The Afghan conflict could overtake Syria as the deadliest conflict in the world this year, analysts say, as violence surges 17 years after the US-led invasion.

The grim assessment contrasts sharply with the consistently upbeat public view of the conflict from NATO's Resolute Support mission in Kabul, and underscores the growing sense of hopelessness in the war-torn country.

Iran faces a potentially crushing loss of oil exports when US sanctions return in November, but the impact could be blunted by its experience of working around embargoes.

The opening of the Palestinians' first airport, in the presence of US president Bill Clinton, was a symbol of the hopes for independence and peace kindled by the Oslo accords.

In the alley winding between the earthen walls of Old Kabul, Wakil Mohammad Saddeq insists on honouring his visitors with a cup of tea. "You are the first to offer us help without asking for money!" he says.

The use of the death penalty is declining: more than two-thirds of countries have abolished or ceased to use it and executions continued to decrease in 2017, Amnesty International says. 

Yemen, an impoverished country on the Arabian peninsula, has been mired in a deadly conflict between troops loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and Shiite Huthi rebels since 2014.

The Taliban announced Tuesday the death of Jalaluddin Haqqani, a former CIA asset whose eponymous militant group is now considered one of the most dangerous factions fighting Afghan and US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani is clinging to power but finds himself under attack from all sides -- conservatives, reformists and the street -- as he prepares for a grilling in parliament on Tuesday.

Iran's legal challenge against renewed sanctions by the United States goes before the UN's International Court of Justice on Monday. 

A prime minister failing to see out his full term should be a rarity, but in Australia it's become the norm, with a culture of parliamentary back-stabbing that has driven disaffected voters into the arms of fringe parties.