Italian businessman Sergio Zanotti who was held hostage in Syria for three years has been freed and is expected back home soon, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Friday.

Armed clashes broke out Friday south of Libya's capital Tripoli between a pro-government alliance and forces loyal to eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar, sources on both sides said.

Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, whose forces are battling to seize the capital Tripoli, is widely seen as a hawk hunting for greater power in violence-wracked Libya. 

Algerians took to the streets for a seventh successive Friday as they push for a radical overhaul of the country's ruling elite following the resignation of veteran leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

U.N. chief Antonio Guterres met Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar on Friday, an official from the strongman's forces said, a day after his fighters launched an offensive against the capital Tripoli.

Russia expressed hope Friday that the crisis in Libya would not lead to "renewed bloodshed", adding that Moscow did not support Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar.  

Two children were killed and eight critically wounded when an unexploded bomb went off at a school in the rebel-held Yemeni capital, the UN children's agency said on Friday. 

Saudi Arabia has arrested at least eight writers and bloggers, including two U.S. citizens, in an apparent crackdown on supporters of detained women activists whose trial has drawn global censure, campaigners said Friday.

A vast crowd of protestors flooded the streets of Algiers Friday, the first mass demonstrations since the resignation of ailing president Abdelaziz Bouteflika and a show of strength by those pushing demands for reform.

The US envoy tasked with forging a peace deal with the Taliban met with officials in Pakistan on Friday, after telling leaders and various groups in Afghanistan they would be included in future talks.