More than 1,000 Iraqis were rushed to hospital with respiratory ailments on Thursday due to a sandstorm, the seventh to hit the country in the past month, state media said.

Residents of six of Iraq's 18 provinces, including Baghdad and the vast western region of Al-Anbar, awoke once again to a thick cloud of dust blanketing the sky.

Authorities in Al-Anbar and Kirkuk provinces, north of the capital, urged people to stay indoors, said the official INA news agency.

Clashes erupted between Israelis and Palestinians at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Thursday, after a 10-day cooling of tensions at the holy site, Israeli police said.

The Israeli police said they had repelled "dozens of rioters" who had been "throwing stones and other objects" at the security forces.

An AFP correspondent said there was a large police presence in front of the mosque, while the Palestinian Red Crescent had yet to report any casualties from the violence.

Saudi Arabia, Russia and other key oil producers agreed Thursday on another marginal increase in output, bolstered by risks to demand amid coronavirus restrictions in China.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has added to supply concerns, which have increased with Europe's announced moves on a potential Russian oil embargo.

OPEC+ members confirmed they'll stick to their strategy of modestly boosting output, adding another 432,000 barrels per day for June.

Lee Westwood said Wednesday he had asked to be released from the US and European golf tours so he can compete in the first event of a lucrative Saudi-backed series next month.

The 49-year-old British former world number one said that he had asked both Tours for permission to contest the $25 million LIV Golf Invitational at Centurion Club near London, from June 9 to 11.

The money-spinning series will feature eight tournaments across three continents, with players competing as individuals and in teams.

Migrant labourers are working through the night near the World Cup clock that will start counting down 200 days to kick-off on Thursday, with hosts Qatar facing mounting questions over costs and conditions for fans.

Eight shiny, air-conditioned stadiums are ready for the tournament's start on November 21, but every night the army of South Asian workers who underpin Qatar's energy-rich economy swarm over unfinished roads and building sites around Doha.

Families of prisoners held for years in Syrian jails gathered Wednesday, hoping their loved ones were among the "hundreds" the government said had been released in a mass amnesty.

A crowd of hundreds waited in the centre of the capital Damascus, with dozens camping out overnight holding a vigil that their missing family might be among those to be safely returned.

"I've been expecting my five children and my husband since 2014," Umm Maher said, waiting near the capital's Jisr al-Rais bridge, the main arrival point for buses entering the city.

The LGBTQ community around the world is facing a wave of attacks, said leaders and activists from more than 100 countries meeting this week in California.

The gathering is the first global get-together for community members since the world shut down for Covid -- and participants warned the environment for queer youth was deteriorating.

Julia Ehrt, director of the International Lesbian, Gay, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA World) said the community has historically faced "enormous levels of violence and discrimination."

Major oil producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia meet Thursday with less pressure to open tabs more widely than planned as China's Covid lockdown threatens demand.

The meeting on Thursday also comes as the European Union is eyeing a ban on Russian oil imports, following similar moves by the United States, Britain and Canada.

The alliance known as OPEC+ slashed output in 2020 when oil prices crashed due to the pandemic.

When demand picked up again last year as countries emerged from lockdowns, the coalition began to modestly increase production each month.

Al-Shabaab jihadists armed with guns and explosives stormed an African Union base in Somalia on Tuesday, triggering a fierce firefight that killed an unknown number of Burundian peacekeepers.

The Somali government and the African Union condemned the "terrorist" attack although they did not disclose how many people had died.

A high-ranking Burundian military officer told AFP about 30 soldiers were killed and another 22 wounded, while a dozen were missing.

In Iraq, "maku" means "nothing", and father-of-five Issa al-Zamzoum says "maku" a lot: no electricity, no home, no rebuilding and no job.

Eight years after heavy fighting between Islamic State jihadists and the army, the reconstruction of his war-ravaged village in northern Iraq is at a standstill.

"There is nothing here, no electricity," 42-year-old Zamzoum sighed. "Even work, there is none."