A prominent Syrian businessman with close ties to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been arrested in Kuwait, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Syria's Kurds have criticised the "threatening language" of the Damascus regime after it pledged to retake northeastern areas they control by reconciliation or by force.

Human Rights Watch urged Egyptian authorities on Tuesday to establish the whereabouts of a missing opposition activist following their denials he was in their custody. 

Former lawmaker Mostafa al-Naggar disappeared in September and there has been no word on his whereabouts since. 

Kurdish-led fighters advanced in the Islamic State group's last bastion in eastern Syria, confining holdout jihadists to a tiny pocket on the edge of Baghouz village, the force said Tuesday.

The head of the U.N. agency that helps 5.3 million Palestinian refugees on Monday urged donors who filled a $446 million hole in its budget last year after the Trump administration drastically cut the U.S. contribution to be equally generous this year.

"Last year we had an extraordinary crisis and an out of the ordinary response," Pierre Krahenbuhl said in an interview with The Associated Press. "Our humble request to all the donors is: Please keep your funding levels at the same level as 2018."

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Monday confirmed he will stay in power beyond his term expiring next month, despite tens of thousands of people demonstrating against his rule.

Bouteflika announced on March 11 he was withdrawing from his bid for a fifth term, initially sparking elation among protesters before they realised he would be remain in office beyond his term.

A senior official with the Palestinian party Fatah was badly beaten up in the Gaza Strip on Monday, with the group accusing the strip's Islamist rulers Hamas of responsibility.

Morocco said Monday its coastguard rescued 53 sub-Saharan migrants and found three people dead on a rubber boat that deflated in the Mediterranean on a crossing to Europe.

The U.S. ambassador to Germany led protests outside the U.N. Monday over what he termed the "bigotry" faced by Israel at the Human Rights Council, as nations weighed condemnations of Israel.

Several hundred people joined the protests which were largely focused on the council's so-called Agenda Item 7, a fixture on the council's schedule exclusively devoted to resolutions condemning Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. 

Syrian government forces will reclaim control of northeastern areas controlled by the U.S.-backed Kurds, whether by force or through reconciliation, the defense minister warned Monday.