Ten people were killed and more than 200 injured Monday in a toxic gas explosion in Jordan's Aqaba port, authorities said.

Footage on state TV showed a large cylinder plunging from a crane on a moored vessel, causing a violent release of a yellow gas.

The force of the blast sent a truck rolling down the harbourside, while port workers could be seen running for their lives.

Nearby areas were evacuated and residents told to stay indoors.

The death toll rose to 10, government spokesman Faisal al-Shaboul told AFP, revising an initial toll of five killed.

Israeli authorities on Monday dedicated a new museum near Tel Aviv to a magnificent Roman-era mosaic returning to its original home after years of touring the world's top museums.

The mosaic, with vibrant colours that have survived the passage of time, measures around 17 by nine metres (55 by 30 feet), depicting roaring lions, elephants in battle, giraffes and dolphins, as well as fruits, flowers in baskets, and sailing vessels.

Iran and the United States plan to resume indirect talks this week in Qatar, in a fresh bid to revive the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, both sides said Monday.

The talks will be separate from broader EU-mediated negotiations in Vienna between Iran and major powers, the bloc's top diplomat Josep Borrell said Saturday in Tehran.

The nuclear deal has been hanging by a thread since 2018, when then US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from it and began reimposing harsh economic sanctions on America's arch enemy.

Iran announced Monday that weavers in the southern province of Fars had produced the world's largest kilim rug, measuring an enormous 105 square metres (more than 1,100 square feet).

The 7x15-metre kilim was the handiwork of seven expert weavers and three assistants in the town of Qirokarzin, said Mohammad-Jafar Ebrahimi, the local cultural heritage chief, as quoted on state television.

He said it was commissioned by the energy-rich Gulf state of Qatar.

Trust among the Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot communities on their divided island is at a low point but their cooperation in combatting last week's wildfire was "very positive", a senior UN diplomat said Monday.

UN chief of mission Colin Stewart met Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, the Greek-Cypriot leader, days after his community helped the Turkish Cypriots battle a huge blaze in Kantara in the northern mountain range.

"I thanked him for the support of the Greek Cypriots for the terrible fire that had been raging in the north over a few days last week," Stewart said.

The United States, Israel and four Arab countries agreed to closer cooperation and annual foreign ministers' meetings on Monday, two weeks before President Joe Biden's first visit to the Middle East.

Bahrain, host of the six-way talks, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco all opened ties with Israel under the US-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020, while Egypt made peace with the Jewish state in 1979.

A long-delayed UN conference on how to restore the faltering health of global oceans kicks off in Lisbon Monday, with thousands of policymakers, experts and advocates on the case.

Humanity needs healthy oceans. They generate 50 percent of the oxygen we breathe and provide essential protein and nutrients to billions of people every day.

Covering more than two-thirds of Earth's surface, the seven seas have also softened the impact of climate change for life on land.

But at a terrible cost.

Iraq's prime minister met with leaders in rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran on Sunday, discussing regional stability as part of Baghdad's efforts to mediate between the two Middle East heavyweights.

Mustafa al-Kadhemi visited Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran, after earlier meeting with Saudi Arabia's de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Saudi city of Jeddah -- pushing forward a bid to reconcile the foes that have had no diplomatic ties since 2016.

Qatar warned the general public Sunday against the use of unauthorised vehicle license plates with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 logo, after it auctioned off dozens of number plates for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"It is prohibited to copy and install the World Cup logo on the vehicle number plate," tweeted the interior ministry, warning that violators would face legal action.

Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett hosted what was almost certainly his final cabinet meeting Sunday, commending his government as "short-lived with great achievements", ahead of parliament's expected dissolution this week.

Bennett, who took charge of an ideologically-divided eight-party alliance in June 2021, conceded last week that his coalition was no longer tenable, a shock announcement that is likely sending Israel to its fifth election in four years.