Saudi Arabia

Qatar expressed "deep concern" on June 17 over a death sentence handed down by an Egyptian court against ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi and called for his release.

A Yemeni rebel delegation finally arrived in Geneva on June 16 for the second day of U.N.-backed peace talks after being stranded in Djibouti and accused Saudi Arabia of trying to torpedo the negotiations.

The absence of the Iran-backed rebels at the start of the high-stakes talks that were launched on June 15 by UN chief Ban Ki-moon had raised concerns.

Three British sisters are feared to have travelled with their nine children to join up with jihadists in Syria, a lawyer for the children's parents said June 15.

For Turks, the burning question after the June 7  election is whether they will now get the fully democratic, pluralist country that so many of them want. The defeat of President Tayyip Recep Erdo?an's Justice and Development Party (AK Party) does open that prospect, although translating it into reality will be very difficult.

The head of the United Nations opened peace talks on Yemen on June 15 with a call for a humanitarian ceasefire, saying the country was on the verge of a collapse that the Middle East could not withstand. 

Ban Ki-moon said the truce, called to mark the start of the holy month of Ramadan, should last for at least two weeks to allow life-saving supplies into the country. 

Saudi Arabia's stock market, valued at $585 billion, opened up to direct foreign investment for the first time on June 15, as the kingdom seeks an economic boost amid low global oil prices.

Thousands of South Korean schools that were shut to stop the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) reopened on June 15 as the country sought to return to normal, nearly four weeks into an outbreak that shows signs of slowing. 

Türkiye Finans, the largest Islamic bank in Turkey, told regulators that its chief executive Derya Gürerk had resigned from his position on June 12, an unexpected move at a time of growing competition in the sector.

Yemen's warring factions will come together for the first time in Geneva June 15 in a bid to resolve the bloody conflict between Iran-backed Shiite rebels and the government of exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

A more reliable terrestrial broadband network could enable Iraq to become a transcontinental transit route for Internet traffic, a senior executive at one of two firms providing submarine connectivity to the war-torn country told Reuters.