Syria has decided to close its embassies in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia because they have refused to accept the accreditations of its envoys, diplomats posted in Damascus said on Wednesday.

"Syria's embassies in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are to close because these countries have been refusing to accredit the diplomats sent by Damascus since the start of the crisis," one of the sources said.

The United Arab Emirates summoned Iraq's ambassador on Wednesday to protest accusations by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that Saudi Arabia was supporting terrorism, state media reported.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash handed ambassador Mowafak Mahdi Abboud a memorandum protesting Maliki's "claims that Saudi Arabia supports terrorism," the official WAM news agency said.

President Michel Suleiman stressed on Wednesday that the capabilities of the Lebanese army should be fortified, pointing out that the military can receive any type of weapons it needs.

“There are no banned arms,” Suleiman said after a short visit to the Headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the southern town of Naqoura accompanied by his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto.

Interior Miniser Nouhad al-Mashnouq stated on Tuesday that Lebanon has taken a “clear position” on all forms of extremist terrorism.

He added in statement: “We understand Saudi Arabia's recent designation of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah in the kingdom, and al-Nusra Front as terrorist.”

A Saudi court has jailed a Tweeter for 10 years after convicting him of insulting the kingdom's political and religious leaders and urging anti-regime protests, official SPA news agency reported.

The Riyadh court also sentenced another defendant to eight years in jail after finding him guilty of taking part in protests and publishing anti-regime posts online, SPA said in a report late Monday.

The major powers are locked in a race for influence in Lebanon's presidential elections as Michel Suleiman's six-year term nears its end, As Safir newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The daily said that the United States is backing elections to choose a new president and has sent an envoy who has a specific mission to follow up the polls.

Qatar defended its independent foreign policy Monday after Saudi Arabia and two other Gulf countries recalled their envoys from Doha accusing it of meddling in their internal affairs.

"Our policy is based on openness towards all, and we do not want to exclude anyone," Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiya said during a visit to Paris, in remarks aired by Doha-based Al-Jazeera television.

Saudi Arabia on Monday slammed as "aggressive and irresponsible" accusations by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that the kingdom was supporting global terrorism.

"The kingdom condemns the aggressive and irresponsible statements made by the Iraqi prime minister," an unidentified official told the SPA state news agency.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is expected in Muscat for a two-day visit starting Wednesday during which he will discuss bilateral cooperation and regional tensions with Oman's leader, Tehran's envoy announced.

Tehran enjoys good relations with Muscat but is locked in a decades-long rivalry with Saudi Arabia while other Gulf states are wary of the ambitions of their neighbor across the water.

Forty-two illegal African migrants drowned when their boat overturned off Yemen's southern coast late on Sunday, the defense ministry reported.

The boat smuggling dozens of African migrants "overturned off the coast of Beer Ali," in the southern Shabwa province, the ministry said in a brief statement on its news website 26sep.net.