An air taxi flew over Jerusalem on Wednesday as part of an Israeli experiment to develop a network of drones to offer transport services and ease traffic congestion.

The aircraft, manufactured by a Chinese company, took off from the premises of Hadassah hospital in the city for a few minutes with its two passenger seats empty.

The electric-powered autonomous aircraft with white cockpit and propellers is capable of flying for more than 35 kilometres (over 20 miles), according to organisers of the showcase.

The White House denied Wednesday that the unfreezing of $6 billion of Iranian funds to help secure the release of five US citizens was effectively a ransom payment.

"This is not a payment of any kind. It's not ransom," said White House national security spokesman John Kirby, pushing back against criticism of the deal.

Kirby said the money will be held in a supervised account in Qatar that Tehran will have to submit requests to draw funds to be used strictly for humanitarian purposes.

An air raid on Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region killed at least 40 civilians Wednesday, according to a medical source, as the head of the UN mission to the country resigned.

Volker Perthes, who has been "persona non grata" by Sudanese authorities since June, warned the United Nations Security Council again, in his final briefing before leaving the post, that Sudan's war risks further deterioration.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement and its Islamist rival Hamas have backed a fledgling ceasefire in a south Lebanon camp hit by deadly fighting, a statement said Wednesday.

Clashes have rocked the Ain al-Helweh refugee camp, on the outskirts of the southern city of Sidon, since last Thursday, pitting members of the Fatah movement, which controls the camp, against hardline Islamist militants. Hamas has stayed out of the fighting.

Rescue teams stepped up on Wednesday a massive effort in devastated Moroccan mountain villages as chances faded for finding survivors from last week's earthquake which killed nearly 3,000 people and left many homeless.

Vehicles packed with supplies were inching up winding mountain roads to deliver desperately needed food and tents to survivors of the nation's strongest quake on record and deadliest in more than six decades.

Turkey on Wednesday resumed the trail of an anti-femicide campaign group that prosecutors are trying to shut down on charges of violating administrative laws and "morality".

Riot police cordoned off Istanbul's main courthouse and detained two supporters of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform ahead of a likely verdict later Wednesday.

Prosecutors have asked the court to close the group for "acting against the law and morality".

The group says it was never presented with an explanation about which laws it has allegedly violated and calls the charges politically motivated.

More than 200 Palestinian figures have condemned president Mahmud Abbas for his "reprehensible" comments claiming Jews were murdered in the Holocaust because of their "social role" and not their religion.

The public figures said they "unequivocally condemn the morally and politically reprehensible comments" by Abbas, in a letter published on Sunday.

The signatories include US congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, historian Rashid Khalidi and legal scholar Noura Erakat.

Angry China fans turned on their team and applauded the visiting Syrians off the pitch after what Chinese state media called "another embarrassing defeat".

China's Serbian coach Aleksandar Jankovic blamed bad luck for the 1-0 friendly loss in Chengdu on Tuesday, which came days after they were held 1-1 by Malaysia also at home.

President Xi Jinping wants China to one day host and even win the World Cup, but they are ranked 80th in the world and confidence is rock-bottom ahead of World Cup qualifying.

The United States beat Oman 4-0 in an international friendly in St. Paul, Minnesota on Tuesday with striker Folarin Balogun grabbing his second goal since switching national allegiances.

Monaco forward Balogun, who switched from England in May and scored in the Nations League final against Canada a month later, opened the scoring in the 13th minute.

A fierce strike by teammate Sergino Dest was parried out by Oman keeper Ibrahim Al Mukhaini, and Balogun reacted swiftly to bury the loose ball.

Iran has imposed curbs on the internet in the year since protests erupted over Mahsa Amini's death, forcing people to find other ways to run their businesses or keep in touch with loved ones.

Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, died on September 16, 2022 after her arrest in Tehran for an alleged breach of the Islamic republic's strict dress code for women.