An Asia-Pacific trade deal backed by China could hurt small scale farmers, cause more land conflicts, and leave workers in poorer nations without protection as they struggle to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, human rights groups said on Friday.

Qatar has underlined that resolving armed conflicts through peaceful means is the best and most effective way to maintain international peace and security.

Food crises will affect tens of millions of people across the world this year, researchers warned on Tuesday, after war, extreme weather and economic woes in 2018 left more than 113 million in dire need of help.

The State of Qatar reiterated its commitment to mediation to settle conflicts and disputes by peaceful means, affirming that its interest in mediation lies at the heart of the priority it attaches to the maintenance of peace and security.

Miroslav Lajcak, the president of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly, was interacting with a gathering at Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.

Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah stressed the need to preserve the rights of future generations by the current generation of Gulf leaders.

The Israeli air force carried out raids on Gaza early Thursday after a rocket was fired from the Palestinian enclave towards Israel, sources on both sides said.

The Red Cross on Saturday called for the unconditional release of two staff members who were abducted when their convoy was ambushed in northern Afghanistan last week, leaving six other workers dead.

Twenty-eight people were killed Wednesday when Al-Shabaab fighters struck a popular Mogadishu hotel, setting off two car bombs and opening fire on security guards, according to the city's main ambulance service.

Independent Afghan TV news station TOLO picked up the 2016 Agence France-Presse Kate Webb prize Thursday for its fearless reporting in one of the world's most dangerous countries.

Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday urged people of Turkish origin living in Germany to take part in German society and not to bring conflicts taking place back in Turkey to Germany.