Syrian regime forces Sunday were set to retake a key motorway connecting the capital Damascus to second city Aleppo following weeks of battles in the rebel-held Idlib region, a monitor said.

An Algerian military court Sunday started hearing an appeal against the 15-year jail term for the brother of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was brought down amid anti-regime protests last year.

Israel on Sunday imposed a ban on Palestinian agricultural exports, in a move the Palestinians blasted as a "dangerous" escalation in a five-month trade war. 

Turkey will change tack in northwestern Syria if agreements over Idlib, a rebel bastion, continue to be violated, the country's defense minister warned in remarks published Sunday.

The Syrian army took control of the strategic northwestern crossroads town of Saraqeb on Saturday in the latest gain of a weeks-long offensive against the country's last major rebel bastion of Idlib.

Turkey threatened on Saturday to respond if any of its military outposts in Syria's last opposition bastion of Idlib came under attack, a day after officials said three of them had been encircled by forces loyal to Damascus. 

Iraq's top Shiite cleric on Friday criticized security forces for not doing more to prevent attacks on anti-government demonstrators, as new figures showed nearly 550 people have been killed since October.

Tunisia fired its ambassador to the U.N. on Friday accusing him of failing to consult the foreign ministry on key issues that diplomatic sources said included Washington's controversial Middle East peace plan.

Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian during clashes in the occupied West Bank on Friday, the Palestinian health ministry said, amid a deadly uptick in violence.

Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell on Friday briefed U.S. leaders on a trip to Iran aimed at easing tensions and discussed a U.S. Middle East plan that he has denounced.