KABUL (Pajhwok): The US has imposed sanctions on United Nations expert Francesca Albanese, citing her documentation of Israeli abuses in Gaza during the ongoing conflict, Al Jazeera reports.

The Middle East moves slowly, so don't be surprised if the new dawn everybody is talking about doesn't come to fruition.

A senior government official tells reporters that Israel and the US have an "intimate" relationship and that the countries' two leaders are friends.