Pope Francis on Wednesday said he would attend the crucial COP28 climate talks starting in Dubai on November 30, weeks after warning that time is running out to act on global warming.

It will be the first time a pope has attended a COP meeting in person since the process began in 1995.

"I will go to Dubai. I think that I will leave on December 1 through the 3rd. I'll spend three days there," the pontiff told Italy's Rai 1 television.

The 86-year-old has made the environment one of the main themes of his papacy since being elected pope by cardinals in 2013.

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the first US citizens were able to leave the war-hit Gaza Strip after weeks of diplomacy and mounting frustration by hundreds of US citizens trapped in the conflict.

Since Israel launched retaliatory strikes following a bloody assault by Hamas, the impoverished Gaza Strip has seen limited food, water and medicine, leading Palestinian-Americans to file lawsuits alleging double-standards on efforts to evacuate them.

"Victory is not easy, but it is certain," imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner and women's rights activist Narges Mohammadi, said in a message smuggled out of her Tehran cell and published late Tuesday.

In the message, read out in French by her daughter, Kiana Rahmani, and posted on the official Nobel website, the 51-year-old activist and journalist expressed "sincere gratitude" to the Norwegian Nobel committee.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged Muslim countries Wednesday to halt trade with Israel, including oil exports, in response to its bombardment of Gaza since deadly Hamas attacks.

Israel has been pounding the Gaza Strip since Hamas gunmen stormed across the border on October 7 and, killed more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, according to Israeli officials.

The bombing campaign has killed more than 8,500 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Saudi Arabia is prepared to host the 2034 World Cup in summer or winter, its football chief told AFP, after the oil giant became the sole bidder for the tournament.

"Of course, we are ready for all possibilities," Saudi Arabian Football Federation president Yasser al-Misehal said late on Tuesday at the Asian Football Confederation awards in Doha.

Saudi Arabia's successful bid, just 27 days after announcing it, comes less than a year after neighbouring Qatar held the first winter World Cup, a decision that forced a pause to league competitions in Europe.

Electric vehicle sales are surging in Jordan, a trend drivers and showrooms attribute to high petrol prices more than any concerns about air pollution and climate change.

Boosted by low import taxes, especially affordable Chinese-made models have become a common sight on the streets of Amman and the kingdom's desert highways.

Tesla owner Shadi Zatari, 43, says he no longer worries about pump prices since he plugs in his car overnight at home, allowing him to drive 400 kilometres (250 miles) on a single charge.

Standing on the verge of hosting the World Cup is an undeniable win for oil power Saudi Arabia as it pushes to reshape its economy and shake off its questionable image, analysts say.

It wasn't long ago that the desert monarchy was shunned by Western leaders after the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents.

Now, while human rights controversies have not gone away, the kingdom is gaining a reputation for extravagant forays into sport, backed by its seemingly bottomless oil wealth.

Saudi Arabia is in line to host the 2034 World Cup after FIFA announced that the kingdom had submitted the only "expression of interest" in hosting the tournament.

The decision will be ratified officially at the end of next year, providing all of the technical criteria are met.

Saudi Arabia, which has invested heavily in football as well as Formula One and golf, is set to take over from an unprecedented tri-continental line-up for the 2030 event, which will be shared between Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with three matches in South America.

Senators voted Tuesday to confirm President Joe Biden's nominee for US ambassador to Israel, filling a crucial posting that had been vacant for months as America's closest ally in the Middle East battles Hamas militants.

Former Treasury secretary Jack Lew had drawn opposition from Republicans over his role in then-president Barack Obama's 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, but emerged successful from a 53-43 Senate vote to secure the ambassadorship.

Thousands of Palestinian families are caught between hopes that prisoners in Israeli jails could be freed in a swap for hostages held by Hamas, and horror over Israel's bombardment of Gaza in response to an attack by the militant group.

Wafa Abu Ghoulmi said she loves her husband Ahmed, who is serving nine life sentences over the 2001 killing of an Israeli minister, and wants to see him.

But she is also suffering from the impact of the conflict.