalem a day earlier.

Israeli doctors declared the babies dead after medics evacuated 55 children from the daycare centre in an area of Jerusalem inhabited by members of the ultra-Orthodox community, though they have not yet specified a cause of death.

By Ismet Mikailogullari

NUSAYBIN, Turkey, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Turkey said on Tuesday it was investigating the burning of its flag during protests along its border with Syria by pro-Kurdish groups, coinciding with clashes there between the Damascus government army and Kurdish-led forces.

Jan 20 (Reuters) - Syria's defence ministry announced a four-day ceasefire following a new agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), starting from 2000 local time on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Jaidaa Taha and Muhammad Al Gebaly)

WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - About 200 low-level Islamic State fighters escaped Syria's Shaddadi prison on Monday after guards from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces left the facility, but Syrian government forces recaptured many of them, a U.S. official said on Tuesday.

The official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said about 600 foreign fighters from Islamic State had been transferred from Shaddadi prior to January 19 to other facilities and remain in detention.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

DUBAI, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) accepted an invitation to join U.S. President Donald Trump's newly proposed “Board of Peace,” the UAE foreign ministry said on Tuesday, placing Abu Dhabi among the first governments to publicly endorse the initiative.

The ministry said the UAE stood ready to “contribute actively to the mission of the Board of Peace, supporting greater cooperation, stability, and prosperity for all,” marking Abu Dhabi's formal alignmentwith Washington’s new conflict‑resolution effort.

Iran has been pressing ahead with arrests following a wave of protests, according to local media and monitors, as the country faces international pressure over a crackdown rights groups said led to thousands of deaths under cover of ongoing internet restrictions.

Here are key developments:

- Arrests -

Iranian state media continues to regularly report arrests of people it says were part of a "terrorist operation" spurred by Tehran's arch foes Israel and the United States.

DUBAI, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Any attack on Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would trigger a declaration of jihad, or holy war, the Iranian Students News Agency quoted Iran's national security parliamentary commission as saying on Tuesday.

Tensions between Iran and the United States have grown following a severe crackdown of protests across Iran, which U.S. President Donald trump warned could lead to a response from Washington.

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The world is experiencing a shift away from rules and international law, French President Emmanuel Macron told the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday.

"It's ... a shift towards a world without rules, where international law is trampled underfoot and where the only law that seems to matter is that of the strongest," Macron said, adding that what he called "imperial ambitions" were resurfacing..

(Reporting by Michel Rose and Alessandro Parodi, editing by Richard Lough)

DUBAI, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's 90-year-old King Salman chaired in person a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Saudi state TV reported, days after he left hospital where he was undergoing medical tests.

King Salman, whose country is the world's largest oil exporter and a major U.S. ally in the Middle East, went to a hospital in Riyadh on Friday for medical tests and left on the same day.

Saudi TV published a video dated January 20, showing the king chairing the cabinet and reading files with his ministers. Reuters could not independently verify the video.

By Alexander Cornwell

TEL AVIV, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Several European countries are considering whether to stop sending personnel to a U.S. military-led coordination centre for Gaza, saying it has failed to increase aid flows to the war-shattered enclave or achieve political change, diplomats said.