JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told the Arab League Summit on Friday that they must not allow the region to turn into a conflict zone, but reassured the world that “world peace” was near.

The Kingdom hosted the summit in which Syrian President Bashar Assad was welcomed back after a 12-year suspension and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a surprise visit to rally support for his country.

CAIRO: In a symbolic gesture, Sudan’s top army general on Friday fired the paramilitary leader — his former ally turned rival — as the deputy of the country’s governing body, state media reported.
The dismissal by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan of Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the Rapid Support Forces, from the Sovereignty Council comes as the two fueding generals continue to battle for control over this troubled African country.
The month-long conflict has killed at least 705 people, the World Health Organization said Friday.

BEIRUT: Lebanon has received an Interpol red notice requesting the arrest of Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh after a French magistrate issued a warrant this week.
Salameh, 72, has been the target of a series of judicial investigations both at home and abroad on allegations including fraud, money laundering and illicit enrichment.
Lebanon’s top prosecutor Judge Ghassan Oueidat said he was studying the notice to set a date for Salameh’s hearing next week and take the necessary legal actions.

RIYADH: An Armenian women has told a Lebanese news website she was kidnapped in Beirut by Hezbollah in January.

The lady, who spoke anonymously, told Sawt Beirut international, she was visiting Lebanon with her friends to celebrate New Year’s holidays when they were kidnapped and held for four days.

The woman said she and her friends were bundled into the back of a black SUV while they waited for an Uber outside the hotel they were staying in.

ISTANBUL: Turkiye’s Supreme Election Board on Friday confirmed the results of the first round of Turkiye’s presidential election in which neither incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan nor his main challenger, opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, receiving the majority support needed for an outright victory.