Iranian state TV is reporting the inauguration of a production line for a new version of an air defense missile.

The Saturday report said the missile dubbed Sayyad-3 is an upgrade to previous versions of the missile. Sayyad means "hunter" in Farsi.

Hundreds of people on the eastern Greek island of Kos have spent the night sleeping outdoors after a powerful earthquake killed two tourists and injured nearly 500 others across the Aegean Sea region in Greece and Turkey.

Residents and tourists were too afraid to return to their homes and hotels, camping out instead in parks and olive groves, or slumbering in their cars or on lounge chairs.

Stabbings and clashes that left six people dead raised fears on Saturday of further Israeli-Palestinian violence as tensions mount over new security measures at a highly sensitive Jerusalem holy site.

Friday's violence -- a stabbing attack that killed three Israelis and clashes which left three Palestinians dead -- was among the most severe in recent years.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri received a telephone call from Lebanese IT expert held in Iran, Nizar Zakka, asking him for the government's intervention to have him released from prison, Hariri's media office said on Friday.

Zakka, who has been held in Iran for nearly two years, described the difficult conditions of his detention and his deteriorating health and asked the Lebanese government to intervene to obtain his liberation.

MP Assem Araji stressed on Friday that the Lebanese army is the sole side authorized to defend the country's border.

“The army is the sole side authorized to confront armed groups and defend the border” said Araji, adding that “the military institution enjoys full (people's) support in order to preserve the security in Arsal and the safety of the displaced,” said Araji in an interview to VDL (93.3).

The Lebanese army on Friday upped its security measures in the northeastern border town of Arsal to keep militants from infiltrating into the town, as Hizbullah launched an offensive against jihadists in the border area, media reports said.

Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington, who sold millions of albums with a unique mix of hard rock, hip-hop and rap, was found dead in his home near Los Angeles on Thursday, the Los Angeles County coroner says. He was 41.

Coroner spokesman Brian Elias said authorities are investigating Bennington's death as an apparent suicide but no additional details are available.

An international watchdog has renewed its calls for an independent and transparent investigation into the recent deaths of at least four Syrians in Lebanese army custody, as well as allegations of torture and ill-treatment of the detained.

The Qatari foreign minister began a visit to Beijing on Thursday, a day after his Chinese counterpart told a top official from Qatar's rival the United Arab Emirates that China hoped the rift between the Gulf countries could be repaired.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was scheduled to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi later in the day, China's foreign ministry said, although no details of any discussions were immediately released.

Israel's public security minister says metal detectors are essential to maintain security at a contested Jerusalem shrine despite rising tensions and a Muslim call for mass protests in the city.

Gilad Erdan tells Israel's Army Radio on Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will rule on the issue later in the day when he returns from a working visit to Europe. But Erdan insisted the new Israeli measures did not change the status of the site and were necessary to carry out proper security checks.