Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel must retain security control in any peace deal with the Palestinians, Israeli media reported, after U.S. President Donald Trump's comments supporting a two-state solution to the conflict.

Libya, where a new ceasefire was announced Wednesday to end a month of deadly fighting near the capital, fell into chaos with the ouster and killing of strongman Moammar Gadhafi in October 2011. 

South Africa said Wednesday it had penned extradition treaties with the United Arab Emirates, a move that could pave the way for the forced return to the country of the Guptas, wealthy businessmen implicated in massive state corruption.

A senior Palestinian official rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's comments in support of a two-state solution on Wednesday, saying his White House's policies were destroying hopes of peace.

"Their words go against their actions and their action is absolutely clear (and) is destroying the possibility of the two-state solution," Husam Zomlot, head of the recently closed Palestinian mission in Washington, told AFP.

U.S. President Donald Trump opened a U.N. Security Council meeting on Wednesday by taking aim at Russia and Iran for backing President Bashar al-Assad's brutal war in Syria.

Libya's internationally recognized government Wednesday announced a new ceasefire deal to end a month of fighting between rival militias south of Tripoli that has left more than 100 dead.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he would present a two-state peace plan for the Middle East in the coming months, voicing confidence the Palestinians would return to talks despite his unwavering support for Israel.

Speaking before entering talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York, Trump said that it was a "dream" of his to bring about a peaceful solution to a conflict that has eluded several of his predecessors.

A top Syrian official has said a new air defence system from ally Russia will force Israel to "think carefully" before carrying out any more air strikes in the country.

The Moroccan police announced the arrest late Tuesday of a Spanish citizen and his Moroccan "accomplice" accused of smuggling migrants to Europe by boat.

The suspects allegedly "extorted" people looking to leave the North African country before "illegally" sending them across the Mediterranean Sea in inflatable vessels, the General Directorate of National Security said.

A popular Yemeni writer with a large Twitter following has been held incommunicado by Saudi authorities for months, human rights groups said Wednesday, calling for his immediate release.

Marwan al-Muraisy, a social media activist with more than 100,000 Twitter followers, was arrested at his home in Riyadh on June 1, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and other watchdogs said in a joint statement.