A senior Saudi official defended the Gulf kingdom's management of the hajj pilgrimage on Friday after various countries reported more than 1,100 deaths, many attributed to high heat.

"The state did not fail, but there was a misjudgement on the part of people who did not appreciate the risks," the official told AFP in the government's first comments on the deaths.

An AFP tally on Friday, compiling official statements and reports from diplomats involved in the response, put the toll at 1,126, more than half of them from Egypt.

Restrictions on women's rights continue to prevent Afghanistan's "reintegration" into the international community, a senior UN official said Friday, noting the Taliban's participation in upcoming talks in Doha is not legitimization of the isolated government.

Since their 2021 return to power, Taliban authorities have not been formally recognized by any nation and apply a rigorous interpretation of Islam, leading to a suppression of women's freedoms that the United Nations has described as "gender apartheid."

Qatar said Friday it was pursuing efforts to "bridge the gap" between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and release Israeli hostages held there.

The Gulf emirate, the United States and Egypt, have been engaged in months of negotiations for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war that erupted on October 7.

There has been one seven-day pause in November which led to the release of more than 100 hostages. Efforts since have been deadlocked.

After years of failing to secure a hajj visa, Yasser finally concluded he had no choice but to perform the holy pilgrimage illegally, a move he now regrets.

While he survived the gruelling annual rites that unfolded in extreme heat again this year, he has not seen his wife since Sunday and fears she is among the more than 1,000 reported fatalities -- the majority unregistered Egyptians like himself.

With just a week remaining before a presidential election, Iranians are divided over whether voting will address pressing economic issues and mandatory hijab laws.

Iranians head to the polls on June 28 to choose from six candidates -- five conservatives and a relative reformist -- to succeed Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash last month.

The election comes as Iran grapples with economic pressures, international sanctions and enforcement of the compulsory headscarves for women.

A daily "pause" the Israeli military declared in Gaza to facilitate aid flows has had no impact on deliveries of badly needed supplies, the UN's health agency said on Friday.

More than eight months of war, sparked by Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel, have led to dire humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian territory and repeated UN warnings of famine.

Armenia announced Friday it was recognising the State of Palestine, the latest country to do so during the war in Gaza, saying it was against "violence towards civilian populations."

A series of nations have recognised the State of Palestine amid the war between Israel and Hamas, drawing strong rebukes from Israeli officials.

Shortly after the former Soviet republic announced the recognition, Israel's foreign ministry said it summoned Yerevan's ambassador for a "severe reprimand".

Israel bombed the Gaza Strip where one hospital reported at least 30 dead Friday and as exchanges of fire and threats over the Lebanon border raised fears of an even wider war.

After further cross-border fire between Israel and Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the clashes must not turn Lebanon into "another Gaza".

Increased "bellicose rhetoric" from both sides risked triggering a catastrophe "beyond imagination", he said.

Waiting at home in Iraqi Kurdistan, Khadija Hussein holds faint hope of hearing word of further survivors from the shipwrecked vessel that carried 11 of her family members from neighbouring Turkey.

Khadija's nephew Rebwar, his sister-in-law Mojdeh and both their families were aboard a sailing boat that sank overnight between Sunday and Monday off the Italian coast.

The controversial US effort to boost Gaza aid deliveries by building a temporary pier has faced repeated problems, with bad weather damaging the structure and causing other interruptions to the arrival of desperately needed assistance.

More than 4,100 metric tons (nine million pounds) of aid has been delivered via the $230 million pier project so far, but it has only been operational for limited periods, falling short of President Joe Biden's pledge that it would enable a "massive increase" in assistance reaching Gaza "every day."