MUSCAT -- Iranian and U.S. delegations held their latest round of talks on Friday in Muscat, Oman, amid a weeks-long standoff, offering a glimmer of hope for de-escalating the regional tensions at the negotiation table.
While both sides have agreed to reconvene and continue their discussions, little headway was made on a range of key differences, including uranium enrichment. (Iran-US-Talks)
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CAIRO -- Egypt fully supports the renewed negotiations between the United States and Iran mediated and hosted by Oman, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Friday in a statement.
There are "no military solutions" to the tensions, and the only viable path forward is through dialogue and negotiations, it said. (Egypt-Iran-US Talks-Support)
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BEIRUT -- Lebanon and Syria signed an agreement here on Friday to transfer convicted Syrian prisoners from Lebanese jails to Syria, with the deal set to take effect on Saturday morning and initially covering around 300 inmates, Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) reported.
The agreement, signed between senior Lebanese officials and a Syrian delegation including justice authorities chief Mazhar al-Wais, and with the presence of Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, allows the repatriated prisoners to serve the remainder of their sentences in Syria, the NNA reported. (Lebanon-Syria-Prisoners transfer)
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ADEN, Yemen -- Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) issued a decree on Friday evening announcing the formation of a new cabinet, led by Prime Minister Shaya Mohsen al-Zindani, according to the official news agency Saba.
The PLC issued the decree approving the new cabinet, which comprises 35 ministers, weeks after the resignation of the previous government headed by Salem Bin Buraik amid deep divisions within Yemen's internationally recognized administration. (Yemen-PLC-Cabinet) ■
