- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
Israeli PM starts first-ever Bahrain visit
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett arrived in Bahrain on Monday for the first-ever official visit by an Israeli head of government to the Gulf state, an AFP reporter said.
Bennett's visit is the latest such initiative following the US-brokered 2020 Abraham Accords, which defied decades of Arab consensus that ruled out ties with Israel in the absence of a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Bahrain and its close ally the United Arab Emirates became only the third and fourth Arab states -- following Egypt and Jordan -- to establish ties with Israel when they signed on to the pacts negotiated under former US president Donald Trump.
"I'm going to meet the king, I'm going to meet the crown prince," Bennett said on the tarmac shortly before departing Israel, referring to Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa.
The prime minister, who is also set to see other top officials and members of the Jewish community, said he will hold "a series of meetings whose goal is to fill — with energy and content — the peace agreement between the two nations".
"In these tumultuous times it's important that from this region we send a message of goodwill, of cooperation of standing together against common challenges," he added.
The trip follows a visit to Manama by Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz earlier this month that saw the two countries sign a defence agreement.
That deal covered intelligence, procurement and joint training, with Gantz boasting that it further solidified the nascent diplomatic relationship.
The visit also comes at a time of regional tensions over Iran's nuclear programme.
Iran is engaged in negotiations with Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia directly and with the United States indirectly to revive the deal formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
- Focus on Iran -
The deal offered Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme. The US unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 under Trump. The drive to salvage it resumed in late November.
Bennett's government strongly opposes a return to the 2015 agreement, repeatedly warning that offering Tehran sanctions relief will lead to increased revenue that Iran will use to buy weapons for use against Israelis.
Yoel Guzansky, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, said Bennett's trip is "absolutely" about Iran.
"In light of the talks in Vienna it is a show of force, symbolism, that the countries are working together," he said.
Dore Gold, head of the Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs, said Israel and Bahrain have been pushed towards closer ties as both are "under threat by Iranian actions".
He pointed to unrest in Bahrain blamed on Iran-backed insurgents and the range of threats that Israel says Iran poses, notably its arming of the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
As part of their defence agreements, Israel is set to post a naval official in Bahrain, which hosts a base for the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.
Guzansky said that in several respects Bahrain has been perceived as moving slower than the UAE in terms of solidifying ties with Israel.
But, he added, allowing an Israeli military officer to be based there was "significant," while noting that Bahrain "does not want to be seen as an Israeli base in the Gulf."
Th.Berger--AMWN