Lawyers

• Britain's Blair says 2003 Iraq invasion played role in Islamic State rise

  Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair acknowledged the 2003 invasion of Iraq played a part in the rise of the Islamic State militant group, and apologized for some mistakes in planning the war, in an interview broadcast on Sunday.

• Iran leader demands Saudi Arabia apologise for haj deaths

  Iran's supreme leader has said Saudi Arabia should apologise for a crush outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca that killed 769 worshippers performing the annual haj pilgrimage, Khamenei's website said on Sunday.

• Iran deal reached, Obama hails step towards 'more hopeful world'

  Iran and six major world powers reached a nuclear deal on Tuesday, capping more than a decade of negotiations with an agreement that could transform the Middle East.

• Turkey faces delicate battle against Islamic State sympathizers at home

  Defne Bayrak's husband was a suicide bomber who killed CIA operatives in a 2009 attack in Afghanistan. Now, she is among the hundreds of Turks using social media to show support for Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.

• Turkey's Erdogan holds call with Pakistani PM over Yemen crisis

  Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed the Yemen crisis with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a telephone call on Saturday, the Pakistani embassy said, a day after he held similar talks with the Saudi king and the emir of Qatar.

• Saudi Arabia building up military near Yemen border - U.S. officials

  Saudi Arabia is moving heavy military equipment including artillery to areas near its border with Yemen, U.S. officials said on Tuesday, raising the risk that the Middle East’s top oil power will be drawn into the worsening Yemeni conflict.

• Kerry briefs Iran's Gulf rivals on nuclear talks

  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met Gulf Arab foreign ministers in Riyadh on Thursday to brief them on progress in the nuclear talks with Iran and offer reassurance that any deal would not damage their interests.

• Thousands protest against Houthi rule in Yemen after embassies close

  Yemenis in the capital Sanaa and the central city of Taiz held the largest protests yet against a takeover by a Shi'ite Muslim militia group on Wednesday after the United States, Britain and France shut their embassies over security fears.

• Bahrainis vote in second round of parliamentary election

  Bahrainis voted in the second round of a parliamentary election on Saturday, a poll boycotted by the tiny Gulf monarchy's Shi'ite-led opposition which accuses the government of gerrymandering and says parliament lacks powers.