Some personnel have been asked to depart the United States’ Al Udeid military base in Qatar, two diplomatic sources told AFP on Wednesday, with the Gulf state saying “regional tensions” were behind the move.

A criminal complaint filed by two former employees of veteran Spanish singer Julio Iglesias accuses him of “human trafficking” and sexual crimes, according to advocacy groups.

Nigeria has hired a US lobbying firm to help maintain US support and counter what it has called misinformation by Christian Evangelical groups and other US lobbyists about what its government is doing to protect Christians in the country.

The Israeli military said it had killed six militants in an updated toll from an exchange of fire in Gaza the day before, accusing them of violating the ceasefire in the territory.

Iran’s judiciary chief vowed fast-track trials for suspects arrested over a wave of protests, which the authorities have dismissed as “riots”, state television said.

Actor Kiefer Sutherland was arrested Monday on suspicion of assaulting a ride-share driver, according to Los Angeles police.

At least 648 protesters have been killed in the crackdown by Iranian security forces on a protest movement that has shaken the Islamic republic, Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) said on Monday, warning the actual toll could be far higher.

Uganda’s opposition leader told AFP on Monday that he would call for protests if President Yoweri Museveni rigs this week’s election and said he would welcome an intervention by the United States.

A military escalation between the United States and Iran would have grave consequences for the region, Qatar said on Tuesday after Washington threatened strikes in response to a government crackdown on protests in the Islamic Republic.

Pope Leo received Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at the Vatican on Monday, the Holy See said.

Anti-government chants filled the streets of Iran’s capital on Saturday night, as protesters pressed the biggest movement against the Islamic republic in more than three years despite a deadly crackdown under cover of an internet blackout.