Algeria has rejected "inadmissible interference" in its affairs, hours after recalling its ambassador from Paris following comments by French President Emmanuel Macron reported by the French and Algerian media.

"I can only cry. I'm devastated -- my family too," said 25-year-old Syrian Kawthar Raslan, cradling her newborn child in a migrant camp on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

Qataris began voting in the emirate's first legislative election Saturday in a symbolic nod to democracy that analysts say will not lead to power shifting away from the ruling family. 

After enduring a decade of war in Syria, Boshra al-Moallem and her two sisters seized their chance to flee. Her brother, who escaped years earlier to Belgium, had saved enough money for their trip, and word was spreading online that a new migration route into Europe had opened through Belarus.

But the journey proved terrifying and nearly deadly. Al-Moallem became trapped at the border of Belarus and Poland for 20 days and was pushed back and forth between armed guards from each side in an area of swamps. She endured cold nights, mosquitoes, hunger and terrible thirst. Only after she collapsed from exhaustion and dehydration did Polish guards finally take her to a hospital.

Iran on Friday described Bahrain's hosting of Israel's foreign minister, who the previous day inaugurated the Jewish state's embassy in Manama, as "shameful".

Iran and Israel are sworn enemies and Bahrain is one of four Arab nations to have normalized ties with the Jewish state over the past year or so.

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously on Thursday to extend the U.N. political mission in Libya until after the country's critical presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for late December.

However, the U.N.'s most powerfule body remained divided over the withdrawal of all mercenaries and foreign forces from the oil-rich North African nation and the mission's leadership.

A slow death if they stay or possible detention if they leave: the last residents of a Syria desert camp face an unenviable choice ahead of a new "voluntary departure" program.

The nearly 10,000 displaced Syrians still living in the Rukban camp, established in 2014 on the berm between Jordan and Syria, are the last remnants of the nearly 50,000 people who lived there a few years ago.

Israel and Bahrain cemented their year-old agreement to establish diplomatic ties on Thursday, with the king of the small Gulf Arab state hosting Israel's foreign minister who for the first time opened an embassy in the capital of Manama.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on the same day as the first direct flight from Manama touched down in Tel Aviv. The top Israeli diplomat later called the visit "warm and optimistic."

After eight years of planning and billions of dollars in spending, the Middle East's first ever World Fair opened on Friday in Dubai, with hopes the months-long extravaganza draws both visitors and global attention to this desert-turned-dreamscape.

Named Expo 2020, the event was postponed by a year due to the outbreak of the coronavirus last year. While that could have an impact on how many people flock to the United Arab Emirates, the six-month-long exhibition offers Dubai a momentous opportunity to showcase its unique East-meets-West appeal as a place where all are welcome for business.

Regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran have met again in Iraq, several local sources said, as talks aiming to ease tensions have continued under Iran's ultraconservative President Ebrahim Raisi. 

Muslim Shiite-majority Iran and Sunni power Saudi Arabia, on opposing sides in multiple Middle East conflicts, have been engaged in talks since April at the highest level since cutting ties in 2016.