Anger over Iran's stranglehold on Baghdad's political system has helped propel an unprecedented protest movement -- and now Iraqi activists are hitting the Islamic Republic where it hurts, with a goods boycott.

Syrian government forces pressed ahead Monday with a new military assault on the country's last rebel stronghold that began last week, an offensive that has set off a mass exodus of civilians fleeing to safer areas near the Turkish border.

Under the cover of airstrikes and heavy shelling, Syrian troops have been pushing into the northwestern province of Idlib toward a major rebel-held town, Maaret al-Numan. The town sits on a key highway linking the capital Damascus with the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's largest.

The United States on Monday welcomed death sentences issued by Saudi Arabia against five people over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

"Today's verdicts were an important step in holding those responsible for this terrible crime accountable," a State Department official told reporters after the ruling, which was lambasted as a sham by Turkey, rights groups and The Washington Post, to which Khashoggi contributed.

Turkey lashed out on Monday at a Saudi court's "scandalous" verdict over the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying those responsible for the murder had been granted immunity. 

The son of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi welcomed a court verdict Monday that saw five people sentenced to death over the killing, saying justice had been served.

As chief of Algeria's military for a record 15 years, General Ahmed Gaid Salah became the country's de facto leader after longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned in April.

His death from a heart attack at age 79, announced by state television on Monday, threatened to deepen Algeria's political crisis at the end of a turbulent year.

Justice was "trampled" on with the death sentence meted out Monday to five Saudis for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Paris-based media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders said.

Thousands of protesters blocked roads and bridges in southern Iraq on Monday, condemning Iranian influence and political leaders who have missed another deadline to agree on a new prime minister.

Algeria's powerful army chief General Ahmed Gaid Salah died of a heart attack at age 79 on Monday, threatening to deepen the country's political crisis at the end of a turbulent year.

Five people were sentenced to death Monday over Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder, but two top aides to the powerful crown prince were exonerated as authorities said the killing was not premeditated.