Saudi Arabia's top diplomat, on his country's first high-level visit to Beirut after years of strained ties, said Thursday that he believed crisis-hit Lebanon's new leaders could spearhead long-sought reforms.
Reeling from years of economic collapse and a destructive Israel-Hezbollah war, Lebanese leaders have pinned hopes on wealthy Gulf states for desperately needed reconstruction funds.
Yemen's Huthi rebels accused Washington on Thursday of designating them a terrorist group for supporting the Palestinian people, their stated motive for months of attacks on Israel and in the Red Sea.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to once again blacklist the Iran-backed rebels as a "foreign terrorist organisation", moving to reimpose the more restrictive categorisation after it was dropped by his predecessor.
The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor on Thursday said he was seeking arrest warrants against senior Taliban leaders in Afghanistan over the persecution of women, a crime against humanity.
Karim Khan said there were reasonable grounds to suspect that Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani "bear criminal responsibility for the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds".
When Bashar al-Assad ruled Syria, merchants like Youssef Rajab kept much of their imported stock hidden for fear of arrest for breaking the law.
But after an Islamist-led coalition toppled Assad in a lightning offensive last month, Rajab put previously banned foreign goods such as chocolate, biscuits and shampoo back on the shelf.
Such products are now openly on sale in Damascus, and foreign currency is once again traded without fear.
Under Assad, Syria was mired in corruption, under heavy economic sanctions, and in seemingly endless crisis.
A Palestinian official said hundreds of people began leaving their homes in a flashpoint area of the occupied West Bank on Thursday as Israeli forces pressed a deadly operation.
The Israeli military launched the raid in the Jenin area, a hotbed of Palestinian militancy, days into a ceasefire in the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the objective of the operation, dubbed "Iron Wall", is to "eradicate terrorism" in the area.
The first Turkish Airlines flight in 13 years landed in the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday, an AFP correspondent reported.
The plane arrived from Istanbul carrying aid and 345 passengers, including Turkish Airlines CEO Bilal Eksi and Turkish officials, the correspondent said.
"The first Turkish Airlines passenger plane landed at Damascus International Airport after a hiatus of some 13 years, with Syrian passengers on board," Syria's official news agency SANA reported.
Eksi told reporters that Turkish Airlines would operate three flights to Syria a week.
The United States' new top diplomat Marco Rubio reaffirmed the country's "unwavering support" for Israel, days into a fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and a large-scale raid in the occupied West Bank.
As Israel pursued its deadly operation in Jenin, Rubio assured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Washington's continued backing.
Rubio spoke to Netanyahu from Washington on Wednesday night to "underscore that maintaining the United States' steadfast support for Israel is a top priority for President Trump," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman promised on Thursday to pile $600 billion into US trade and investments as he congratulated Donald Trump on his return to the White House.
Prince Mohammed, de facto leader of the world's biggest oil exporter, made the pledge in a phone call following Trump's inauguration on Monday, Saudi state media said.
Trump forged close relations with Riyadh in his first term and is now expected to push Saudi Arabia, home of Islam's holiest sites, towards normalising ties with Israel as a major foreign policy objective.
Yemen's Huthi rebels on Wednesday freed the crew of the merchant ship Galaxy Leader after detaining them for more than a year, citing the ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas as motivation.
Weeks after the war in the Gaza Strip broke out on October 7, 2023, the Iran-backed Huthis began launching attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in what they said was support for the Palestinians.
At the start of their campaign, helicopter-borne rebels stormed the vehicle carrier Galaxy Leader and detained its 25 international crew.
Iranian Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Wednesday his government had put off enforcing the country's strict Islamic dress code in order "not to put women under pressure".
Covering the neck and head and dressing modestly became mandatory for women in Iran following the Islamic revolution that overthrew the US-backed Shah in 1979.
"If you go to the streets of Tehran, you will find women not covering their hair. It's against the law, but the government has decided not to put women under pressure," Zarif told the World Economic Forum in Davos.
