Saudi Arabia's consul to Istanbul on Tuesday left the Turkish city bound for Riyadh on a scheduled flight, reports said, as Turkey prepared to search his residence in the probe into the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashogghi.

c took off for Riyadh on a 1400 GMT flight from Istanbul, the Haber-Turk newspaper reported on its website.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will hold talks in Turkey on Wednesday, the Turkish foreign ministry said, after a visit to Riyadh where the top American diplomat was discussing the case of missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

A high-level Turkish official said Tuesday that police have found "certain evidence" during their search of the Saudi Consulate showing that Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi was killed there.

The Kremlin said on Tuesday a deal to create a buffer zone in Syria's Idlib was going ahead, despite jihadists missing a deadline to leave the area the day before.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have carried out 700 drone strikes against forces of the Islamic State group (IS) in Syria, its aerospace chief told conservative news agency Fars on Tuesday.

The United Arab Emirates has charged a British PhD student with spying in the Gulf country, as his wife Tuesday called on Britain to defend his innocence.

Israel's defence minister said Tuesday that months of violent Palestinian protests on the Gaza border cannot be allowed to go on, urging cabinet colleagues to back tougher measures.

The UN human rights chief called Tuesday for the lifting of the immunity of officials who might be involved in the disappearance of a Saudi Arabian journalist at the kingdom's consulate in Turkey.

US top diplomat Mike Pompeo held talks with Saudi King Salman on Tuesday seeking answers about the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, amid US media reports the kingdom may be mulling an admission he died during a botched interrogation.

Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has fired the prime minister, accusing him of "negligence" in running the country.

In a decree late Monday, Hadi's office said Ahmed bin Dagher was guilty of poor economic performance and failure to avert a collapse of the currency.