![Nearly 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored at Beirut’s port exploded on August 4, killing 193 people. [Mohamed Azakir/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/da228e18fd0042368b6eafade626fec4_18.jpeg?resize=570%2C380)
Interpol asked to detain captain and owner of ship that carried thousands of tonnes of ammonium nitrate to Beirut.
Middle East
![Iraqis carry national flags as they demonstrate in the capital Baghdad's Al-Firdous Square during the commemoration of the first anniversary of anti-government protest movement against unemployment, poor public services, and endemic corruption [Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/000_8R82T7.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
Protesters demand youth employment, functioning public services and the guarantee of transparent elections.
The late emir was buried in Kuwait City on Wednesday after his death in the US.
![The deal could ease Sudan’s transition to civilian rule after the overthrow of military strongman Omar al-Bashir last year [File: Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020-09-15T095326Z_1561328478_RC2XYI959VSI_RTRMADP_3_SUDAN-ECONOMY.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
Analysts point to track record of failed peace bids in Sudan, potential rebel spoilers, power plays...
![Ending Sudan's internal conflicts has been a top priority of the transition government in power since last year [File: Samir Bol/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/bcfe8268dd504649b03ee01e742dff77_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Both sides are due to sign the deal in full on Saturday in Juba, the capital of neighbouring South Sudan.
![Al-Raisi’s campaign material seen by the Telegraph shows his long list of professional achievements, honorary titles and academic qualifications [Twitter]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Dsgyh14WsAI_xsl.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Two British citizens accuse Ahmed al-Raisi of presiding over their torture in the UAE.
![Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said discussions would be held under the auspices of the United Nations [Aziz Taher/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020-10-01T123249Z_164719991_RC2O9J9D3CUA_RTRMADP_3_LEBANON-CRISIS-ISRAEL.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
The two neighbours have contested borders for decades, including an area on the edge of three Lebanese energy blocks.
![Elevated stock market valuations in the Gulf pose a potential risk to investors as coronavirus-induced recessions leave economies exposed [File: Abdulrahman Abdullah/Bloomberg]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/326350782.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Lebanon’s debt crisis, a debt test in Oman, low oil prices, and giddy Saudi stock valuations among risks.
![Russian President Vladimir Putin embraces Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Bocharov Ruchei residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi [File: Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin Pool via AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/ab875b9d2210459daf11d0c43ebae63e_8.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Moscow managed to preserve the Syrian regime, but it has failed to achieve all its goals in Syria.
![Esper, due in the country as part of a North Africa tour, will arrive in Algiers after talks in neighbouring Tunisia, before heading to Morocco [Fethi Belaid/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/000_8R43EF.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Visit to Algiers by US defence secretary Mark Esper comes amid deteriorating security situation in the region.
![Turkey's ruling party says the new measures aim to end insults and swearing on social media [Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/abc039a57f2e4dd7a7572da0965977f7_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Laws require social media giants to set up offices in Turkey and include penalties for not removing offending posts.
![The intensification of speech repression coincides with the intensification of Palestinian oppression and dispossession, with Israel's planned formal annexation of Palestinian territory, write the authors [AP Photo/Bernat Armangue]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/8c085132cdea471a844bb206d17cb1a3_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
More than a thousand academics and lawyers call for the repression of speech and scholarship on Palestine to end.
![Arabtec helped to construct Dubai's Burj Khalifa - the world's tallest building - and the Louvre Abu Dhabi [File: Chris Jackson/Getty Images]](/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/201352312154160734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Dubai construction firm to be liquidated due to ‘untenable financial situation’, according to email seen by Reuters.
![Ethnic Armenians volunteer recruits gather at a center where they receive their uniforms and weapons before being dispatched to the frontline near Hadrut [Karen Mirzoyan/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/AP_20274737636485-1.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Armenia, Azerbaijan reject calls for negotiations and Russia’s offer to host talks as fear of broader conflict emerges.