TUNIS, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Tunisian police arrested lawmaker Ahmed Saidani on Wednesday, two of his colleagues said, in what appeared to be part of an escalating crackdown on critics of President Kais Saied.

Saidani has recently become known for his fierce criticism of Saied. On Tuesday, he mocked the president in a Facebook post, describing him as the “supreme commander of sewage and rainwater drainage,” blasting what he said was the absence of any achievements by Saied.

(Reporting by Tarek Amara; editing by Mark Heinrich)

BERLIN, Feb 4 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz began a tour of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday aiming to forge energy and arms partnerships as Europe's biggest and richest economy sought to reduce dependence on the U.S. and China.

"We need such partnerships more than ever at a time when politics is increasingly being determined by major powers," Merz said at the start of his three-day trip, adding the aim of such alliances was to preserve freedom, security and prosperity.

As Israel begins to allow a trickle of Palestinians through the Rafah border crossing, Gazans stranded in Egypt are torn between staying in exile without formal status or returning to a land in ruins.

"Return to Gaza for what? To live in a tent?" demanded Mohamed, a 78-year-old poet from Beit Lahia in northern Gaza.

"We have not turned our backs on Gaza, we will return. But right now, we cannot go back under these conditions," he told AFP, asking to be identified only by his first name.

Seif al-Islam, the son of Libya's slain longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi and once seen by some as his likely heir, has been killed.

Targeted by a warrant from the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity, and still a player in Libya's turbulent political scene, the 53-year-old was no stranger to violence.

But his sudden assassination has raised many questions:

- Who is behind it? -

Very little has emerged about the identity or motives of the assailants.

By Angeliki Koutantou and Yannis Souliotis

ATHENS, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Fifteen migrants died after their boat collided with a Greek coast guard vessel, capsized and sank off the island of Chios in the Aegean Sea late on Tuesday, the coast guard said, in one of the deadliest migrant shipwrecks in Greece in years.

The incident occurred after a migrant boat sailing towards Chios with its navigation lights switched off ignored signals from a coast guard patrol vessel and changed course, the coast guard said in a statement.

US and Iranian officials are due this week to hold their first talks since Iran launched a deadly crackdown on protests, in a meeting likely to be crucial in determining if the US carries out renewed military action against the Islamic republic.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that "nuclear talks with the United States are scheduled to be held in Muscat" Friday morning, thanking Oman "for making all the necessary arrangements".

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz headed to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to kick off a Gulf tour as the biggest EU economy seeks to diversify its key trade and energy partnerships.

In a turbulent world where US President Donald Trump has rocked long-standing transatlantic security and economic ties, Germany is racing to cement alternative relationships worldwide.

Joined by a business delegation, the conservative leader will meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, then travel to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on a whistlestop tour that concludes Friday.

MOSCOW, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Russia's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that a proposal to remove uranium from Iran as part of a deal to ease U.S. concerns was still on the table, but that it was for Tehran to decide whether or not to remove it.

"Russia once offered to export Iran's enriched uranium reserves to its territory. This initiative is still on the table," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters.

By Elwely Elwelly

DUBAI, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Iran, which is set to resume nuclear talks with the United States on Friday in Oman, has always warned its formidable ballistic missile program - one of the biggest in the Middle East - is a red line in any negotiations.

The latest test of Iran's missile capabilities occurred during the 12-day war in June 2025 with Israel during which Tehran fired salvoes of ballistic missiles into Israel, killing dozens of people and wrecking dozens of buildings and apartment blocks in the country's centre and north.

By Rami Ayyub, Emily Rose and Alexander Cornwell

JERUSALEM, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. has yet to secure funding commitments for its Gaza reconstruction plan as potential donors voice concerns that disagreements over Hamas disarmament could lead Israel to resume full-scale war in the enclave, sources told Reuters.

Hamas laying down its weapons is a key requirement under Donald Trump's plan to end the Gaza war. It calls for Israel's military to withdraw troops as Hamas disarms and for Gaza's reconstruction to be overseen by a "Board of Peace" chaired by the U.S. President.