An Austrian far-right extremist who visited Afghanistan reportedly to prove it was a safe country was released on Sunday after nine months in detention there.

Herbert Fritz, 84, who according to Austrian media has close links to the far-right extremist scene, arrived in the Qatari capital Doha after being freed by Taliban authorities.

Fritz was arrested in May after defying Austria's long-standing warning against travel to Afghanistan, which in 2021 returned to the rule of the Taliban who imposed a strict interpretation of Islam.

Four Egyptian construction workers died Sunday when their boat sank in a canal near Giza, state media reported, adding that five others were rescued and four passengers were still missing.

The small boat was carrying 13 workers when it went down near the northern Giza village of Nekla, around 30 kilometres (18 miles) northwest of the capital Cairo, state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram said.

"Rescuers managed to recover the bodies of four victims and save five others," while efforts to find the remaining four passengers were ongoing, the paper said.

Belgium's Lennert Van Eetvelt produced a dramatic summit finish on Jebel Hafeet to claim the final stage and overall victory in the UAE Tour on Sunday.

The 22-year-old Lotto rider powered clear around two kilometres from the line to take the 161km seventh stage by 22 seconds from Pello Bilbao and Ben O'Connor.

With a 10sec time bonus Van Eetvelt shot to the top of the overall standings, two seconds ahead of Australia's O'Connor, with Bilbao completing the podium.

Israel on Sunday warned that it may withdraw from this year's Eurovision Song Contest if organisers reject the lyrics from its entry as too political.

Eden Golan and her song "October Rain" were chosen to compete in the annual competition, which is being held in May in Malmo, Sweden.

Media reports have suggested that the song, which is mostly in English with some Hebrew words, references the victims of Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel.

Qatar on Sunday announced new plans to expand output from the world's biggest natural gas field, saying it will boost capacity to 142 million tonnes per year before 2030.

The new North Field expansion, named "North Field West", will add a further 16 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year to existing expansion plans, Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said at a press conference.

Israel's prime minister said Sunday a potential ceasefire in its war against Hamas militants would only delay a ground invasion of Gaza's southern city Rafah that shelters more than half of the conflict-battered territory's population.

Israel's ally the United States said ongoing mediation efforts produced "an understanding" towards a ceasefire and hostage release, while a Hamas source said the group insisted on the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Amid a spiralling humanitarian crisis, the main UN aid agency for Palestinians urged political action to avert famine in Gaza.

American and British forces carried out a fresh wave of strikes Saturday against 18 Huthi targets in Yemen, following weeks of unrelenting attacks on Red Sea shipping by the Iran-backed rebels.

The strikes "specifically targeted 18 Huthi targets across eight locations in Yemen" including weapons storage facilities, attack drones, air defense systems, radars and a helicopter, a joint statement said.

Israel's war cabinet approved on Saturday sending negotiators to Qatar to continue talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in the war against Hamas and the return of hostages being held in Gaza, officials and local media said.

The talks began in Paris, where the head of Israel's overseas intelligence service Mossad and his counterpart at the domestic Shin Bet security service met with mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar.

At the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, Abu Gibril was so desperate for food to feed his family that he slaughtered two of his horses.

"We had no other choice but to slaughter the horses to feed the children. Hunger is killing us," he told AFP.

Jabalia was the biggest camp in the Palestinian territories before the war, which began after Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel on October 7, leaving some 1,160 dead, based on Israeli figures.

Israel sounded a positive note Saturday on efforts to broker a new hostage release and ceasefire deal in its war with Hamas, as concern deepened over the growing humanitarian crisis in the war-torn Gaza Strip.

As aid agencies warned of unprecedented levels of desperation and looming famine, dozens more Gazans were killed in Israeli strikes, the Hamas-run territory's health ministry said.

An Israeli delegation led by Mossad intelligence agency chief David Barnea travelled to Paris for a fresh push towards a deal over a ceasefire.