The United Arab Emirates has branded a bridge, a new ministry, a family day at the park and even the entire year of 2019 under the banner theme of "tolerance," an elaborate effort that's in overdrive as the country prepares to host Pope Francis starting Sunday in the first-ever papal visit to the Arabian Peninsula.

The state's tolerance-themed project, however, has hard limits. While allowing churches and other places of worship to exist, and marking holidays like Christmas, the Hindu Diwali and Chinese New Year with festivals and celebrations, the government has simultaneously stomped out critical political expression in the name of national security.

The United Nations on Friday called for "unhindered humanitarian access" to people fleeing the last pocket of Islamic State jihadists in eastern Syria.

Saudi Arabia is no longer seeking the death penalty against woman activist Israa al-Ghomgham, who has been in jail since December 2015, rights groups said Friday.

Civilian rescue vessel Sea Watch 3, which was detained in Sicily on Friday, is the latest in a long list of such ships that have been forced or have chosen to stop their work.

Currently only the Libyan coastguard is able to save those migrants floundering in their attempts to reach Europe across the central Mediterranean. 

Pope Francis is set for a historic trip to the UAE, the first ever papal visit to the Arabian Peninsula, as he seeks to boost the Vatican's outreach to Islam.

The Republican leader of the US Senate, Mitch McConnell, has delivered a rare rebuke of Donald Trump in legislation Thursday that questions the president's decision to pull US troops out of Syria.

The amendment to a broader Middle East Policy bill easily passed a preliminary procedural vote Thursday 68 to 23, with substantial support from both Democrats and Republicans.

Yemen's government and its allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates asked the UN Security Council on Thursday to turn up the pressure on Huthi rebels to uphold a ceasefire deal. 

In a letter sent to the council, the three governments accused the Huthis of violating the ceasefire in the port city of Hodeida 970 times since it came into force on December 18.

The U.N. Security Council has endorsed the appointment of former Danish general Michael Lollesgaard to head the U.N. observer mission in war-wracked Yemen, diplomats said.

Top diplomats from Saudi Arabia and its allies wrapped up two days of talks in Jordan's Dead Sea resort on Thursday on coordinating policy on the multiple conflicts gripping the region.

The closed-door meetings were a "consultation between brothers and friends", Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said in a terse statement shortly after they ended.

Saudi Arabia announced Wednesday the end of a high-profile anti-corruption probe that boosted the state coffers by more than $100 billion and has left dozens detained.