Britain's Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, arrived in Cairo on Thursday for the first time in 15 years, hoping to promote tolerance and cement bilateral ties. The visit is part of the royal couple's first tour since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

It is also their first visit to Egypt since the country was rocked by a popular uprising in 2011 that was followed by years of political turmoil.

An Israeli couple held by Turkey on suspicion of espionage returned home on Thursday after they were released from a weeklong detention.

Mordi and Natalie Oknin arrived to their home in central Israel where they were greeted by family and a crowd of reporters. From her apartment's balcony, Natalie thanked all those involved in securing their release.

Libya's influential speaker of parliament announced late Wednesday that he will be running for president, making him the latest candidate to join the race for the country's highest office after years of civil war.

Aguila Saleh, 77, who has led the country's House of Representatives since 2014, announced his candidacy in a video statement. The elections are supposed to be held Dec. 24, but face growing uncertainty after two controversial candidates declared they are running. In the past week, a son of the country's late dictator Moammar Gadhafi and powerful military commander Khalifa Hifter have submitted their bids to run.

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, fell well short Tuesday of its target to plug a $100-million gap this year and secure full long-term funding despite fresh pledges from donors.

UNRWA warned it was facing an "existential" threat as it urged the international community to commit to more stable financing at a conference in Brussels, insisting it needs to find $800 million a year going forward. 

Syria's state-run media said Israel carried out an attack on the country's south early Wednesday with two missiles targeting an empty house and causing no casualties

The missiles came from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and aimed at the building south of the capital Damascus, the state-run news agency SANA said. It said Syria's defense systems intercepted one of the incoming missiles. The attack caused no losses, the agency said.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz will visit Morocco later this month and sign an agreement with his counterpart on enhancing security cooperation, his office said Tuesday.

Morocco was one of four Arab countries that agreed to normalize ties with Israel last year under the so-called Abraham Accords brokered by the Trump administration, along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.

A Palestinian man on Tuesday was shot and killed by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Saddam Hussein Beni Odeh, 26, was shot by Israeli soldiers at the entrance to Tammun, a town near the northern city of Nablus.

Libya's powerful commander, Khalifa Hifter, filed Tuesday as a candidate in the country's presidential elections next month, as the long-waited vote faces growing uncertainty.

Hifter submitted his candidacy papers Tuesday in the eastern city of Benghazi and announced the move in a video. He said he's seeking the country's highest post to "lead our people in a fateful stage."

Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, arrived in Jordan on Tuesday as part of the first royal tour since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Charles and his wife were greeted on the tarmac by a Jordanian color guard. They were slated to meet with Jordan's King Abdullah II and Queen Rania at the royal palace in Amman, and later visit religious and historical sites during their three-day trip to the kingdom before heading to Egypt on Thursday.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared in court for the first time in over half a year on Tuesday as a one-time confidant prepared to take the stand against him in a high-profile corruption case.

But the long-awaited testimony was delayed until next week after a legal challenge from Netanyahu's lawyers.