Lebanon s President Michel Aoun began meetings with parliamentarians on Thursday to name a prime minister, after weeks of wrangling delayed agreement on a new government that could work to lift the country from financial crisis. Leading Sunni Muslim politician Saad al-Hariri, a former premier, is on course to be designated again at the formal consultations with parliamentary blocs, sources say. Still, he would face major challenges to navigate Lebanon s fractious power-sharing political landscape and form a cabinet. Any new government will have to contend with a financial meltdown worsening by the day, a COVID-19 outbreak and the fallout of the massive explosion at Beirut port that killed nearly 200 people in August. Former colonial power France sought in August to rally Lebanon s sectarian leaders to tackle the unprecedented crisis, but they have yet to manage the first task: agreeing a new government swiftly. Hariri, long aligned with Western and Gulf states, has presented himself as the candidate to build a new cabinet that can revive French efforts. Paris had set out a roadmap for enacting reforms to unlock foreign aid Lebanon badly needs. Thursday s consultations were postponed from last week amid political rifts. Aoun is required to choose the candidate with the most support from parliament s lawmakers, among which Iran-backed Shi ite Hezbollah and its allies have a majority. With Hariri expected to get enough votes on Thursday barring any last minute hitches, he would be named prime minister for a fourth time, in a country drowning in debt. His coalition government was toppled late last year as mass protests erupted against the ruling elite.

The UN envoy for Libya said Wednesday the two warring factions have agreed on issues that ``directly impact the lives and welfare of the Libyan people, noting that the thorny work to cement a cease-fire in the restive North African country will continue. Stephanie Turco Williams, the UN envoy, cited agreements to open air and land routes in the country, to work to ease inflammatory rhetoric in Libyan media, and to help kickstart Libya s vital oil industry, as talks in Geneva continued this week under her mediation. ``I am pleased to report that the two sides have reached agreement on several important issues which directly impact the lives and welfare of the Libyan people, she said. ``I urge the two parties negotiating here in Geneva to solve all outstanding issues and forge a lasting cease fire agreement. Williams hailed ``emerging hope`` and ``positive developments for Libya s future, while warning of socioeconomic troubles, rising cases of COVID-19 and the continued intervention and meddling of foreign powers in Libya s internal conflict. Libya is split between a UN-supported government in the capital, Tripoli, and rival authorities based in the east. The two sides are backed by an array of local militias as well as regional and foreign powers. The country was plunged into chaos after the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Williams, an American who heads the UN support mission for Libya, said the talks involving the so-called Joint Military Commission will now take up arrangements for Libya s central region, ``paving the way for a cease-fire agreement. She said she was ``quite optimistic about the talks given the ``air of seriousness and commitment shown by the two sides. UN organizers say the round is expected to run through Saturday, and Williams mission ``hopes that the two delegations will reach a solution to all outstanding issues in order to achieve a complete and permanent cease-fire across Libya. The meetings make up the security aspect of three-track talks, also involving political and economic tracks, that are aimed at lifting Libya out of its grueling conflict.

A first official United Arab Emirates delegation arrived in Israel on Tuesday after the two countries normalised ties last month under a US-brokered accord forged largely over shared fears of Iran. An Etihad Airways plane carrying Emirati government officials from Abu Dhabi, with US dignitaries accompanying them, landed at Ben Gurion Airport. They were due to be welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and Finance Minister Israel Katz. The five-hour visit would be restricted to the airport near Tel Aviv, due to coronavirus concerns, Israeli organisers said. The UAE and fellow Gulf state Bahrain in September became the first Arab states in a quarter of a century to sign deals to establish formal ties with Israel, a move that Washington and its allies have said would foster regional peace and stability but which has been rejected by the Palestinians. "This is an historical moment for the UAE country and Israel and we are looking forward to salaam (peace) ... in the region," one of the Etihad pilots could be heard saying in a video posted on Twitter by US Middle East envoy Ari Berkowitz. Berkowitz and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are accompanying the Emirati delegation, which is being led by Economy Minister Abdullah bin Touq al-Mari and Minister of State for Financial Affairs Obaid Humaid al-Tayer, according to a UAE foreign ministry spokeswoman. The US officials had on Sunday joined an Israeli delegation to Bahrain for a signing ceremony to formalise ties. Israel and the UAE have already signed several commercial deals since mid-August, when they first announced they would establish full relations. Israeli officials said the two sides were expected to sign a mutual visa-exemption agreement - Israel s first with an Arab country.

Pamela and Afshin Raghebi will celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary this December -- but whether it s a joyful occasion or one marred by the pain of their ongoing forced separation depends on the outcome of the November 3 election. "I need him home," Pamela tearfully told AFP, two years after her husband left the US to complete a routine legal process to finalize his permanent residency, but was prevented from returning because of the "Muslim ban." In June 2018, the Supreme Court upheld Donald Trump s third travel ban, which focuses its most restrictive measures on citizens of five Muslim-majority countries -- Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen -- as well as North Korea and Venezuela. An analyst at the Cato Institute estimated that as of October 2019, more than 15,000 spouses and adopted minor children of US citizens were impacted, a figure that could be far higher now. But the numbers don t tell the story of the families torn apart and lives uprooted because of a president who once declared "Islam hates us." Forced apart The Raghebis met in the summer of 2010, when Pamela was working as a receptionist at a Seattle retirement home and Afshin, a glazier, was assigned there on a project. "Right away, I was impressed with how gentle he was with our residents," said Pamela. One day she approached him for a chat, they went on their first date, and were married by the end of that year. The couple started their own window and glass business, building together a happy life. Afshin, 51, was born in Iran and had been forced to become a child soldier in the war against Iraq. He later took up a job as a chauffeur, and was assaulted by secret police for refusing to spy on his boss. He fled to Sweden in his twenties to stay with his sister, and, like her, became a Christian. But with little by the way of formal training, he couldn t remain there and eventually came to the US in 2006. Afshin intended to apply for asylum based on his fear of religious persecution if he went back to Iran, but worried about being deported and didn t follow up. The couple applied for Afshin to become a permanent resident in 2016 after immigration services were satisfied they had a bona fide relationship. But because of Afshin s undocumented entry, they had to procure an additional waiver, another arduous process which they nevertheless achieved. To complete the process, Afshin had to exit and re-enter the US, but has been stranded in Turkey since 2018 because of the travel ban. "I felt like my country had divorced me from my husband," said Pamela -- and the trauma has been compounded by mounting financial hardship. Go vote! Some stories have had a happier ending following years of struggle, like that of Ramez Alghazzouli, 31, and his wife, 28-year-old Asmaa Khadem Al Arbaiin. They were acquaintances at college in Damascus but the Syrian war scattered their families to different parts of the world. Ramez settled in Arizona where he became a business analyst for the government. He reconnected with Asmaa, whose family moved to Turkey in 2014, and they developed a romantic relationship before getting married by proxy in 2015. He then petitioned for her to join him -- but when her visa appointment came up in 2018, the officer told her she couldn t be granted a visa because of the ban. Ramez, who has deep faith in America s institutions, began contacting his lawmakers, immigration officials and even the FBI and CIA to help get a waiver. When none of that seemed to work, he turned to the media. Finally in October 2019, an email landed informing them Asmaa s visa had been cleared. "You would think it s a miracle after fighting it that hard and that long," said Ramez. Last month, they had their first child, Radwan. Former vice president Joe Biden has promised to undo the ban on day one if he wins, but even if that happens, it will be too late for many, Cato Institute immigration analyst David Bier said. "We re talking about relationships broken up, marriages ended, we re talking about people who were sponsored by Americans to come to the United States and those sponsors are no longer around to sponsor them." That s why campaign groups like the No Muslim Ban Ever coalition want the "NO BAN Act," which passed the House this summer and would make discrimatory bans illegal, to be passed by Congress. Pamela, who has Trump supporters in her own family, said people should remember America is a nation of immigrants and gets its strength from its diversity. "Go vote, vote, vote! We have to have a new government," she said.

Israel and Bahrain will officially establish diplomatic relations on Sunday at a ceremony in Manama, an Israeli official said, after the two states reached a US-brokered normalisation deal last month. A visiting delegation from Israel and officials in Bahrain will sign a "joint communique (that) is the establishment of full diplomatic relations," an Israel official in Manama told reporters. Once the text is signed at a ceremony scheduled for Sunday evening, Israel and Bahrain will be free to open embassies in each other s countries, the official said. The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain became the third and fourth Arab states to agree to normalise ties with Israel, following Egypt s peace deal with Israel in 1979 and a 1994 pact with Jordan. Sunday s meeting follows a September 15 ceremony at the White House when Israel, the UAE and Bahrain inked the so-called "Abraham Accords" brokered by President Donald Trump s administration. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and special assistant for international negotiations, Avi Berkowitz, are due in Bahrain for the ceremony. In addition to the joint communique establishing diplomatic ties, Israel and Bahrain are expected to sign "six to eight" MoUs, including on economic cooperation, the Israeli official said. The official said he could not outline the substance of all the agreements scheduled for signature on Sunday, but security cooperation is likely to feature prominently in bilateral talks. Earlier this month, Israel s Mossad spy agency chief Yossi Cohen held talks in Bahrain with top security and intelligence officials on "topics of mutual interest," according to the Bahrain News Agency. Significant shift The Palestinians have condemned the Gulf agreements with Israel as "a stab in the back" for their aspirations to establish an independent state of their own. The deals mark a distinct shift in a decades-old status quo where Arab countries have tried to maintain unity against Israel over its treatment of the stateless Palestinians. Israel s right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that more Mideast states want ties with Israel as priorities have shifted, arguing that countries now value lucrative trade opportunities above the Palestinian conflict. But key player Saudi Arabia has said it will not follow its allies Bahrain and the UAE in establishing diplomatic relations without a resolution to the Palestinian issue. Israel s parliament on Thursday ratified the normalisation agreement with the UAE. A separate vote on the Bahrain pact is expected once the details are finalised.

The warring sides in Yemen s long conflict will exchange some 1,081 prisoners Thursday and Friday, under a deal struck in Switzerland last month, a senior rebel official said Thursday. "The transaction will be executed, with God s help, on the scheduled dates today and tomorrow," Abdel Kader Mortaza, the rebel official in charge of prisoner affairs, said in a tweet. "The preparations have been completed by all parties," he added. Yemen s government, which is supported by a Saudi-led military coalition, and Iran-backed Houthi rebels resolved to swap some 15,000 detainees as part of a peace deal brokered by the UN in Stockholm back in 2018. The two sides have since undertaken sporadic prisoner exchanges, but this week s planned swap would mark the first large-scale handover since the war erupted in 2014. UN envoy Martin Griffiths hailed it as a "very important milestone" when the agreement was struck after a week of talks in Switzerland last month. A spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is handling the logistics of the operation, said their teams were present at a number of different airports involved in the transfer. "The preparations are ongoing, if everything goes as planned, we hopefully expect the release operation to take place in the coming few hours," she told AFP on Thursday morning. Al-Masirah television, which is controlled by the Houthis, said the first group of insurgent prisoners was expected to arrive on Thursday at the international airport in the rebel-held capital Sanaa. The planned prisoner exchange comes after the release Wednesday of two Americans held captive in Yemen, in an apparent swap for some 240 Houthi supporters who were allowed to return home after being stranded in Oman. The rebels also sent back the remains of a third American who died in captivity.

In a move reviving tensions with Greece, Ankara sent the Oruc Reis vessel to a disputed area near the Greek island of Kastellorizo off Turkey s coast on Monday. Greece said it was a "major escalation" of their dispute over maritime rights and claims to hydrocarbon resources in the region. "Oruc Reis has reached the area in the eastern Mediterranean where it will carry out its activities. Tests began yesterday and we are beginning to receive the first seismic readings today," Fatih Donmez, the Turkish energy minister, told a conference by video link. Turkey had withdrawn the vessel from contested waters in the region last month to "allow diplomacy" before an European Union summit at which sanctions against Turkey were discussed. On Tuesday, the United States slammed Turkey s decision to send the vessel back, accusing Ankara of unilaterally stoking tensions and "deliberately" complicating the resumption of talks with Greece.

The U.S.-mediated talks follow three years of intense diplomacy by Washington and were announced less than a month after the United States stepped up pressure on political allies of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah. They also come after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain agreed to establish full relations with Israel, under U.S.-brokered deals which realign some of Washington s closest Middle East allies against Iran. Hezbollah, which fought a five-week conflict with Israel in 2006, says the talks are not a sign of peace-making with its long-time enemy. Israel s energy minister also said expectations for Wednesday s meeting should be realistic. "We are not talking about negotiations for peace and normalization, rather an attempt to solve a technical, economic dispute that for 10 years has delayed the development of offshore natural resources," minister Yuval Steinitz tweeted. Nevertheless, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has described the decision to go ahead with the talks as historic, and said Washington looked forward to separate talks later over disagreements on the two countries land border. Wednesday s meeting will be hosted by the United Nations peacekeeping force UNIFIL, which has monitored the disputed land boundary since Israel s military withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000, ending a 22-year occupation. A Lebanese security source says the two sides will meet together in the same room in UNIFIL s base in south Lebanon, but will direct their talks through a mediator. Disagreement over the sea border had discouraged oil and gas exploration near the disputed line. That may be a minor irritation for Israel, which already pumps gas from huge offshore fields. For Lebanon, yet to find commercial reserves in its own waters, the issue is more pressing.

Lebanon s Saad Hariri, a former prime minister seeking a new term, said Monday he would meet all key parties to survey their commitment to a French rescue plan. The country is bankrupt, but the ruling elite has so far failed to respond to calls by French President Emmanuel Macron for the rapid formation of an independent government. Hariri, himself one of Lebanon s hereditary political barons, stepped down from the position of prime minister a year ago under pressure from a massive protest movement calling for an end to sectarian-based politics. "I will send a delegation to talk with all the main political blocs, to ensure that they are still fully committed" to Macron s initiative, Hariri said, after meeting President Michel Aoun. Macron visited Lebanon two days after the August 4 Beirut port explosion that disfigured the city, and returned three weeks later to check on the status of reforms he conditioned international support on. The roadmap Macron laid out for debt-ridden Lebanon included a two-week deadline for the formation of a tighter and independent government of experts, that would only stay in office a few months. A new prime minister, Mustapha Adib, was designated -- but he threw in the towel after meeting resistance from the top Shiite parties that sought guarantees they would retain the finance ministry. Hariri, who has already served two terms as Lebanese premier and has close ties with France, has since resurfaced as the most likely candidate to take over. "I am convinced that President Macron s initiative is the only and last remaining opportunity for our country to stop the collapse and rebuild Beirut," Hariri said, according to a statement from his office. Hariri last week said he was a possible candidate to head a new government to stem the country s economic collapse. His series of meetings comes ahead of parliamentary consultations to appoint a new premier which are scheduled to start on Thursday.

Israel will oppose any U.S. sale of F-35 warplanes to Qatar, Israel s intelligence minister said on Sunday, responding to a Reuters report that the Gulf Arab country had submitted a formal request to buy the stealthy fighter jets.

A top U.N. official Thursday condemned recent clashes in Yemen s strategic port city of Hodeida, which have left dozens killed and wounded, urging the country s warring parties to immediately stop the fighting. Since Saturday, clashes have flared up between Yemen s Houthi rebels and government forces south of the port in Hodeida, which handles about 70% of Yemen s commercial and humanitarian imports. Yemeni officials said Wednesday the death toll had reached 52 and that around 70 people were wounded, including two dozen civilians. ``This military escalation not only constitutes a violation of the Hodeida ceasefire agreement but it runs against the spirit of the ongoing UN-facilitated negotiations that aim to achieve a nationwide ceasefire, humanitarian and economic measures and the resumption of the political process, said U.N. Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths in a statement. Griffiths said he is following with ``deep concern reports of civilian casualties, including women and children. ¨I have been engaging with all sides. I call on them to immediately stop the fighting, respect the commitments they made under the Stockholm agreement,`` he said. In 2018, heavy fighting erupted in Hodeida after government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition moved in to wrest control of the strategic city from the Houthis. After month of clashes, the warring sides signed a U.N.-brokered agreement in Sweden in December 2018 that included a cease-fire in the port city and an exchange of more than 15,000 prisoners. The deal, seen as an important first step toward ending the conflict, was never fully implemented. On Monday, the U.N. mission to Yemen called for an immediate halt of violence in order ``not to put the population at further risk and jeopardize the delivery of humanitarian assistance. The conflict in Yemen began with the 2014 takeover of the capital Sanaa by the Iranian-backed Houthis. A Saudi-led coalition allied with the government has been fighting the Houthis since March 2015. The war in Yemen has spawned the world s worst humanitarian crisis, leaving millions suffering from food and medical shortages. It has killed over 112,000 people, including fighters and civilians, according to a database project that tracks violence.

Half of the population of the breakaway enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh have been displaced since fierce fighting erupted more than a week ago between Armenian separatists and Azerbaijan, separatist officials said Wednesday. "According to our preliminary estimates, some 50 percent of Karabakh s population and 90 percent of women and children -- or some 70,000-75,000 people -- have been displaced," Karabakh s rights ombudsman Artak Beglaryan told AFP.

Iran s Health Ministry said on Monday nearly the whole country was on a coronavirus red alert as cases and deaths rose to record levels, with a member of the state task force s warning field hospitals might be needed if people flout the rules. Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told state television that 26 of Iran s 31 provinces were "red" zones, the highest alert level, while four were at the next "orange" level. Authorities registered a record high 3,902 new cases in the past 24 hours, with the total number of identified cases in the worst-hit country in the Middle East rising to 475,674, Lari said. She said 235 patients had died in the past 24 hours, equalling a daily death toll high set on July 28, bringing the total death toll to 27,192. Officials have complained that many have defied regulations to wear face masks and some families used lockdowns to go on trips, helping spread the virus with hospitals nearly full. "If people keep going on weekend trips..., our patients might have to go to field hospitals," Masoud Mardani, a member of the state coronavirus task force, told Khabaronline website. On Saturday, schools, libraries, mosques and other public institutions in the capital Tehran closed for a week as part of measures to stem the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases. Similar closures have been also imposed in Zanjan province, northwest of Tehan, and cities in several other provinces, shutting museums, theatres, gyms, cafes and hair salons, state media said. Because of coronavirus concerns, Iran has banned flights to Iraq to block trips by Iranians to the neighbouring country for the annual pilgrimage of Arbaeen, which draws large crowds. Land borders to Iraq have also been closed. After stopping flights to Turkey, Iran s Civil Aviation Organization said on Monday one flight per day would be allowed in each direction.

The United Arab Emirates foreign minister said on Tuesday, in a joint statement with Israeli and German counterparts, that the most important thing that must be emphasized today is the return of hope to Palestinians and Israelis to work for a two-state solution, UAE state news agency (WAM) reported. Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan said he also discussed with Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi in Berlin cooperation in the energy field, WAM said.

After a coronavirus-related delay, Israel s navy is preparing for the long-awaited arrival of its next generation of missile boats, giving it a powerful new tool to defend its strategic natural gas industry from the threat of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The first missile boat of “Project Magen is scheduled to arrive by early December, with three more of the German-made corvettes scheduled to arrive over the next two years. “It s bigger. It s newer. It s faster. It s better, said Rear Adm. Eyal Harel, head of Israeli naval operations, during a rare tour of Israel s offshore Leviathan gas field. A massive gas platform stood just a few hundred meters (yards) away. The vessels, commonly known as the “Saar 6,” will be at the forefront of Israeli efforts to protect its 200-mile exclusive economic zone. The natural gas industry, seen as a national asset, is at the heart of those efforts. Over a decade after finding sizeable reserves off its Mediterranean coast, Israel now generates some 60% of its electricity from natural gas, according to the national electric company, and has begun to export gas to its Arab neighbors Jordan and Egypt. Israel is also pursuing a project with Greece and Cyprus in hopes of creating an Eastern Mediterranean gas pipeline to Europe. With so much at stake, Hezbollah has identified Israeli gas installations as high-priority targets. In a 2018 speech, the group s leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, said he could destroy Israeli gas assets “within a few hours” if there was a government order to do so. Hezbollah is part of an alliance that dominates Lebanese politics and government. Israel takes such threats seriously. During a monthlong war in 2006, a Hezbollah cruise-missile strike on an Israeli “Saar 5” warship killed four soldiers. The conflict is believed to have killed between 1,191 and 1,300 Lebanese people, and 165 Israelis. It severely damaged Lebanese civil infrastructure, and displaced approximately one million Lebanese and 300,000–500,000 Israelis. Lt. Col. Eitan Paz, a flotilla commander, said the new vessels would bring a welcome upgrade to the aging Saar 5 s, which are nearly 30 years old. He said they would be equipped with newer and more powerful radar and other electronic systems, and handle rough seas much better than their predecessors. The 90-meter (295-foot) vessels are equipped with rocket and missile defense systems, anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, torpedoes and an upgraded launching pad for Israel s newest attack helicopters. “Physically, it s not much bigger than the Saar 5,” he said. “But it adds all of these systems. He said the first boat, the INS Magen, or “Shield, was supposed to arrive in August, but delivery was delayed due to the coronavirus. He said it would be deployed immediately and reach full operational capacity within several months after it is outfitted with Israeli weapons systems in several phases. Since the 2006 war, Hezbollah is believed to have greatly beefed up its arsenal with some 150,000 rockets and missiles, according to Israeli estimates. Israel also accuses the group of trying to develop precision-guided missiles, which would make that arsenal far more lethal. Harel said the navy s main concerns are Chinese-made C-802 missiles, like the one that hit the Israeli ship in 2006, and Russian-made “Yakhont” anti-ship missiles possessed by Hezbollah s ally Syria. But he said the military has learned lessons from that war. “We are prepared and we will be even more prepared when we have the new battleships,” he said. Israel agreed to buy the vessels in a 2015 deal valued at roughly 430 million euros ($480 million at the time), with the German government covering about one quarter of the cost. Several Israeli businessmen, including confidants of Israel s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a former commander of the navy, are suspects in a graft scandal connected to the purchase of the warships and submarines from German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp. Netanyahu, who is on trial in three other corruption cases, was not named as a suspect in the scandal and no one active in the Israeli navy has been connected.

The counter-terrorism division of Iraq s autonomous Kurdish region on Wednesday accused the Hashed al-Shaabi, a state-sponsored paramilitary network dominated by pro-Iran forces, of targeting US forces in a rocket attack. "Six rockets were fired from Nineveh province by the Hashed al-Shaabi, targeting Arbil airport," where US troops are based, on Wednesday, it said in a statement. Souran Ali, a commander of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDK-I) -- an Iranian opposition group that operates in Iraq s Kurdish region -- earlier said three rockets had been fired, without causing casualties. Three rockets "targeted at 8.30pm (1730 GMT) a headquarters of the PDK-I two kilometres" from Arbil airport, he said. Video footage circulating online purported to show fires started by the rockets. Hoshyar Zebari, a former Iraqi foreign minister and an Iraqi Kurdish politician, said on Twitter that the rockets were fired by the "same groups who are attacking #USEmbassy in #Baghdad and its convoys. Action is needed to stop it." Around 40 rocket attacks have targeted US interests in Iraq since early August, including one on Monday that hit a village close to Baghdad airport, where American troops are stationed. That attack killed five children and two women from the same family. The US State Department on Tuesday pointed the finger of blame at Iran-backed militias operating in Iraq, saying they "pose an unacceptable danger" in Iraq. Washington has threatened to close its embassy in Iraq and withdraw its 3,000 troops from the country unless the rockets stop.

Kuwait s parliament swore in on Wednesday the country s new emir, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, and prepared to receive the body of his half-brother, the late ruler Sheikh Sabah who died in the US at the age of 91. The body of Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, an acclaimed diplomat and mediator who ruled for 14 years, is expected to arrive in Kuwait City later on Wednesday. He died the day before in Minnesota where he had been undergoing treatment in hospital since July. According to the royal court, the funeral will be "restricted to the emir s relatives" -- a move likely designed to avoid large crowds amid the coronavirus pandemic. Kuwait s new leader, 83-year-old Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf, was sworn in at an 0700 GMT session of the National Assembly. The country has already begun a 40-day period of national mourning. Sheikh Sabah earned a reputation as a shrewd, unshakeable leader who helped steer his country through the 1990 Iraqi invasion, crashes in global oil markets and upheavals in parliament and on the streets. World leaders and Kuwaitis alike have hailed the legacy of the late emir, architect of the nation s modern foreign policy and mediator in some of the worst crises to grip the Gulf. "This man was the safety valve of the Arab world, not just for Kuwait," Bandar al-Dahani, a Kuwaiti citizen, told AFP. "God willing, that goodness will be in Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf and he will follow the emir s path." Generational transition looms Sheikh Nawaf, who has held high office for decades, takes over with Kuwait facing the repercussions of the coronavirus crisis, which triggered a sharp decline in oil prices and severe economic consequences for Gulf states. The elder statesman, who was named heir apparent in 2006, served as defence minister when Iraqi troops rolled into the oil-rich emirate in 1990, and also as interior minister in the face of challenges from Islamist militants. The new leader is popular within the ruling Al-Sabah family and is reported to have been a consensus choice for ruler. He also enjoys a reputation for modesty and has largely maintained a low profile. Major policy changes are not expected during his reign, even after the Gulf underwent a seismic shift with Kuwait s neighbours, the UAE and Bahrain, opting to establish relations with Israel. Normalisation with Israel is highly unpopular among the Kuwaiti public, which largely supports the Arab world s historic position of demanding a resolution of the Palestinian cause before giving diplomatic concessions to Israel. Despite expectations for a smooth succession, there could be more spirited debate over who the new crown prince should be. Kuwait s constitution stipulates that the ruler should be a descendant of the nation s founder, Mubarak al-Sabah, but the throne has alternated between the descendants of his sons, Salem and Jaber, for four decades. Contestants for the newly vacated role of crown prince include Sheikh Sabah s son and former deputy prime minister Nasser Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, a Kuwaiti political heavyweight. "Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed should be viewed more as a caretaker than as a watershed new leader," said Cinzia Bianco, a research fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

The chief of Afghanistan s peace negotiating team said Tuesday on a visit to Pakistan that the time has come for the two neighboring countries to shun the suspicion, ``stale rhetoric and tired conspiracy theories that have dogged past relations. Abdullah Abdullah is in Pakistan on a bridge-building mission meant to mend deep-rooted mistrust between the two countries. It was his first visit in 12 years. Abdullah told the Institute of Strategic Studies in the federal capital of Islamabad that the two neighbors are on the threshold of a new relationship characterized by ``mutual respect, sincere cooperation and shared prosperity. ``I am a firm believer that after many troubling years, we now need to go beyond the usual stale rhetoric and shadowy conspiracy theories that have held us back, Abdullah said. ``We cannot afford to pursue business as usual. We need fresh approaches and our people demand it. It is more urgent than ever to look to our region as one region. His statements come ahead of meetings later Tuesday with Pakistan s powerful army chief and prime minister. His visit also comes at a crucial time in Afghanistan s troubled history as a government-appointed negotiation team is in the Gulf state of Qatar brokering an end to war with its Taliban foes. Even before coming to power in 2018, Pakistan s Prime Minister Imran Khan has advocated for a political end to Afghanistan s war and has been a strong critic of Washington s so-called war on terror saying it has left tens of thousands of Pakistanis and Afghans dead. But many in Afghanistan have been critical of the support the Taliban received in Pakistan following the collapse of their rule in 2001 with the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan. Pakistan argues its relationship with the Taliban was what gave it leverage to press the religious militia into negotiations. Still, Afghans are deeply suspicious of Pakistan and government officials fear Pakistan s continued involvement in their country as a means to counter its hostile neighbor India s influence in Afghanistan. Pakistan and India have gone to war three times and both Pakistan and India accuse each other of using Afghan territory to undermine stability in the region. Pakistan has come under international criticism for its support for some militant groups and opposition to others. While Pakistan s military and politicians say that policy has been relegated to the past, Islamabad s neighbors remain suspicious. ``We do not want a terrorist footprint in our country or to allow any entity to pose a threat to any other nation, Abdullah said Tuesday. ``The current intra-Afghan talks offer the best hope to put the war behind and using patience, dialogue and compromise to agree to unite the country. Abdullah and the United States, which brokered the peace deal with the Taliban to start negotiations with the government, have been pressing for talks to be accompanied by a reduction in violence. The Taliban have refused. ``We call on all sides to agree to seriously reduce violence and protect civilians from further harm as we aim for a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire, Abdullah said. Still the violence continues and on Tuesday in Afghanistan s central Day Kundi province a roadside bomb killed at least 14 civilians, including five children, as they travelled from one district to another, said Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian. ``Peace is not only an Islamic tenet and duty, but it is also that unique historical opportunity that should not be squandered, said Abdullah. ``Now that the ice has been broken, we all have a role and a responsibility to help it move toward fruition and prevent a relapse.

The United States and Greece called on Monday for a peaceful resolution of maritime disputes in the east Mediterranean as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo began a two-day trip to Greece amid increased regional tension over energy resources. NATO allies Greece and Turkey, at loggerheads on a range of issues, have agreed to resume exploratory talks over contested maritime claims following weeks of tensions that culminated in a collision between their warships. "The United States and Greece .. reaffirmed their belief that maritime delimitation issues should be resolved peacefully in accordance with international law," the United States and Greece said in a joint statement after Pompeo met his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias. The two countries are also ready to use "all appropriate means" to safeguard regional stability, they said after meeting in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki. Pompeo has previously said the United States is "deeply concerned" about Turkish actions in the east Mediterranean. Ankara infuriated Athens last month by sending a seismic survey ship into disputed waters, escorted by gunboats, to map out sea territory for possible oil and gas drilling in an area thought to be rich in energy resources. Turkey then recalled the vessel, saying it wished to give diplomacy a chance. Complicating the geopolitical situation in the region, Turkey has signed a maritime demarcation deal with Libya which conflicts with a rival deal between Greece and Egypt. The United States hopes to build up its energy ties with Greece, which seeks to become an energy hub in the Balkans and help Europe to diversify its energy resources. Athens already imports large quantities of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG). It is developing a floating LNG storage and regasification unit off the port of Alexandroupolis, which is expected to channel gas to Bulgaria and from there to central Europe by early 2023. Greece is selling a majority stake in the port of Alexandroupolis and is also looking for an investor to operate part of the Kavala port facilities in northern Greece.

Syria s foreign minister accused Turkey on Saturday of being ``one of the main sponsors of terror in his country and the region, and said it is guilty of ``a war crime and a crime against humanity`` for cutting water to more than a dozen towns that resisted Turkish occupation. In unusually harsh language, Walid al-Moallem said ``the Turkish regime reigns supreme`` when it comes ``to sponsors and financiers of terrorism.`` He said in a prerecorded speech to the first-ever high-level meeting of the U.N. General Assembly held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic that the cutoff of water supplies endangered civilian lives, especially during the coronavirus crisis. The nine-year Syrian conflict, which initially began as a civil war, later became a regional proxy fight. Turkey, which now controls a zone in northern Syria, has backed opposition fighters against Syrian President Bashar Assad, Syrian Kurdish fighters and the Islamic State extremist group. Al-Moallem also accused Turkey of moving ``terrorists and mercenaries _ referred to by some as `moderate opposition -- from Syria to Libya,`` violating Iraq s sovereignty, using refugees ``as bargaining chips against Europe and laying claim ``by force to energy resources in the Mediterranean. ``The current Turkish regime has become a rogue and outlaw regime under international law, the Syrian minister said. ``Its policies and actions, which threaten the security and stability of the whole region, must be stopped. Turkey s U.N. Mission said it ``rejects Syrian regime s delusional statement, ridden with ludicrous allegations, in its entirety. ``It s shameful and unacceptable that the murderous Syrian regime which lost its legitimacy long ago continues to misuse (the) U.N. General Assembly general debate to distort the facts, said a mission spokesperson, who spoke on condition of anonymity. ``The Syrian regime is responsible for death, mutilation, abduction, starvation and enforced disappearance of millions of Syrians,`` the spokesperson said. ``Its crimes against humanity, violations of international humanitarian law and the war crimes have been documented in countless U.N. reports. Al-Moallem declared that the Syrian government ``will spare no effort to end the occupation by all means possible under international law of American and Turkish forces. U.S. troops are deployed in the country to fight the Islamic State group. ``The actions of these forces, taken directly or through their terrorist agents, secessionist militias, or manufactured and illegitimate entities, are null and void, with no legal effect, he said. Al-Moallem, who is also deputy prime minister, denounced U.S. sanctions, saying they are blocking the delivery of life-saving medicine and equipment during the pandemic. He called the ``Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act passed by the U.S. Congress an ``inhumane attempt to suffocate Syrians, just like George Floyd and others were cruelly suffocated in the United States, and just like Israel suffocates Palestinians on a daily basis. Floyd, a handcuffed Black man, died May 25 after a white officer used his knee on Floyd s neck to pin him to the ground. The officer has been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. Al-Moallem called on all countries affected by unilateral sanctions ``and those that reject such measures to close ranks against them and alleviate their impact on our peoples ... through cooperation, coordination, and concrete political, economic and commercial means. On the political front, he said Syria s government hopes a committee given the responsibility of drafting a new constitution for the country ``will succeed. But, he said, this will be possible only ``if there is no external interference whatsoever in its work and by any party.

The energy ministers of the United Arab Emirates and Israel discussed possible cooperation and investment opportunities, including natural gas exports to Europe, in a video call on Wednesday, an Israeli statement said. Israel and the UAE signed an agreement on Sept. 15 to establish diplomatic relations, an accord that Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said in the statement presented a "historic opportunity" for energy development in the region. "I spoke (with the UAE energy minister) on cooperating in linking power grids and developing the natural gas market for exports via pipeline to Europe ... as well as other projects," the statement quoted Steinitz as saying. The statement, released by Steinitz s office, said he proposed the UAE join an Egypt-based energy forum that seeks to promote natural gas exports from the east Mediterranean. "They (the UAE) said they would examine the issue," the Israeli statement said. Egypt, Israel, Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Jordan signed a charter on Tuesday establishing the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF). The group unites regional rivals of Turkey, which has been locked in a bitter dispute with European Union members Greece and Cyprus over gas drilling rights in the region. In a report on the Israeli and UAE ministers discussion, the UAE state news agency WAM said they spoke about possible investment opportunities in oil, gas and green energy.