The UN General Assembly on Wednesday overwhelmingly adopted a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza, a symbolic gesture rejected by the United States and Israel.

The resolution -- adopted by a vote of 158-9, with 13 abstentions -- urges "an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire," and "the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages" -- wording similar to a text vetoed by Washington in the Security Council last month.

After eight years in exile, Ibrahim Abdullah is finally going home, his belongings stuffed into the same simple sports bag he carried when he fled Syria as a young teen.

Just 13 at the time, Abdullah sneaked through the barbed wire along Syria's northern frontier to seek safety in neighbouring Turkey.

With the downfall of Bashar al-Assad, Abdullah is among thousands of Syrians going back. Bag in hand, he aims to find his childhood home in Aleppo, just days after an Islamist-led rebel offensive took the city and forced Assad to flee.

In one of the few open shops on a main street in downtown Aleppo, Syrian shopkeeper Ramadan Dali wields his feather duster with gusto, standing on tip-toes so he can reach the windows.

Dali, a 70-year-old wearing a black felt hat, is ready for customers to come back, along with the hope that has returned to the streets of Syria's second largest city since it was retaken by rebels on their way to topple president Bashar al-Assad.

Aleppo was once Syria's economic capital, a vibrant northern city of two million people, popular with tourists and archaeologists.

With the fall of president Bashar al-Assad, the independence-era flag adopted by activists and rebels during the 2011 revolt has replaced the official flag on streets, institutions and homes in Syria and beyond.

The red, green, black and white flag introduced under the Assad family's ruling Baath party remains Syria's official symbol.

But since the president's ouster on Sunday, it has been torn down in towns and cities around the country to mark the end of an era, with residents and armed men raising the three-starred flag of the revolution in its place.

Landmark talks on desertification are set to conclude in Saudi Arabia this week amid doubts that pledged funds will make a meaningful difference in the fight against the growing scourge.

The 12-day meeting of parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), known as COP16, has already seen announcements that billions of dollars will be made available to respond to drought and restore damaged land.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken took off on an emergency trip to Jordan on Wednesday after the overthrow of neighboring Syria's dictatorship, in a new, last-minute attempt to shape a Middle East legacy after a turbulent year.

The top US diplomat of President Joe Biden, who has little more than one month in office, is set to press principles he has outlined for a new government, including that it be inclusive of Syria's diverse populations.

FIFA on Wednesday confirmed that Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup, underlining the Gulf kingdom's growing influence in world sport despite criticism of the country's human rights record.

At the same time, a virtual Congress of world football's governing body confirmed that Morocco, Spain and Portugal will be joint hosts of the 2030 World Cup, in which three games will also be played in South America.

The Saudi bid was waved through by acclamation during the meeting of FIFA's 211 national member associations, with no rivals standing in its way.

Wrapped up against the cold in northern France, Syrian migrant Ali said that while he was delighted president Bashar al-Assad had been toppled, he was still determined to cross the sea to England.

"I was happy when Bashar al-Assad left, he's a criminal," he said near the tent where he spent a bitter night in the port city of Calais.

"Nobody wanted him in power anymore," said the 23-year-old, who did not give his surname for his safety.

"But the situation in Syria remains confused and the general atmosphere is chaotic," he added.

Syria's new interim prime minister pledged to protect minority rights as Washington's top diplomat flew to the region on Thursday to urge an "inclusive" transition after the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad.

Assad fled Syria after a lightning offensive spearheaded by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and its allies, which brought a spectacular end to five decades of brutal rule by the Assad clan.

As the corruption trial of Benjamin Netanyahu resumed this week, Israel was gripped by another scandal involving the prime minister and the alleged leaking of classified documents.

Eli Feldstein, a former adviser to Netanyahu, is accused in the case of leaking a classified document related to hostage negotiations in Gaza to shift critical media coverage of the Israeli leader.

The case, critics say, highlights deep-seated corruption inside his office, including attempts to sway public opinion amid a divisive war.