Archaeologists deep in the Jordanian desert have discovered a 9,000-year-old ritualistic complex near what is thought to be the earliest known large human-built structure worldwide.

The Stone Age shrine site, excavated last year, was used by gazelle hunters and features carved stone figures, an altar and a miniature model of a large-scale hunting trap.

The giant game traps the model represents -- so-called "desert kites" -- were made of long walls that converge to corral running gazelles into enclosures or holes for slaughter.

The number of major wildfires worldwide will rise sharply in coming decades due to global warming, and governments are ill-prepared for the death and destruction such mega-blazes trail in their wake, the UN warned Wednesday.

Even the most ambitious efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions will not prevent a dramatic surge in the frequency of extreme fire conditions, a report commissioned by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) concluded.

A judge shot dead with 15 bullets from a Kalashnikov. A policeman gunned down. Local figures from rival political groups and influential armed factions killed.

The murders all happened in January and February in one Iraqi province, Maysan, which borders Iran and where drug trafficking, tribal disputes and political score-settling have combined in a toxic mix reflecting the country's broader political divisions and struggle against corruption.

The United Nations slammed baby formula makers Wednesday for "unethical" marketing strategies, accusing them of aggressively targeting expecting parents and health workers and putting shareholder interests before children's health.

It is widely recognised that breastfeeding carries huge health benefits.

But countries' failure to crack down on the marketing of breast milk substitutes means far too many children are still being reared on formula, the World Health Organization and the UN children's agency Unicef warned, in a new report.

An Israeli court on Tuesday froze the planned eviction of a Palestinian family in the flashpoint east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah, pending an appeal.

The Salem family had been ordered to surrender the property to Jewish settlers who have claimed ownership of the plot.

Sheikh Jarrah has become a symbol of Palestinian resistance against Israeli control of Jerusalem, and the Salem family's imminent eviction made them a growing focus of the tensions there.

Dubai opened its Museum of the Future on Tuesday, a structure it touts as the world's most beautiful building.

The museum is a seven-storey hollow silver ellipse decorated with Arabic calligraphy quotes from Dubai's ruler. It takes pride of place on Sheikh Zayed Road, the city's main highway.

The building's striking facade was lit up by a colourful laser light show in the evening as crowds gathered outside to catch a glimpse.

The United Arab Emirates is ploughing money into drones, robots and other unmanned weaponry as autonomous warfare becomes more and more widespread -- including in attacks on the Gulf country by Yemeni rebels.

Large, black drones with the orange logo of EDGE, the UAE's arms consortium, were on display at this week's Unmanned Systems Exhibition (UMEX), along with remote-controlled machineguns and other "smart" weapons.

Major gas exporting nations said Tuesday they could not guarantee prices or supplies at a summit overshadowed by the worsening Ukraine crisis which has pushed costs to record highs in Europe.

Qatar's emir, who hosted the talks, said gas producers were working to ensure "credible and reliable" supplies, on the same day as Europe's concerns over deliveries from Russia were further hit by Germany's decision to halt the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.

Passenger traffic at Dubai international airport, the world's busiest, will not recover to pre-Covid levels before 2024, its CEO told AFP on Tuesday.

Traffic remains "nowhere near pre-pandemic levels" despite rising to 29.1 million passengers last year, Dubai Airports chief Paul Griffiths said in an interview.

The figures announced on Tuesday, up 12.7 percent from 2020, mean that Dubai remains the world's busiest airport for the eighth consecutive year.

Syrian mother of four Maryam al-Hussein was relieved to have a roof over her head as she moved from a tent camp into a housing complex built with Turkish support.

"When I first heard that we were moving into a house, I couldn't believe it," the 28-year-old widow told AFP in opposition-held northern Syria.

"I was so happy that I couldn't think of anything other than the move," she said, sitting outside her new concrete home.

The housing complex built near the Turkish-held Syrian city of Al-Bab is the latest in a series of residential projects sponsored by Ankara.