WORLD HIGHLIGHTS

►Jordan AMMAN

Jordan has intensified efforts to push Israel to respect the historic status quo of Jerusalem's Al Aqsa mosque and avoid violent confrontations that could threaten a wider conflict, Jordanian officials and Western diplomats said yesterday.

►Turkey ISTANBUL

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was travelling to Saudi Arabia yesterday for a two-day visit, his office said, marking the culmination of a months-long effort by Ankara to repair ties with Riyadh.

►US WASHINGTON

US President Joe Biden will travel to South Korea and Japan in May, the White House announced on Wednesday, paying a visit to two of Washington's main Asian allies amid tensions with rival China and regional foe North Korea.

►UK YORK

Prince Andrew was on Wednesday stripped of his status as a freeman of the city of York because of his associations with convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

►Morocco RABAT

Moroccan police on Wednesday said they had seized a record haul of 31.197 tonnes of cannabis and arrested a man in connection with an international drug trafficking network.

►Sudan KHARTOUM

Sudan on Wednesday released several key civilian leaders and a former member of the ruling Sovereign Council, arrested in the months following a military coup last year, a lawyer said.

►France PARIS

Internet and phone services were hit in several French cities on Wednesday after fibre optic cables were cut overnight in suspected attacks on the crucial data infrastructure, telecom operators said.

►Brazil BRASÍLIA

Brazil's lower house approved on Wednesday a measure that makes permanent the 400 reais (US$80.58) Auxilio Brasil monthly welfare program for families in poverty situations, months ahead of the country's October presidential election.