An Israeli court said Monday it would start hearing witnesses in the corruption trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on April 5.

From Mosul's rubble-strewn streets to ancient churches at Karamlesh, badly damaged by the Islamic State group, Archbishop Najeeb Michaeel is preparing for the first-ever papal visit to Iraq.

A young man was shot dead on Monday during a protest in the capital of Iraq's southern Dhi Qar province over poor public services, a local medical source told AFP.

Thousands marched in Algeria's capital and other cities Monday to mark the second anniversary of the "Hirak" protest movement that forced long-time president Abdelaziz Bouteflika from power.

A volley of rockets on Monday targeted the high-security zone in the Iraqi capital that is home to the U.S. embassy, the military and security sources said.

The interior minister of Libya's U.N.-backed government survived an ambush by gunmen on his motorcade on Sunday, a brazen attack highlighting the towering challenges that remain for the newly appointed government that is trying to unite the country before elections late this year.

Armed men opened fire at Fathi Bashagha's motorcade on a highway in Tripoli, wounding at least one of his guards, said Amin al-Hashmi, a spokesman for the Tripoli-based Health Ministry.

Saudi Arabia's state arms producer signed an agreement Sunday with U.S. contractor Lockheed Martin to form a joint venture, a statement said, as Washington reviews weapons sales to the kingdom.

Israeli authorities on Sunday warned people to keep away from the Mediterranean shore to avoid massive tar pollution, as thousands of laborers and volunteers worked to clean contaminated beaches.

Powerful winds and unusually high waves pummeled Israel's entire Mediterranean coastline over Tuesday and Wednesday, with tons of tar staining 160 kilometers of beaches from Rosh Hanikra, just south of Lebanon, to Ashkelon just north of Gaza.

The powerful interior minister of Libya's unity government survived an assassination attempt Sunday on a highway near the capital Tripoli, an official from his inner circle told AFP.

Around 20,000 coronavirus vaccine doses from the UAE arrived in Gaza Sunday, a delivery reportedly orchestrated by a rival of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas three months before scheduled Palestinian elections.