Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu will visit Istanbul today for talks with their Turkish counterparts on the situation in Libya and Syria, Turkish media reported citing Foreign Ministry sources.

The United States promised Thursday to reduce troops from Iraq over the coming months after talks with Baghdad, where lawmakers have pushed for their withdrawal.

Syrian President Bashar Assad fired his prime minister Imad Khamis on Thursday, a month ahead of elections as the economic crisis worsens and public anger rises, news wires reported. Assad also appointed the current water resources minister Hussein Arnous to replace Khamis, who has been the premier since 2016.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Wednesday restated his country’s opposition to unilateral Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank, but stopped short of announcing possible punitive measures Berlin could take if Jerusalem goes ahead with its controversial plan.

An Iranian man who provided information to US and Israeli intelligence services on the whereabouts of Iran’s slain Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani has been sentenced to death, Iran’s judiciary said on Tuesday.

Egypt’s president Saturday announced a unilateral initiative to end the civil war in neighbouring Libya, a plan accepted by the commander of the eastern forces that have suffered heavy losses in recent weeks.

Several thousand Israelis demonstrated on Saturday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to extend sovereignty over parts of the occupied West Bank, de-facto annexation of land that the Palestinians seek for a state.

Hundreds of Lebanese protesters took to the streets on Saturday to voice outrage over the government’s handling of a deep economic crisis, with security forces firing tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse rock-throwing demonstrators.

 A donor conference on Yemen was set to kick off on Tuesday as the United Nations aspires to shore up financial support for aid operations in the war-torn country. The video pledging event is co-hosted by Saudi Arabia, which is leading a military alliance fighting Iran-linked rebels in Yemen, and the United Nations.

Turkey resumed domestic flights on Monday as it eases restrictions in place since March to contain the novel coronavirus. The first passenger plane took off from Istanbul for the capital, Ankara, tweeted Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoglu, who was on board.