Among the destroyed buildings of Syria's Aleppo, a battered sign between two army checkpoints welcomes visitors to an area earmarked to become a beacon of post-war reconstruction.

An official with the main Kurdish-led force in Syria said Sunday the ethnic minority is not represented on the committee formed earlier this month that will be in charge of drafting a new constitution.

The Syrian government does not trust the main Kurdish militia known as the People's Protection Units, or YPG, and its political wing because of its links to the U.S. Turkey, a main backer of the opposition, sees the YPG as part of a Kurdish insurgency in Turkey.

Saudi Arabia is attempting a comeback on the global stage one year after journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder, but the crisis has weakened it and undermined its de facto leader's ambitious reforms, analysts say.

Iran's foreign minister has urged arch-rival Saudi Arabia to accept that "security cannot be bought", saying an end to the war in Yemen would quell regional tensions.

The head of the Arab League exchanged a warm handshake Friday at the United Nations with the foreign minister of Syria, which has been suspended from the body since 2011.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hopes a new "safe zone" in northern Syria will kill two birds with one stone -- easing the refugee burden and pushing Kurdish militants away from his southern border.

The British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero headed into port in Dubai on Saturday after being held off the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas for more than two months, according to authorities and a tracking website.

Saudi Arabia on Friday said it was offering tourist visas for the first time, opening up the ultra-conservative Islamic kingdom to holidaymakers as part of a push to diversify its economy away from oil.

Saudi Arabia is set to issue tourist visas for the first time, seeking to draw millions of foreign visitors in a bid to diversify its oil-reliant economy.

Egyptian President Fattah al-Sisi on Friday dismissed a call for a second weekend of protests as "no reason for concern", with hundreds already arrested in an intensifying crackdown on a rare show of discontent on the streets.