A suicide bomber killed one policeman and six civilians in southeastern Afghanistan close to the border with Pakistan on Saturday, a police commander said.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fateh faction ruled out talks with Hamas on Thursday as Israel warned any such dialogue with the Islamists could “torpedo” a peace deal with the Jewish state.

Syrian President Bashar Assad all but ruled out his country’s participation in a US-sponsored international peace conference on the Middle East, suggesting in an interview published Thursday that the meeting has no chance for success.