Jihadists and their Turkish-backed allies breached Syria's second city of Aleppo on Friday, as they pressed a lightning offensive against forces of the Iranian- and Russian-backed government.

The fighters took control of "half of the city of Aleppo" as regime forces withdrew, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The offensive began on Wednesday, the same day that a fragile ceasefire took effect in neighbouring Lebanon between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Singapore hanged a 35-year-old Singaporean-Iranian man for drug trafficking on Friday, its fourth in less than a month, despite appeals from Tehran to "reconsider" his execution.

The United Nations and rights groups say capital punishment has no proven deterrent effect and have called for it to be abolished, but Singaporean officials insist it has helped make the country one of Asia's safest.

Masoud Rahimi Mehrzad, a Singaporean citizen born in the city-state to a Singaporean mother and an Iranian father, was convicted in 2013 for drug trafficking.

Iran, Britain, France and Germany agreed to continue diplomatic talks following a discreet meeting Friday touching on Tehran's nuclear programme, amid surging tensions even before Donald Trump's return to the White House.

Following the talks in Geneva, shrouded in an unusual level of secrecy, the parties each took to social media to say the discussions had focused on Iran's nuclear programme and sanctions, and other regional issues.

Saudi Arabia will host the COP16 UN conference on land degradation and desertification next week as the top oil exporter pitches itself as an environmental defender despite criticism of its role at climate talks.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called the meeting for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) a "moonshot moment" to protect and restore land and respond to drought.

Rami, a Syrian worker in Iraq, spends his 16-hour shifts at a restaurant fearing arrest as authorities crack down on undocumented migrants in the country better known for its own exodus.

He is one of hundreds of thousands of foreigners working without permits in Iraq, which after emerging from decades of conflict has become an unexpected destination for many seeking opportunities.

"I've been able to avoid the security forces and checkpoints," said the 27-year-old, who has lived in Iraq for seven years and asked that AFP use a pseudonym to protect his identity.

Spain and Iraq on Thursday strengthened economic ties as Mohammed Shia al-Sudani became the first Iraqi prime minister to visit the European country.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez hosted his Iraqi counterpart in Madrid where they signed memorandums of understanding on "financial cooperation and justice", the Spanish government said in a statement.

A former British soldier who escaped prison ahead of his trial was found guilty at a UK court on Thursday of spying for Iran but cleared of a bomb hoax charge.

A jury at Woolwich Crown Court in southeast London found army soldier Daniel Khalife, 23, guilty of espionage and terrorism charges, including eliciting or attempting to elicit information likely to be useful to a person preparing an act of terrorism.

Lebanese official media said Israeli fire wounded two people in a border village on Thursday, a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect.

A Lebanese military source said the armed forces were extending their deployment in the country's south, without approaching Israeli-controlled areas, following the ceasefire that ended two months of all-out war and more than a year of hostilities.

Lebanon's official National News Agency said two people were wounded in the village of Markaba "due to the enemy targeting" of a square in the village.

With its longtime leaders dead, its military capabilities vastly diminished, and its fighters forced to retreat from southern Lebanon, Hezbollah emerges from its war with Israel facing unprecedented challenges.

But analysts say that it is too early to write off the Iran-backed group, which still plays a major role in Lebanese politics.

When Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza more than a year ago, it was the most formidable member of Iran's so-called "axis of resistance", with an arsenal believed to be superior than the Lebanese military's.

Israel said it conducted an air strike on a Hezbollah weapons facility on Thursday, the first since a ceasefire in the war in Lebanon took effect.

The truce, which came into force on Wednesday, seeks to end a war that has killed thousands in Lebanon and sparked mass displacements in both Lebanon and Israel.

The war began with Hezbollah firing into Israel in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas and its unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel.