Researchers call them the "American blondes" -– bright-eyed environmentalists tweeting passionately in support of the UAE and its handling of the forthcoming COP28 climate summit. The only problem? They are not real.

Ben, Brianna, Emma, Caitlin and Chloe exude a refreshing optimism about the role of the Gulf state and its COP28 chief, oil executive Sultan Al Jaber, in promoting climate action.

Under-fire PGA Tour chief Jay Monahan is stepping away from day-to-day operations of the tour as he recovers from an undisclosed medical situation, a statement said Tuesday.

Monahan has faced stinging criticism in the wake of the PGA Tour's shock merger with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf last week, with multiple players calling for him to resign.

A brief joint statement from Monahan and the PGA Tour policy board on Tuesday said Monahan would step back from his duties for an unspecified period as he recovers.

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday announced an international conference next week to gather aid pledges for war-ravaged Sudan, where the United Nations says more than half the population urgently needs assistance and protection.

Many of them are in Sudan's Darfur region, where attacks against civilians could amount to crimes against humanity, the UN's head of mission said.

Iraqi security forces on Tuesday said they had arrested a trafficker and seized 44,000 captagon tablets meant for sale in the country, where consumption of the amphetamine-like drug has surged.

The yellow pills were packaged in bags bearing the image of a camel and inscribed with "2023". They were captured along with the smuggler in Iraq's northern Nineveh province, the National Security Service said in a statement.

The regional captagon trade has exploded in recent years and the security service emphasised the pills seized had been meant for sale inside Iraq.

Sudan's army chief is not ready to meet the enemy general he's been at war with for eight weeks, a government official said Tuesday after a regional bloc proposed a face-to-face encounter between the two.

At a summit held in Djibouti on Monday, the East African Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) announced it would expand the number of countries tasked with resolving the crisis, with Kenya chairing a quartet including Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan.

Amnesty International said Tuesday that Israeli strikes on Gaza last month could amount to a "war crime", and Palestinian militant groups should be investigated on the same charge for their rocket fire.

Israel and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza, including Islamic Jihad, traded heavy fire in the May 9-13 flare-up that claimed 35 lives, including civilians and combatants.

The London-based human rights group charged that Israeli strikes carried out "without military necessity" amount to "a form of collective punishment against the civilian population".

Some 200 migrants cast shadows in the faint early sunshine across the dunes of Gravelines beach in northern France, anticipating a police chase as they attempt to cross the waters before them to England.

At least 7,610 people have been detected in small boats off Britain's coast so far this year, according to UK government figures, amid a political push to stop the flow.

The UN has secured insurance coverage allowing it to pump more than one million barrels of oil from a decaying tanker anchored off war-torn Yemen that poses the risk of a catastrophic spillage.

The rusting FSO Safer, abandoned off the rebel-held port of Hodeida, has not been serviced since the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country plunged into civil conflict more than eight years ago.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi began a rare diplomatic tour of Latin America on Monday with a first stop in Caracas, where he said his country and Venezuela are "friends" with "common enemies."

Raisi's schedule is also set to include visits to Cuba and Nicaragua, who, like Iran and Venezuela, are all the target of US sanctions.

"We have common interests, common visions, and common enemies," the president said, without specifying, in remarks to the press alongside Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan redoubled his call Monday for the international recognition of northern Cyprus, making the Mediterranean statelet his first port of call since his re-election.

Erdogan met the north's leader Ersin Tatar, whose rule is recognised only by Turkey, two weeks after extending his two-decade rule until 2028.

"If there is to be a return to the negotiating table, the way to do this is through recognition" of the north, Erdogan declared.