Israel has seen a drop in the effectiveness of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine as the Delta variant spreads across the country,the Health Ministry said on Monday, dpa reported. Since 6 June, the vaccine's effectiveness in preventing infection has dropped to 64%, the data show. In February, Israeli data had put the number at 95.8%.

At least 21 migrants died after the boat carrying them sank off the coast of Tunisia, the second such disaster in two days in the region, news wires reported. The coastguard recovered the bodies on Sunday off the port of Sfax, Colonel Houssem Jbebli from the National Guard said.

Germany has pulled out all of its troops from Afghanistan, ending a nearly 20-year deployment there alongside other international forces, the defence ministry announced cited by news wires. The last of the troops were airlifted on Tuesday out of their base at Mazar-I Sharif in northern Afghanistan. The US aims to complete its own withdrawal by 11 September.

The US military, under the direction of President Joe Biden, has conducted airstrikes against what it said were “facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups” near the border between Iraq and Syria, AP reports.

The UN nuclear watchdog on Friday demanded an immediate reply from Iran on whether it would extend a monitoring agreement that expired overnight, prompting an Iranian envoy to respond that Tehran was under no obligation to provide an answer, Reuters reports.

The Israeli health ministry reimposed a requirement Friday for masks to be worn in enclosed public places following a surge in Covid cases since it was dropped 10 days ago, AFP reports.

World powers are gathering on Wednesday in Berlin to seek lasting peace in Libya by ensuring the conflict-wracked North African country stays firmly on the path towards general elections on 24 December, news wires reported. Representatives of Libya's interim government will join US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as well as the foreign ministers of regional and global leaders at the UN-sponsored talks.

Palestinians and Jewish settlers hurled stones, chairs and fireworks at each other overnight in a tense Jerusalem neighborhood where settler groups are trying to evict several Palestinian families, officials said Tuesday, AP reports.

Iran’s sole nuclear power plant has undergone an unexplained temporary emergency shutdown, the country’s state TV reported.

Israel on Saturday condemned Iran's newly-elected president Ebrahim Raisi, saying he was its most extreme president yet and committed to quickly advancing Tehran's nuclear programme, Reuters reported. Raisi, a hardline judge who is under US sanctions for human rights abuses, secured victory as expected on Saturday in Iran's presidential election after a contest marked by voter apathy over economic hardships and political restrictions.