Backers of the Syrian uprising meet in Amman on Wednesday to discuss a US-Russian proposal for peace talks, as the brutal two-year conflict escalates close to the border with Lebanon. "This meeting... in Amman is to bring together all of the key players in the region as well as the key partners in Europe and the United States to talk about strategy," a senior US State Department official said.

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday executed five Yemenis and displayed their bodies in public for killing a national and forming a gang that committed robberies across several towns in the kingdom, the interior ministry said. New York-based watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) slammed the punishment as "outrageous." The ministry later also announced, in statements carried by the official SPA news agency, that a Saudi was beheaded in the southwestern region of Assir for the murder of a fellow citizen. The five were executed in the town of Jizan, also southwest Saudi Arabia.

CAIRO - Egypt's president signed a new tax law Tuesday that cuts the amount paid by poorer Egyptians in the latest move aimed at reforming the country's economy. The changes, which are more favourable than the previous tax law for the country's most vulnerable, could boost Islamists in parliamentary elections slated for later this year. The interim parliament, led by Islamist allies of President Mohammed Morsi, approved the measure last week.

Secretary of State John Kerry was returning to the Middle East Monday, aiming to shore up peace efforts as he seeks to help end the Syria war and coax Israel and the Palestinians back to talks. The new top US diplomat -- making his fourth visit to Israel in a little over three months -- left Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, first headed for key Gulf ally Oman, which also maintains close ties to Iran.