Saudi Arabia

Yemen's dominant Houthi group and its army allies fired a Scud missile at Saudi Arabia which the kingdom says it shot down on June 6, in a major escalation of two months of war. 

Hundreds of schools closed June 4 in South Korea as officials struggled to ease growing panic over an outbreak of the MERS virus that has infected 35 people, killed two and caused thousands to cancel travel plans.

The U.N. Security Council has backed a call by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for a new humanitarian pause to fighting in Yemen, saying peace talks should be held as soon as possible.

The 15-member council said in a unanimous statement June 2 that it was "deeply disappointed" that talks scheduled for Geneva last week were pushed back.

OPEC is set to carry on pumping oil nearly flat-out for months more, content that last year's shock market therapy has revived moribund demand and knocked back growing competition. 

The United States confirmed June 2 that an American envoy has held talks in Oman with Iran-backed Yemeni rebels to convince them to attend a Geneva peace conference in mid-June.

Iraq's leader pleaded June 2 for more global support in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) as he outlined plans to claw back territory from the jihadists in crunch talks with his allies in Paris.

South Korea on June 2 reported its first deaths from MERS, in the largest outbreak outside the Middle East that has infected 25 people and triggered widespread public alarm.

A 58-year-old woman died of acute respiratory failure on Monday and tests later came back positive for the MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) virus, the health ministry said.    

Humanitarian organisations are preparing to launch a fundraising appeal for $500 million (454 million euros) for the crisis created by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Iraq, UNICEF, the United Nations children's agency said on June 1. 

South Korea confirmed three more MERS cases May 29, bringing the total number of patients infected with the potentially deadly virus to 10, including a man who defied a quarantine protocol and travelled to China, health officials said.

Four people were killed when a car exploded near a Shi'ite mosque in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, on May 29, but authorities said militants failed in their bid to hit the mosque itself.

The attack targetted worshippers in al-Anoud mosque during Friday prayers, a ministry spokesperson said, quoted by the Saudi state news agency SPA.