A joint statement issued by special envoys of Pakistan, the United States, China and Russia after a meeting in Islamabad said they "agreed to continue practical engagement with the Taliban to encourage the implementation of moderate and prudent policies that can help achieve a stable and prosperous Afghanistan as soon as possible."

De Klerk and South Africa's first black president Mandela shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 for leading the "miracle" transition from white rule over the country.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi spoke at the opening of the so-called "troika plus" meeting, which included Thomas West, the new US special envoy for Afghanistan. The delegates are also expected to meet later Thursday with Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

It is the latest step in the United Arab Emirates -- where personal status laws on marriage and divorce had been based on Islamic sharia principles, as in other Gulf states -- to maintain its competitive edge as a regional commercial hub.

The business deals may have been the reason for President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's attraction to the United Arab Emirates, but what business he gets in return is just one aspect of Indonesia’s blossoming relationship with the oil-rich Gulf state.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi "directed the government to start the actual transfer to the government district in the New Administrative Capital starting in December for a trial period of 6 months," he said.

Since 2010, when Iran's nuclear program was hit by the Stuxnet computer virus, Iran and its arch-foes Israel and the United States have regularly accused each other of cyber attacks.

Tehran has had 0.4 millimetres of rain since September 23, compared with 14.3 mm over the same period in 2020, said Mohammad Shahriari, deputy director of the company that supplies the region.

In an interview with US broadcaster CBS News' "60 Minutes", Saad Aljabri -- formerly a top spy and interlocutor between the kingdom's intelligence services and Western governments -- alleged he was targeted after he fled the country following a 2017 power grab by the crown prince.

He also said it would double the emissions cuts it plans to achieve by 2030.

"The variant AY 4.2. that has been discovered in a number of countries in Europe has been identified in Israel," a ministry statement said late Tuesday.

Workers removed floor markings that guide people to social distance in and around the Grand Mosque, which is built around the Kaaba, the black cubic structure towards which Muslims around the world pray. 

Jared Kushner, a former White House adviser married to Ivanka Trump, was a major architect of the deals between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. 

This is the fourth year that drought has devastated Aly's home in southern Madagascar. Now more than one million people, or two out of five residents, of his Grand Sud region require emergency food aid in what the United Nations is calling a "climate change famine."

The accusation adds to pressure on the world's largest social network after a whistleblower told US lawmakers on Tuesday that the company needs to be regulated.

The atomic scientist was hailed as a national hero for transforming his country into the world's first Islamic nuclear power, but regarded by the West as a dangerous renegade responsible for smuggling technology to rogue states.

In response to a question from Russian journalists on whether representatives of the hardline group would be invited to negotiations involving China, India, Iran and Pakistan, Kabulov said: "Yes".

The quake with a magnitude of 5.7 was relatively shallow at 20 kms (12 miles) with an epicentre 102 km (62 miles) east of Quetta, said the US Geological Survey (USGS).

A visit to Washington by Israel's national security adviser, Eyal Hulata, will allow the two allies to share intelligence and develop a "baseline assessment" of how far Tehran's nuclear program has advanced, the official said.

The vote was for 30 members of the 45-strong Shura Council, a body with limited powers that was previously appointed by the emir as an advisory chamber.

General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of US Central Command, said they had personally recommended that some 2,500 troops remain on the ground in Afghanistan.

The Expo site in the dusty Dubai suburbs has remained strictly off-limits during its year-long postponement but the wraps will come off on Thursday at an opening ceremony attended by Emirati royalty.

The money had originally been included in legislation addressing a looming government shutdown and a potential October debt crisis.

The ambassador of the Afghan government ousted by the Taliban last month has also requested to speak, with the UN yet to decide who will represent the country at the world body.

It was the first major defense agreement for Saudi Arabia sent to Congress since President Joe Biden took office on Jan. 20. It comes after criticism of US ties to the kingdom over its human rights record and involvement in the civil war in Yemen, Reuters reported.

Austin traveled to the Gulf to thank US allies for their support during the massive airlift set up after the fall of the Afghan government and the Taliban capture of Kabul on August 15.

"We have decided, after having taken the president, to dissolve the constitution," said a uniformed officer flanked by soldiers toting assault rifles in a video sent to AFP.

Baradar, who heads the Taliban's political office, will be joined by Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of late Taliban co-founder Mullah Omar, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, in senior positions in the government, three sources said.

"We are working very hard (and) we remain hopeful that we will be able to operate it as soon as possible... hopefully in the next few days we will hear some good news," he said.

For America, Biden argued, the only choice in Afghanistan was "leaving or escalating."