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.

White-robed worshippers from around the world have packed the streets of Islam's holiest city ahead of the biggest hajj pilgrimage since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Banners welcoming the faithful, including the first international visitors since 2019, adorned squares and alleys, while armed security forces patrolled the ancient city, birthplace of the Prophet Mohammed.

"This is pure joy," Sudanese pilgrim Abdel Qader Kheder told AFP in Mecca, before the event which officially starts Wednesday. "I almost can't believe I am here. I am enjoying every moment."

Libya's Tripoli-based government sought on Monday to quell public anger over chronic power cuts, devoting its weekly meeting to the electricity sector and admitting it had underestimated the problem.

The meeting followed a night of angry protests across the capital, where masked youths set car tyres alight and blocked roads.

A further demonstration had been planned for Monday afternoon to demand long-awaited elections, but organisers cancelled it, saying they did not want to be associated with possible acts of vandalism.

The United States concluded Monday that Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was likely killed by Israeli gunfire and urged accountability, but said there was no reason to believe she was shot intentionally.

Dashing hopes for a result that would be accepted by all sides, the United States said it could not make a "definitive conclusion" on the origin of the bullet that killed the journalist on May 11.