Jordan's King Abdullah II was visibly uncomfortable as he sat across from US President Donald Trump and discussed the fate of over two million Palestinians in Gaza.

Trump's proposed plan to take over Gaza and "clean out" the territory of its Palestinian residents, sending them to Jordan or Egypt, had already sent the region into a tailspin.

But in Tuesday's meeting in Washington, the tension between Trump's vision and the reality that King Abdullah -- whose wife is of Palestinian descent -- has long negotiated was palpable in the exchange between the two leaders.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a series of agreements Wednesday to boost trade and defence ties between the Muslim-majority nations, including the delivery of 69 Turkish combat drones to Jakarta.

The Turkish leader was visiting Southeast Asia's largest economy after travelling to Malaysia and before heading to Pakistan on a four-day tour of key allies in the Islamic world.

Syria said Wednesday a new government would take over next month from the interim cabinet formed following Bashar al-Assad's overthrow, and announced a preparatory body for a national dialogue conference.

The new authorities need to rebuild Syria's institutions after more than 50 years of Assad family rule and revive an economy smashed by nearly 14 years of war.

The United Arab Emirates is planning to launch new artificial intelligence models inspired by China's DeepSeek, a senior official told AFP, calling the system's disruptive emergence "fantastic news".

Faisal Al Bannai, the driving force behind the UAE's Falcon large language model, said DeepSeek's challenge to American tech giants showed the field was wide open in the race for AI dominance.

The oil-rich Gulf monarchy is betting big on the transformational technology as part of its push to diversify its economy away from fossil fuels.

Israel on Wednesday threatened to launch a "new" war on Hamas and implement US President Donald Trump's plan to displace Palestinians from the ravaged Gaza Strip if the militants do not release hostages this weekend.

The remarks by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz came shortly after Palestinian group Hamas said it would not bow down to US and Israeli "threats" over the release of hostages under a fragile truce deal.

Saudi Arabia made their debut at the Asian Winter Games in China this week and will controversially host the next edition in a move derided as "awful" by one Olympic skier and denounced by environmental groups.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) in 2022 unanimously approved the desert kingdom's bid to stage the Games at its $500 billion megacity NEOM in 2029.

"It is awful for our sport," Olympic downhill silver medallist Johan Clarey previously told French radio.

In a packed cafe in Cairo, all eyes were glued to a flickering flat-screen TV, waiting for Omar Marmoush, now donning Manchester City's sky-blue jersey, to step onto the pitch.

In the 84th minute, the Egyptian forward finally jogged to the sideline, ready to make his UEFA Champions League debut against Real Madrid.

The cafe erupted with cheers and hands banging on tables, and even longtime Madrid fans joined in to celebrate one of their own.

The Spanish side ended up winning 3-2, but at the Cairo cafe, the result did not diminish the love for Marmoush.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks Wednesday, signing a series of agreements to boost trade and defence ties between the Muslim-majority nations, including a joint venture to build drones.

The Turkish leader was visiting Southeast Asia's largest economy after travelling to Malaysia and before heading to Pakistan on a four-day tour of key allies in the Islamic world.

As excitement swept through the Syrian community after Bashar al-Assad's overthrow, businesses in Turkey that rely on them for labour began quickly crunching the numbers.

"The Syrians have made a big contribution to the textile sector here. If they leave, there will be a serious labour problem," said Ali Gozcu, reflecting the widespread anxiety gripping Turkey's textile industry.

Gozcu runs ALG Tekstil, a clothing firm in Gaziantep, a southeastern Turkish city that is home to half a million Syrians.

Expat "mumfluencers" are taking to TikTok to sing the praises of life in Saudi Arabia and to extol the virtues of its new NEOM megacity, filming their idyllic lives spent picnicking by turquoise waters and shopping in gleaming malls.

"If you have children, Saudi Arabia is the best place," Aida McPherson, an Azerbaijani born in London, told her almost 60,000 followers as she filmed her daughter in traditional Saudi dress on a shopping trip.