LONDON: A senior US official is set to travel to Israel and Turkiye next week to discuss security issues and weapons control, the State Department said on Thursday.

“Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, Mallory Stewart, will travel to Jerusalem and Ankara during the week of Sept. 4-9,” the State Department said in a statement.

RIYADH/DUBAI:Arab countries are braced for a sharp rise in the price of all things sweet after it emerged this week that India, a major supplier of agricultural products to import-reliant Middle East, plans to suspend sugar exports from this October until September next year.

According to three Indian government sources who spoke to Reuters news agency, New Delhi imposed the 11-month ban — the first of its kind in seven years — mainly due to reduced cane yields caused by a lack of rain over the summer monsoon season.

CAIRO: The head of Sudan’s army warned on Thursday that the northeast African country will be divided if the conflict between the military and rival paramilitary force is not resolved.
Sudan plunged into chaos after monthslong tensions between the military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, exploded into open fighting on April 15.

RABAT: Two holidaymakers jet skiing in Morocco were shot dead by the Algerian coast guard when they strayed across the maritime border between two Mediterranean countries, Moroccan media reported on Thursday.
Bilal Kissi and Abdelali Merchouer, both French-Moroccan dual nationals, came under fire after taking a wrong turn off the beach resort of Saidia on Morocco’s northeast tip, the Le360 news website said, citing a witness.

BEIRUT: A man accused of raping his 6-year-old niece, who later died of injuries she sustained during the assault, is facing the death penalty in Lebanon, as are the child’s mother, grandfather and grandmother, who allegedly helped cover up the crime.
They are charged with the premeditated murder of Lynn Taleb, concealing evidence of the crime and protecting the uncle at the expense of the girl’s life. All of the accused are in custody.