RAHAT: Israeli archaeologists on Wednesday unveiled a rare ancient mosque in the country’s south that the antiquities officials said sheds light on the region’s transition from Christianity to Islam.

The remains of the mosque, believed to be more than 1,200 years old, were discovered during works to build a new neighborhood in the Bedouin city of Rahat, the Israel Antiquities Authority said in a statement.

TRIPOLI: A sudden shootout between factions in the Libyan capital this month provided a vivid demonstration of how a political stalemate could trigger fighting between rival groups and end two years of comparative peace.

Much of Libya has for years been dominated by armed forces that control territory and vie for position while formally acting as paid elements of state security, their presence strikingly apparent during a recent Reuters visit.

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s political class was squabbling on Wednesday to agree on a Sunni figure to designate as the future prime minister, ahead of binding parliamentary consultations with President Michel Aoun on Thursday.

Parliamentary blocs attempted to communicate with each other but failed to agree on a name.

CAIRO: Egypt and Qatar are holding talks to expand investments in new areas and increase their volume, especially in the energy sector, said Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Nevin Gamea.

During her participation in the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, Gamea said: “During my current visit to Doha, I presented investment opportunities to the Qatari side in the field of manufacturing industries, specialized industries, textiles and leather industries as a kind of partnership between the two sides.”

JERUSALEM: Israel’s outgoing coalition government will fast-track a bill this week to dissolve parliament, setting up the country for its fifth elections in three years, a Cabinet minister said Tuesday.

The development comes after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Monday that he would disband his alliance of eight ideologically diverse parties, a year after taking office, and send the country to the polls. A series of defections from his Yemina party had stripped the coalition of its majority in parliament.