Iran's supreme leader and president both slammed the United States' presence in the Middle East, as Tehran hosted the president of neighbouring Iraq for wide-ranging talks on Saturday.

Decades-old arch enemies the United States and Iran have vied for influence in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.

Both helped Iraq to defeat the Islamic State group, and the United States still has 2,500 non-combat troops in the country to provide it with advice and training.

A first Red Cross plane laden with humanitarian aid on Sunday landed in Sudan, where deadly clashes between rival generals' forces have entered their third week.

"The eight tonnes of humanitarian cargo includes surgical material to support Sudanese hospitals and volunteers from the Sudan Red Crescent Society," the International Committee of the Red Cross said.

Fighting erupted on April 15 between forces loyal to two rival generals, leaving over 500 people killed and thousands wounded while uprooting tens of thousands more from their homes.

Warplanes on bombing raids drew heavy fire over Khartoum as fighting between Sudan's army and paramilitaries entered a third week with the UN chief warning the country was falling apart.

More than 500 people have been killed since battles erupted on April 15 between the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former number two Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani has made a third and final offer to buy Manchester United, sources told AFP on Friday.

Sheikh Jassim is in a bidding war with British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe after the pair emerged as the main contenders to buy the Premier League club from the Glazer family.

Ratcliffe is also reported to have made another offer for United ahead of Friday's deadline for the third round of bidding.

Palestinians embraced at the Egyptian border with the blockaded Gaza Strip on Friday as students returned home after fleeing the eruption of violence in Sudan.

Gaza's Crossing and Border Authority said "172 students arrived in the homeland through the Rafah border crossing, as the first batch of students coming from Sudan."

There were hugs and tears at the southern gateway to Gaza as relatives greeted young Palestinians fleeing fighting which broke out on April 15.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will visit Damascus "in the near future", on the first such trip to Syria since the country's civil war began, Iran's foreign minister said on Friday.

Syria's pro-government Al-Watan newspaper reported that Raisi would visit Damascus on Wednesday.

"We have drawn up a programme... for a visit" by Raisi to Syria, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told a press conference at the Iranian embassy in Beirut, adding that the trip would be "in the near future".

A Palestinian prisoner on hunger strike for more than 80 days is being held in "difficult" conditions, his wife told AFP Friday after an advocacy group warned his health is deteriorating.

Khader Adnan, 45, a leading figure in the Islamic Jihad militant group in the north of the occupied West Bank, was arrested by Israeli forces at his home near the city of Jenin on February 5, according to the faction.

He is being held under administrative detention -- a controversial Israeli measure under which people are interned without charge.

Emirati astronaut Sultan Alneyadi stepped out of the International Space Station (ISS) Friday for the first space walk by an Arab astronaut, a moment touted by the UAE as a "milestone".

Alneyadi, 41, dubbed the "Sultan of Space" by his alma mater, become the first Arab astronaut to embark on a six-month space mission when he blasted off for the ISS in early March aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

A US-bound oil tanker seized by Iranian commandos had 24 Indian crew on board, its operator told AFP on Friday, adding it was working to secure their release.

Footage aired by Iranian state television showed navy commandos dropping down from a helicopter onto the deck of the Advantage Sweet which Tehran said it seized Thursday after an alleged collision with one of its vessels off the coast of Oman.

Past experience shows that crew caught up in similar incidents are in "no danger", the ship's operator, Advantage Tankers told AFP.

Heavy fighting raged on in Sudan Friday with warring generals trading blame, despite their agreement to extend a truce aimed at stemming nearly two weeks of warfare that has killed hundreds and caused widespread destruction.

Black clouds rose over the capital Khartoum in fresh fighting and the United Nations reported bitter urban battles in the war-ravaged Darfur region where scores were reported dead.