The return of displaced Syrian Kurds to their northeastern hometown of Ras al-Ain was suspended on Monday after a first group of returnees was attacked, prompting protests in other Kurdish-majority parts of Syria.

Hundreds of people had gone back to the town on Monday, months after a January agreement with the Syrian government on merging Kurdish forces and civil institutions into the state that included provisions for the return of displaced Kurds.

KYIV, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he discussed a drone deal and food security with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday.

"There are domains in which Ukraine and Saudi Arabia can strengthen each other's ability to protect lives and people," he said on X after the call.

Speaking later in his nightly video address, Zelenskiy said a team of Ukrainian officials was in the region "and there are already areas in which our relations are developing well. I am counting on reciprocity in our mutual support."

Abdullah Ocalan, jailed founder of the Kurdish militant PKK group, is an icon for many Kurds but a reviled terrorist for many Turks who is now at the heart of the

ANKARA, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Turkey's parliament passed a law on Monday establishing a legal framework for the disbandment of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a major step toward ending a decades-old conflict that has killed tens of thousands.

The legislation provides legal protections for many former militants who have not committed specific crimes and facilitates the suspension of prison sentences for some people convicted of PKK membership, paving the way for their reintegration into society.

President Donald Trump insisted on Monday that his relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "very good" despite the Israeli leader's rejection of a US-led Gaza plan.

"The relationship is very good," Trump said in response to a shouted question from a journalist at the end of an Oval Office event.

After more than a week of gradually escalating criticism, Netanyahu explicitly stated on Sunday that he opposed the Gaza plan, which called for Israel to begin pulling back forces in tandem with disarmament by Hamas.

Dozens of Gaza students who won scholarships to universities in Italy are still waiting to be evacuated due to bureaucratic red tape, leaving qualified students in a deadly conflict zone, AFP has found.

Although more than 200 Palestinian students have been successfully enrolled in Italian colleges through a government university corridor project started in 2025, others have been left behind.

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON, Aug 10 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's Gaza plan is still operative and discussions with Israel are continuing, a Board of Peace official said on Monday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected an Israeli withdrawal until the Palestinian militant group Hamas is "genuinely disarmed."

Netanyahu on Sunday restated his rejection of the Gaza ​plan in televised remarks to his right-wing government. The move came even as Israel's military has effectively halted attacks in the territory under U.S. pressure.

Aug 10 (Reuters) - Iran has appointed Mohsen Rezaei as secretary of its Supreme National Security Council, promoting a prominent hardliner and close ally of Supreme Leader Ayatollah MojtabaKhamenei to the role more than five months into the conflict with the United States.

Rezaei replaces Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr as second-in-command of the body that coordinates Iran's security and foreign policy and is chaired by President Masoud Pezeshkian. Zolqadr was appointed as political adviser to Khamenei.

Here's what you need to know about Rezaei, 71:

DUBAI, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Iran has changed its secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, appointing former Revolutionary Guards commander Mohsen Rezaei as second-in-command on the body that coordinates the country's security and foreign policy.

Rezaei is more of an outspoken public figure than his predecessor, Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr. The appointment was announced late on Sunday by President Masoud Pezeshkian's deputy director of communications.

Aug 10 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he will demand that Iran pay compensation for "all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded," in response to Iran seeking compensation for the damages it has incurred from U.S. and Israeli attacks.