Egypt's president will inaugurate a massive cathedral on Coptic Christmas Eve Sunday amid heavy security, a day after a deadly bomb blast near a church in a country where jihadists have repeatedly targeted Christians.

Two British soldiers have been wounded in eastern Syria by a missile fired by the Islamic State group, an NGO said. 

The U.N. refugee agency has voiced "concern" for the safety of 100 Arab citizens who went missing after seeking shelter in Algeria and others stranded at the border with Niger.

Turkey on Friday hit out at U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for saying Washington will ensure Ankara does not "slaughter" Kurds in Syria as American troops withdraw.

The United Nations on Friday called for the release of Nabeel Rajab, a prominent Bahraini activist sentenced to five years in jail for tweeting criticism of the Yemen war.

Armed men raided the headquarters of Palestinian Authority media in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on Friday, station staff said, causing damage to equipment.

Egypt has asked CBS not to air an interview with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in which he discussed cooperation with Israel in the fight against Sinai jihadists, the U.S. network said.

The U.N. envoy for Yemen will hold a new round of talks with Huthi rebels and the Saudi-backed government in the coming days as the United Nations said Thursday that a ceasefire in the key port city of Hodeida was holding.

U.S. President Donald Trump has offered a rather stark take on the situation in war-wracked Syria, summing it up in two words -- "sand and death" -- while remaining vague about the timing of the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

"So Syria was lost long ago. It was lost long ago. And besides that, I don't want -- we're talking about sand and death. That's what we're talking about," Trump said during a cabinet meeting.

Israeli far-right activists clashed with police Thursday as authorities moved in to clear away two mobile homes illegally set up in the occupied West Bank.