A Saudi university near the country's border with Yemen caught fire early Thursday after the kingdom's air defenses intercepted a barrage of ballistic missiles and bomb-laden drones.

The interception scattered debris on Jizan University's campus, which caused a fire that has been contained, the Saudi-led coalition at war in Yemen said in a statement. It said no one was killed, and there were no immediate reports of injuries.

Syria on Wednesday angrily rejected a global watchdog's report that found it had used chemical weapons on a rebel-held town in 2018, dismissing the charge as "fabricated."

The remains of Khaled al-Assaad, a Syrian archaeologist beheaded by Islamic State group jihadists, have yet to be recovered, his son told AFP on Wednesday.

Turkey's foreign minister hailed the start of "a new era" with Egypt as Ankara pushes ahead with normalising relations with Cairo, local media reported on Wednesday.

Egyptian photojournalist Hossam el-Sayed and his wife Solafa Magdy, an independent journalist, have been released after spending the past year and a half behind bars, their professional association said Wednesday.

The Japanese owner of a megaship seized after blocking the Suez Canal has said it is negotiating with Egyptian authorities after they demanded $900 million in compensation for its release.

A bus overturned while trying to pass a truck on a highway in southern Egypt on Tuesday, causing a collision that killed at least 20 people and injured three others, authorities said.

The bus was travelling from Cairo when it turned over and was hit by the truck on a road in the southern province of Assiut, 320 kilometers (199 miles) south of Cairo, Assiut Gov. Essam Saad said in a statement. Both vehicles caught fire, it added.

Israel has entered into a state of maximum alert to confront Iranian threats amid tensions linked to a suspected Israeli attack on an Iranian nuclear facility and a suspected Iranian attack on an Israeli commercial ship, Al-Arabiya TV reported on Tuesday.

“Israeli media circles have said that the ship attack is the beginning of a series of Iranian attacks,” Al-Arabiya’s correspondent in Israel said.

An Israeli-owned commercial ship was attacked with a missile Tuesday near UAE’s Fujairah, Arab and Israeli media reports said.

Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen television channel, which is close to Iran, identified the ship as the Bahamas-flagged Hyperion Ray, which is operated by Israeli firm Ray Shipping.

The megaship which blocked Egypt's Suez Canal and crippled world trade for nearly a week has been "seized" on court orders until the vessel's owners pay $900 million, canal authorities said Tuesday.