An attack on a boat carrying refugees off the coast of war-torn Yemen in March was almost certainly carried out by the Saudi-led coalition, according to a confidential UN report seen by AFP on Wednesday.

France will set up a processing centre this summer in Libya for asylum seekers trying to reach Europe across the Mediterranean, President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday.

Russia says the United States and its Western allies rushed to judgment and blamed the Syrian government for using sarin nerve gas in an attack on an opposition-held town in Syria without ever visiting the site and ignoring two witnesses presented by Damascus.

It also criticized the report by the fact-finding mission from the chemical weapons watchdog that investigated the incident in Khan Sheikhoun on April 4 which killed more than 90 people, calling it "very biased."

Tunisia's parliament on Wednesday passed a bill designed to "end all violence against women", strengthening protection and help for victims in a move welcomed by rights groups. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Wednesday he wants to expel Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera from Israel amid tensions over a sensitive Jerusalem holy site.

A fallout between Turkey and Israel deepened on Wednesday as the Jewish state hit back at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's criticism of its constraints on Muslims visiting a sensitive holy site in annexed east Jerusalem.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday welcomed Israel's removal of metal detectors from a highly sensitive Jerusalem holy site but said it was "not enough".

Libya's U.N.-backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj has appealed to Italy to send ships into Libyan territorial waters to help combat human trafficking, Rome said Wednesday.

A tense standoff was underway between Israel and Muslim worshippers at a Jerusalem holy site Wednesday despite the removal of metal detectors, with concerns of major unrest later this week if a resolution is not found.

Clashes erupted overnight in a rebel-held enclave outside Damascus, which was also hit by government air strikes despite a truce deal, a monitor said on Wednesday.