Temporary camps set up following a deadly earthquake in southern Morocco three months ago are starting to look worryingly permanent as sub-zero winter temperatures hit the mountainous region.

Almost 3,000 died and more than two million people suffered damage to their homes when a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Morocco on September 8.

Imzilne, a hamlet of 250 residents some 60 kilometres (35 miles) south of Marrakesh was partly destroyed, killing three and forcing many into temporary camps.

Washington is facing an increasingly complex and dangerous crisis resulting from the Israel-Hamas war, which has sparked repeated militant attacks and drawn US military attention and assets back to the Middle East.

The United States has deployed two aircraft carriers and other forces in a bid to deter a devastating region-wide conflict. But the current violence in the Middle East -- while not rising to that level -- still carries significant danger.

US President Joe Biden called on Tuesday for global condemnation of what he said was "horrific" sexual violence by Hamas during the October 7 attacks on Israel.

Biden's comments come after campaigners in Israel have derided what they see as a muted international response to gender-based violence during the attack.

"The world can't just look away at what’s going on," Biden said at a campaign event in Boston.

The Emirati head of the UN's climate conference pressed countries on Wednesday to strive for common ground and reach a "historic" deal by early next week, giving negotiators days to untangle disagreements over the fate of fossil fuels.

It is rare for UN climate talks to end as scheduled but COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber set the ambitious goal of having a deal in place by 11:00 am (0700 GMT) on Tuesday, the last official day of the conference.

The United States said Tuesday it would refuse visas for extremist Israeli settlers behind a wave of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, as it also asked Israel to do more to spare civilians in Gaza.

The visa measures amount to a rare concrete repercussion by the United States against Israelis in the nearly two-month-old war, in which President Joe Biden has nudged the US ally privately but also promised strong support.

NGOs may have slammed the record number of fossil fuel lobbyists at UN climate talks in Dubai, but the industry won't be browbeaten, with the OPEC cartel hosting a chat on "climate initiatives" and one of the heads of the "Big Oil" majors sparring with protesters.

Activists were already up in arms over the appointment of Sultan Al Jaber, the head of Emirati national oil company ADNOC, as president of COP28.

Released under a prisoner-hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas, former Palestinian detainees have described beatings, deprivation and a radical deterioration in conditions in Israeli jails following Hamas's bloody October 7 attacks.

On that day, Hamas fighters streamed across the Gaza Strip's militarised border into Israel, kidnapping around 240 people and killing 1,200 others, most of them civilians, Israeli officials say.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai said Tuesday that Taliban rule in Afghanistan has made "girlhood illegal", as she called for gender apartheid to be made a crime against humanity.

In a speech marking the 10th anniversary of the death of South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, the Pakistani activist said: "The Taliban have made girlhood illegal, and it is taking a toll."

She highlighted how Afghan girls frozen out of school are "experiencing depression", "turning to narcotics" and "attempting suicide".

The US aid chief on Tuesday announced new support for the war-battered Gaza Strip on a visit to Egypt, as a renewed Israeli offensive again puts Palestinians at risk.

Samantha Power, the administrator of the US Agency for International Development, travelled to the Egyptian town of El-Arish, the gateway to Rafah, the border crossing that has been reopened but at limited capacity since the war started.

Restrictions on speech and protest in the United Arab Emirates are complicating UN approval of an Amnesty event at COP28 demanding the release of Emirati political prisoners, the group's secretary-general said Tuesday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations climate talks in Dubai, Agnes Callamard said the obstacles hampering activist actions within a UN-managed Blue Zone at the COP venue are slightly larger than previous years despite no changes to the guidelines.