Egypt will "temporarily suspend" its participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations in Mali after seven of its troops died in attacks this year, the UN mission MINUSMA said on Friday.

Egypt signalled its concerns at UN headquarters in New York this week, the mission said in a statement.

"We have been informed that, in consequence, the Egyptian contingent would temporarily suspend its activities in MINUSMA from August 15," said the statement, without detailing how long the suspension would last.

Hundreds of thousands of Muslim worshippers loyal to Iraqi Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr attended a Friday prayer service in Baghdad, in a display of political might to revive stalled talks on government formation.

The huge turnout came despite scorching heat and the Shiite cleric not being there in person -- an indication of his status as a political heavyweight, as well as a key religious authority.

"Thanks to God for this great victory... Thank you to Friday's faithful," Sadr said on Twitter.

US President Joe Biden said Friday he had confronted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over attacks on dissidents during his visit to Saudi Arabia, a country he once vowed to make a "pariah" over its human rights abuses.

Prince Mohammed drew global outrage for the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom's Istanbul consulate, an operation US intelligence services said he "approved".

Saudi officials deny Prince Mohammed's involvement and say Khashoggi's death resulted from a "rogue" operation.

Fires ravaging remote mountain forests in northern Morocco have killed at least one person and forced the evacuation of more than 1,000 families, officials said on Friday.

Fanned by strong winds, the fires that broke out on Wednesday have destroyed 1,600 hectares (nearly 4,000 acres) of woodland in the provinces of Larache, Ouezzane, Taza and Tetouan, the authorities said.

"The body of a person suffering from multiple burns has been found" amid one of the blazes in the Larache region, the authorities said in a statement.

Iran's navy on Friday unveiled its first division of ships and submarines capable of carrying armed drones, as US President Joe Biden tours the Middle East.

The United States and Israel, the sworn enemies of Iran, have previously accused the Islamic republic of using drones and missiles to attack US forces and Israel-linked ships in the Gulf.

"The first drone-carrier division of the Iranian navy consisting of ships and submarine units carrying all types of drone for combat, detection and destruction has been unveiled," state television said.

Hundreds of thousands of Muslim worshippers loyal to Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr attended a Friday prayer service in Iraq's capital, in a display of political might to revive stalled talks on government formation.

The enormous turnout came despite scorching heat and the Shiite cleric not being there in person -- an indication of his status as a political heavyweight, as well as a key religious authority.

Western finance chiefs condemned Moscow's invasion of Ukraine at G20 talks in Indonesia Friday, accusing Russia of sending a "shockwave" through the world economy and its technocrats of complicity in the war's alleged atrocities.

The two-day meeting on the island of Bali began under the shadow of a Russian military assault that has roiled markets, spiked food prices and stoked breakneck inflation, a week after Moscow's top diplomat walked out of talks with the forum's foreign ministers.

As US President Joe Biden visits the Middle East this week, one issue on the table will be the status of two small Red Sea islands that are uninhabited but of key strategic value.

Resolving the tricky status that stems from their location and turbulent history would help build trust between Israel and Saudi Arabia, two US allies now taking gradual steps that Washington hopes could one day lead to diplomatic ties.

When President Joe Biden arrives in Saudi Arabia Friday, the first clues about his visit will be visible on the airport tarmac, where US leaders have received markedly different welcomes.

Following Biden's oft-cited comment about making Saudi a "pariah", here is a look at how the Saudis have greeted some of his predecessors during the ups and downs of a stormy bilateral relationship.

- A kiss for George W. -

Saudi businessman Ahmed Abdullah watches intently as his seven-year-old daughter Yasmine practises keyboard scales at a Riyadh music school, an opportunity he could only dream about when he was young.

Saudi Arabia's rulers have relaxed some social restrictions after decades of adhering to a rigid interpretation of Islam, enforced by the kingdom's religious police, that placed severe limits on social activities including group music lessons.

"Now we are thinking about the next generation and investing in it," Abdullah said.