American ice cream brand Ben & Jerry's said Tuesday it is suing its parent company Unilever to block a move that would see its product sold in West Bank settlements, which would run counter to its values.

The company, known for its political activism, took the unusual step seeking an injunction after London-based Unilever last week announced it had sold its interest in the ice cream to Israeli license-holder Avi Zinger.

France repatriated 35 children and 16 mothers from camps in Syria holding family members of suspected Islamic State jihadists on Tuesday in the largest such operation by Paris after pressure from campaigners.

The French government had long refused mass repatriations of the hundreds of French children detained in Kurdish-controlled camps, dealing with them on a case-by-case basis that rights groups criticised as deliberately slow.

Public buildings in several Iranian provinces were closed Tuesday due to pollution unleashed by a sandstorm, local media said.

The closures applied to the southwestern province of Khuzestan, the central province of Isfahan, North Khorasan in the northeast and Kerman in the southeast, state television said.

State news agency IRNA reported that state offices continued to function in at least three other provinces that were also hit by the heavy pollution.

Shell joined Qatar Energy's $29 billion project to expand production at the world's biggest natural gas field on Tuesday, becoming the fifth and final international partner.

The British-based company took a 6.25 percent stake for an undisclosed sum, joining TotalEnergies, Eni, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil in the North Field East project.

The North Field expansion is the biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) project ever seen, Qatar Energy said. It comes at a time of intense geopolitical tensions over energy supplies.

Sudan's main civilian bloc on Tuesday rejected a proposal by the country's coup leader to make way for a civilian government as a "giant ruse" and urged more protests.

Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, whose power grab last October derailed a transition to civilian rule, had vowed in a surprise move Monday to "make room" for civilian groups to form a new transitional government.

A closure of the last aid corridor from Turkey into northwest Syria's rebel-held areas would spell "catastrophe" for millions of people, a UN aid official has warned.

"This is one of the most vulnerable populations anywhere in the world," said Mark Cutts, UN deputy regional humanitarian coordinator for the Syria crisis. "It is absolutely essential that we keep this lifeline going."

Iran and its influence in the Middle East took centre stage on Tuesday in talks between Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid with French President Emmanuel Macron during Lapid's first trip abroad in office.

Lapid also asked for backing in a gas dispute with Lebanon that days ago saw Israel shoot down three drones launched by Hezbollah, which it says is largely Iran-financed.

Lapid took over the premiership on Friday following the collapse of Israel's coalition government, which will see the country return to the polls in November for its fifth election in less than four years.

World Cup host Qatar doesn't just have its sights set on football -- it also hopes to harness its people's gaming skills as it launches into the burgeoning eSports sector.

A digital army is at the ready in the gas-rich emirate, where many "majlis" rooms -- communal gathering places attached to homes -- have long doubled as video game hubs for groups of friends, mostly young men.

Under the steady hum of a ceiling fan, Ahmed Othman weaves golden threads through black fabric, creating Koranic verses, a century after his grandfather's work adorned the Kaaba in Mecca's Grand Mosque.

A ceremonial hanging of the kiswa, huge pieces of black silk embroidered with gold patterns, over the cubic structure that is the centrepiece of the Grand Mosque symbolises the launch of the hajj annual pilgrimage, which starts this week.

Othman's family used to be honoured with the task of producing the kiswa.

"Business is back", exclaims Abdullah Mekhlafi at the shop where he sells prayer mats in Islam's holiest city, which is preparing for the biggest influx of hajj pilgrims since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Two years of drastic restrictions on the number of pilgrims who could perform the hajj emptied shops and hotels across the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca. But business owners are hoping for a quick recovery as hundreds of thousands of worshippers flock to the region this week.