Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan told troops in Port Sudan on Monday time has come to "end the rebellion" by paramilitaries, promising victory four months into a brutal war.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces led by Burhan's deputy turned rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo had besieged the army chief inside military headquarters in Khartoum for the past four months.

But last week, Burhan made his first public foray outside the headquarters to review troops in parts of the war-scarred country.

Libya's internationally recognised prime minister has sacked his top diplomat after she met her Israeli counterpart, with news of the encounter triggering protests in a country that does not recognise Israel.

Oil-rich Libya, which plunged into chaos after dictator Moamer Kadhafi was toppled and killed in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising, has been divided since 2014 between the UN-supported government of Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah in Tripoli and a rival administration based in the country's east.

Israeli air strikes on Aleppo airport in northern Syria caused the grounding of flights on Monday, Syrian state news agency SANA reported, citing a military source.

During more than 12 years of civil war in Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on its territory, primarily targeting Iran-backed forces and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters as well as Syrian army positions.

Roberto Mancini was on Sunday named as the new coach of the Saudi Arabia national team on a deal reported to be worth more than $25 million a year after he controversially quit the Italy job earlier this month.

The Saudis, who beat eventual champions Argentina at last year's World Cup in Qatar, have been without a coach since Herve Renard left to take charge of France's women's team.

Mancini, 58, led Italy to the Euro 2020 title but failed to qualify for last year's World Cup.

The leader of Libya's government said Sunday that he had suspended his foreign minister after her Israeli counterpart announced he had held talks with her last week in Rome.

Najla al-Mangoush has been "temporarily suspended" and will be subject to an "administrative investigation" by a commission chaired by the justice minister, Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah said on Sunday evening in an official decision posted on Facebook.

Three members of the United States Congress made a rare visit Sunday to rebel-held territory in northern Syria controlled by pro-Turkish factions, an AFP journalist at the scene said.

The Republican delegation comprising French Hill, Ben Cline and Scott Fitzgerald entered Syria from Turkey through the Bab al-Salama border crossing, where they were welcomed by a banner reading "Welcome to Free Syria" and revolutionary flags.

UN experts have written to oil firm Saudi Aramco and its financial backers challenging them on allegations that their activities are fuelling climate change-related negative impacts on human rights.

A cache of correspondence was published Saturday on a United Nations human rights special procedures website, exactly two months after it was sent.

The letters said UN experts had received information "concerning Saudi Aramco's business activities... which are adversely impacting the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change".

Tennis greats Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert have spoken out against the prospect of the WTA Tour staging its end-of-season finals in Saudi Arabia.

WTA chief Steve Simon said in June the organization was "evaluating" the possibility of taking a tournament to Saudi Arabia, while describing the subject as "difficult and challenging."

Recent reports have said Saudi Arabia is in pole position to land the tour's prestigious WTA Finals tournament, which sees the top eight women players in the world battle it out in a season-ending championship.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy will be tried in 2025 over allegations he took money from late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi to fund one of his election campaigns, prosecutors said on Friday.

The trial has been scheduled for January-April 2025 and is set to hear explosive evidence that the right-winger conspired to take cash from the Libyan leader to illegally fund his victorious 2007 bid to become French president.

Rare protests against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government showed no sign of abating Friday with demonstrations reported in a string of towns in Daraa and Sweida provinces.

The protests began late last week after the government ended fuel subsidies, dealing a heavy blow to Syrians reeling from years of war and economic crisis.

In the Daraa province town of Bosra al-Sham, dozens of people demonstrated, openly calling for an end to Assad's rule, an AFP correspondent said.