A surprise ceasefire announcement by Libya's rival administrations offers a glimmer of hope for peace, but analysts caution skepticism after years of violence and as multiple foreign forces back opposing sides.

The 10 firefighters who received the call a bit before 6 p.m. -- alerting them of a big fire at the nearby port of Beirut -- could not know what awaited them.

The brigade of nine men and one woman could not know about the stockpile of ammonium nitrate warehoused since 2013 along a busy motorway in the heart of a densely populated residential area -- a danger that had only grown with every passing year.

As Egypt flexes its muscle with threats to intervene in Libya's civil war, its President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has sought to join forces with some of the neighbouring country's powerful tribes.

Secret talks and quiet ties — that's what paved the way for last week's deal between the United Arab Emirates and Israel to normalize relations.

Touted by President Donald Trump as a major Mideast breakthrough, the agreement was in fact the culmination of more than a decade of quiet links rooted in frenzied opposition to Iran that predated Trump and even Barack Obama, as well as Trump's avowed goal to undo his predecessor's Mideast legacy.

As US President Donald Trump prepares to host Iraq's new Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi, here are key dates in relations between their countries since 2003.

- Invasion -

From his office in Beirut, Shady Rizk had a front-row view of the cataclysmic explosion at the Lebanese capital's port.

The shock announcement that the UAE and Israel are normalising relations has been applauded by allies and booed by rivals, but for many Gulf citizens there is deep unease over the embrace of a longtime enemy.

Arriving in Lebanon after last week's deadly Beirut blast, U.S. envoy David Hale bypassed politicians to head straight to a hard-hit neighborhood where young volunteers are helping people abandoned by their state.

Up until the eve of the deadly Beirut blast, Lebanese officials exchanged warnings over a dangerous chemical shipment in the port, but did nothing despite experts' fears it could cause a massive conflagration.

For nearly a week, Mona Zahran had to sleep on a couch pulled across her apartment's front door. Beirut's massive explosion knocked her doors off their hinges and shattered her windows, and she feared looters would take advantage of the chaos that has hit the Lebanese capital since.

It was the latest and probably most humiliating blow in the turbulent life of the 50-year-old.