She could have left Iran, as many of her contemporaries did, but Paris-trained pastry chef Shahrzad Shokouhivand decided to stay and work to make women's lives better inside the country.

And the icing on the cake? She and her husband now employ 70 people -- mostly women.

"It's only by working here that we'll change things in Iran," said the 36-year-old, speaking to AFP in one of her two chic cafe-pastry shops in Tehran.

She and her husband do admit that at one stage they thought of leaving the Islamic republic, choosing the path of exile.

Syria's foreign ministry on Sunday condemned a surprise visit by the United States' top military officer to an army base in the Kurdish-held northeast, dubbing it "illegal", state media said.

In his snap visit Saturday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley met US troops stationed in areas of war-torn Syria under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

About 900 US troops are deployed in several bases and posts across northeastern Syria as part of the fight against Islamic State group remnants.

Leaders from the world's poorest nations poured out their disappointment and bitterness at a UN summit on Sunday over the treatment of their countries by richer counterparts.

Many made pointed calls for the developed powers to come good with billions of dollars of promised aid to help them escape poverty and battle climate change.

Central African Republic's president told the UN Least Developed Countries meeting in Doha that his resource-rich but impoverished nation was being "looted" by "Western powers".

Hundreds of Tunisians rallied Sunday in defiance of a protest ban, demanding the release of more than 20 prominent figures opposed to the president who were arrested in recent weeks.

President Kais Saied sacked the government and froze parliament in a 2021 power grab and imposed sweeping changes to the political system of the sole democracy to have emerged from the Arab Spring uprisings.

UN member states finally agreed Saturday to a text on the first international treaty after years of negotiations to protect the high seas, a fragile and vital treasure that covers nearly half the planet.

"The ship has reached the shore," conference chair Rena Lee announced at the UN headquarters in New York shortly before 9:30 pm (0230 GMT Sunday), to loud and lengthy applause from delegates.

The exact wording of the text was not immediately released but activists hailed it as a breakthrough moment for the protection of biodiversity after more than 15 years of discussions.

Thousands of Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv Saturday for a ninth consecutive week to protest government legal reforms critics see as threatening democracy.

Protests also occurred in Jerusalem and Karmiel near Haifa.

The latest rally in Tel Aviv came after a similar demonstration on Wednesday when police employed stun grenades and water cannon in a rare use of force that led to about 39 arrests and 11 injuries in the coastal city.

Iraq's customs department gave orders on Saturday to start enforcing a ban on alcohol imports that became law last month despite divisions over the legislation.

But the specialist retail stores that dominate alcohol sales in the virtual absence of bars or licensed restaurants remained open for business, at least in Baghdad, an AFP correspondent reported.

Public alcohol consumption is frowned upon in mainly Muslim Iraq but beverages can be readily purchased from liquor stores, many of them run by Christians or other non-Muslims.

Iran has agreed to reconnect surveillance cameras at several nuclear sites and increase the pace of inspections, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Saturday.

UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi hailed "a marked improvement" in his discussions with the Iranian government.

Grossi has been in Tehran for talks with Iranian officials following the discovery of uranium particles enriched to near weapons-grade level.

More than 3,000 people demonstrated against Tunisia's government on Saturday at a rally organised by the powerful UGTT trade union, which called on President Kaid Saied to accept "dialogue".

Saied has pushed through sweeping changes to the political system in the sole democracy to have emerged from the Arab Spring uprisings, concentrating near-total power in his office since he froze parliament and sacked the government in July 2021.

Olive oil, fragrant rose and orange blossom: the special "chrism" or holy anointing oil for the coronation of Britain's King Charles III has been blessed in Jerusalem's Old City.

Friday's ceremony was carried out at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Christians believe Jesus was buried.

"The chrism oil which will be used to anoint His Majesty The King on May 6 2023 has been consecrated in Jerusalem," Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

The unique mix was "perfumed with essential oils", and also included extracts of sesame, jasmine and cinnamon, it added.