Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called Thursday for an "immediate cessation" of resumed nuclear talks between Iran and major powers in Vienna, accusing the Islamic republic of "nuclear blackmail."

A Libyan appeals court on Wednesday rejected two petitions against interim prime minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah's candidacy in this month's presidential election, Libyan media reported.

Syrian authorities have said they seized over 500 kilograms (1,000 pounds) of amphetamine pills known by the brand name Captagon hidden in pasta packages in a van bound for Saudi Arabia.

An investigation was underway to determine who was behind the attempted smuggling, a statement on the official state news agency SANA said. It didn't offer details on whether anyone has been arrested.

The U.N. Mideast envoy has warned that without quick and decisive action to address the key drivers of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict the region risks plunging into "another deadly escalation of violence."

Tor Wennesland told the U.N. Security Council it's essential that the parties "calm things on the ground," reduce violence across the Palestinian territories, avoid unilateral steps including new Israeli settlement building, and solidify the May cease-fire that ended an 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas which controls the Gaza Strip.

The final results announced by Iraq's electoral commission have confirmed Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as the biggest winner in last month's vote, securing 73 out of Parliament's 329 seats.

A Sunni party headed by Parliament Speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi came in second with 37 seats, while the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) secured 31 seats, the commission said.

Gaza's Hamas rulers have reached an agreement by which Qatar will resume subsidizing the salaries of public employees by sending fuel to the impoverished territory, a Hamas official said.

Qatar was contributing to the salaries of some 50,000 employees of the Hamas-run government up until the 11-day war in May by sending suitcases of cash into the territory through Israel. Israel's new government, which was sworn in the following month, vowed to stop that arrangement.

Morocco will push for a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, King Mohammed VI said, almost a year after his country renewed ties with the Jewish state.

Several prominent Kuwaiti opposition figures have returned home from a decade of self-exile after getting amnesty from the ruling emir, a long-awaited move celebrated Tuesday that's aimed at ending the political paralysis that has burned a hole in public finances.

Faisal al-Muslim was the latest to be greeted early Tuesday by screams of joy from relatives and supporters who had gathered at the open-air diwaniya, the all-male customary Kuwaiti gathering. Attendees in traditional white robes and checkered headdresses crowded around al-Muslim, jostling to shake his hand.

The United Arab Emirates has eased some of its harsh drug laws, relaxing penalties for travelers who arrive in the country with products containing THC, the main intoxicating chemical in cannabis.

The new law, published in the UAE's official gazette, says people caught carrying food, drinks and other items with cannabis into the country will no longer land in prison if it's their first time. Instead, authorities will confiscate and destroy the products.

Snow globes, teddy bears and makeup brushes — these were the trinkets left behind in northern Iraq by Maryam Nouri who perished this week along with at least 26 others in an ill-fated voyage with dreams of reaching the United Kingdom.

A wake for Nouri, called Baran by her friends and family, was held in Soran on Sunday in the Kurdish semi-autonomous northern region. Male relatives sat outside the family home, counting prayer beads in her remembrance, in line with local customs. Her body has not yet reached Iraq, pending legal issues, they said.