Israel is deliberately impeding progress toward a two-state solution and can no longer be considered a reliable partner in the peace process, Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas told the United Nations yesterday.

State-organised demonstrations took place in several Iranian cities yesterday to counter anti-government protests triggered by the death of a woman in police custody, with marchers calling for the execution of protesters.

At least 77 migrants drowned when a boat they boarded in Lebanon sank off Syria’s coast, Syria’s health minister said yesterday, the deadliest such shipwreck from Lebanon in recent years.

State-organised demonstrations took place in several Iranian cities on Friday to counter anti-government protests triggered by the death of a woman in police custody, with some marchers calling for the execution of rioters.

At least 77 people were killed when a boat carrying migrants sank off Syria this week, the country’s health minister said Friday, amid fears the death toll could be far higher.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Thursday that "acts of chaos" are not acceptable, in a warning to protesters who have taken to the streets across the country in fury over the death of a woman in the morality police's custody.

Clashes between Iranian security forces and protesters angry over the death of a 22-year-old woman in police custody have killed at least nine people since the violence erupted over the weekend, according to a tally Thursday by The Associated Press.

Iran’s president yesterday told the United Nations that his country was not seeking an atomic weapon and demanded US guarantees it would abide by any revived nuclear deal.

At least seven persons have been killed during unrest sweeping Iran, as anger at the death of a woman in police custody fuelled protests for a fifth day.

Iranian authorities said on Wednesday three people including a member of the security forces had been killed during unrest sweeping the country, as anger at the death of a woman in police custody fuelled protests for a fifth day.

A top United Nations official on Tuesday demanded an independent investigation into the death of an Iranian woman held by the country’s morality police as authorities acknowledged making arrests at protests over the incident.

The United Arab Emirates will launch its first lunar rover in November, the mission manager said Monday.

Israeli archaeologists have announced the “once-in-a-lifetime” discovery of a burial cave from the time of ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses II, filled with dozens of pottery pieces and bronze artefacts.

Protests persisted on Sunday and #MahsaAmini became one of the top hashtags ever on Persian-language Twitter as Iranians fumed over the death of a young woman in the custody of morality police enforcing strict hijab rules.

Protests broke out in western Iran on Saturday at the funeral of a young woman who died after being detained by morality police enforcing strict hijab rules, as security forces used tear gas to disperse demonstrators.

An Israeli airstrike near Damascus airport killed five Syria soldiers yesterday, Syrian state media said. “The aggression led to the death of five soldiers and some material damage,” Syria’s official news agency Sana quoted a military source as saying.

President Tayyip Erdogan said he was targeting membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) for Nato-member Turkey, broadcaster NTV and other media said yesterday.

Five Lebanese banks were stormed yesterday by depositors seeking to unlock frozen savings, the latest in a string of “heists” in the crisis-hit country. Lebanon

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi yesterday told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that the cooperation among countries sanctioned by the United States will make them “stronger”.

A Palestinian teenager was shot to the head yesterday during clashes with Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank. Uday Salah, 17, was killed in Kafr Dan,