Yemen's Sira Fortress withstood attacks by the Portuguese and the Turks, but years of war have left the 11th century citadel in disrepair, defaced by graffiti and littered with rubbish.   

Israel on Friday appealed to the United States not to remove Iran's Revolutionary Guards from its blacklist of foreign terrorist organizations as part of a revived nuclear deal.

When 28-year-old Syrian Omar Alshakal saw the exodus of desperate people fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he knew first hand what they were going through -- and starting thinking of ways to help.

Five-year-old Amina Nasser hugs her toys in a decrepit cancer ward in Yemen, her life in the hands of a healthcare system pushed to the brink of collapse by grinding conflict.

Yemen's Huthi rebels are not prepared to hold talks with the government in Saudi Arabia or other "enemy countries", an official said Thursday, after a proposal to meet in Riyadh.

The Iran-backed rebels said they were open to finding a peaceful solution to the seven-year war but baulked at travelling to Saudi Arabia, which leads a military coalition fighting on the side of the government.

The United Nations' political chief warned Wednesday that Libya could again see two rival administrations and a return to instability, calling for elections as soon as possible to unify the oil-rich North African nation.

Undersecretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo told the U.N. Security Council she is encouraged by support for a U.N. initiative to convene a joint committee from Libya's rival House of Representatives and High State Council with a goal of reaching agreement by both bodies "on a constitutional basis that would lead to elections this year."

The al-Astal family in the Gaza Strip is once again confronting the horrors of war — air raids, food shortages, power cuts, frantic phone calls. But this time, they are on the outside looking in.

They are among dozens of Palestinian-Ukrainian families in the isolated territory who have experienced several wars firsthand — the most recent last May — and are now watching another unfold in Ukraine, where many of them have loved ones.

An Emirati-flagged cargo ship sank Thursday off Iran in the Persian Gulf in poor weather, authorities said, with rescuers attempting to account for all of its 30 crew members.

Capt. Nizar Qaddoura, the operations manager of the Salem Al Makrani Cargo company, told The Associated Press that the Al Salmy 6 encountered rough and stormy weather, then capsized.

As the war in Ukraine rages on, diplomats trying to salvage the languishing 2015 Iran nuclear deal have been forging ahead with negotiations despite distractions caused by the conflict. They now appear to be near the cusp of a deal that would bring the U.S. back into the accord and bring Iran back into compliance with limits on its nuclear program.

After 11 months of on-and-off talks in Vienna, U.S. officials and others say only a very small number of issues remain to be resolved. Meanwhile, Russia appears to have backed down on a threat to crater an agreement over Ukraine-related sanctions that had dampened prospects for a quick deal.

A year ago, Naftali Bennett was struggling for his political survival as Israel headed toward its fourth consecutive election. Today, the Israeli prime minister is at the forefront of global efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

Just as Bennett took advantage of unique circumstances to become the most unlikely of prime ministers, he has managed to leverage Israel's good relations with both Ukraine and Russia and his personal rapport with their leaders to turn himself into an unexpected mediator.