Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said his first meeting with President Donald Trump left him hopeful, even though they did not discuss specifics about how to restart long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Abbas said he believes the Trump administration can play an important role as a mediator.

Algerians will vote for a new parliament Thursday as the government grapples with soaring unemployment and a deep financial crisis caused by a collapse in oil revenues.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday pushed a plan to set up safe zones in Syria that could see planes grounded but details remained hazy as a latest round of Kremlin-backed peace talks on the six-year war floundered. 

Putin held talks with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Black Sea resort of Sochi as Moscow floated the proposal to set up four "de-escalation zones" in the war-torn country at a fresh round of negotiations involving Syria's regime and rebels in Kazakhstan. 

Syrian rebels on Wednesday said they were suspending their participation as a latest round of peace talks began in Kazakhstan, with the warring sides set to discuss a plan to create safe zones. 

A Saudi appeals court has ordered about a dozen people accused of negligence in a deadly 2015 crane collapse at Islam's holiest site to stand trial again, newspapers reported on Wednesday.

By a vote of five to two, the appeals judges overturned the Mecca criminal court's decision that it had no jurisdiction over allegations of "safety breaches", the Okaz and Saudi Gazette newspapers reported.

A car bomb blast killed at least five people on Wednesday in the rebel-held Syrian town of Azaz by the Turkish border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Human Rights Watch on Wednesday called on Gaza's Hamas rulers to release two Israeli citizens with a history of mental illness believed to have been detained by the militants, saying their extended detention and isolation was "cruel and indefensible."

In a detailed report based on interviews with the men's families and with Israeli and Palestinian officials, the New York-based group said Avera Mangistu and Hisham al-Sayed likely wandered into Gaza on foot and had no connection to hostilities between Israel and Gaza. Hamas has indirectly acknowledged holding them but will not provide confirmation until Israel releases dozens of its jailed members.

President Donald Trump will play peacemaker at the White House on Wednesday, meeting with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas as part of an effort to end the long-running Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

After hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February, the self-styled deal-maker-in-chief will host Abbas for the first time since coming to office.

Saudi Arabia's deputy crown prince said Tuesday in a rare and wide-ranging interview that there is no space for dialogue with rival Iran due to its Shiite ambitions "to control the Islamic world."

The interview, which aired on multiple Saudi TV channels, offered a glimpse into how Mohammed bin Salman views the kingdom's top rival. It also laid bare the breadth of his portfolio and powers.

Hamas' armed wing on Tuesday gave Israel 24 hours to respond to the demands of hunger-striking prisoners, warning the Jewish state it would face consequences for failure to act.