An attack on a funeral in the strategic city of El-Obeid in Sudan's central Kordofan region killed 40 people, the UN said Wednesday, as paramilitaries looked poised to launch an offensive there.

The United Nations' humanitarian office did not specify when the attack took place or who was behind it, but said that the situation in Kordofan was worsening.

The war in Sudan has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions more, with the fighting spreading to new areas in recent days, sparking fears of an even greater humanitarian catastrophe.

DUBAI (Reuters) -Two French citizens were freed because of "Islamic clemency" and are still in Iran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told state media on Wednesday.

The French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that Iran had released Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris, who were detained in Iran for over three years and were convicted of spying.

The two are currently at the French embassy in Iran, Araqchi said, adding an Iranian woman freed by Paris earlier this year is at the Iranian embassy in France.

(Reuters) -Iran must "seriously improve" cooperation with the United Nations inspectors to avoid heightening tensions with the West, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi.

Grossi told the FT that while the IAEA has carried out about a dozen inspections in Iran since hostilities with Israel in June, it had not been given access to nuclear facilities such as Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, which were bombed by the United States.

Smiling broadly and clad in military fatigues, young Iraqi Mohammed Imad's last TikTok post was in a field carved up with heavy vehicle tracks in what appeared to be Ukraine. Smoke was rising behind him.

"Pray for me," read the caption next to a Russian flag.

That was in May. Months went by without a word, only rumours. Mohammed had been taken hostage, was injured, had the flu or had been killed in a Ukrainian drone strike.

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The United States has proposed a draft United Nations Security Council resolution that would lift sanctions on Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who is due to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.

The draft resolution, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, would also lift sanctions on Syria's Interior Minister Anas Khattab. It was not immediately clear when it could be put to a vote. A resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, the U.S., France or Britain to be adopted.

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The United States has drafted a United Nations resolution that approves a two-year mandate for a Gaza transitional governance body and an international stabilization force in the Palestinian enclave, according to the text seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

The draft - which is still being developed and could change - was shared with some countries this week, but has not yet been formally circulated to the 15-member Security Council for negotiations, diplomats said. It was not immediately clear when Washington planned to do that.

LIV Golf will abandon its abbreviated 54-hole format in favor of 72-hole tournaments in 2026, officials said Tuesday.

The Saudi-backed circuit, whose name is derived from the Roman numeral for '54', had previously touted its three-round tournaments as a core distinction from traditional golf events.

However the 54-hole format prevented LIV events from earning Official Golf World Rankings points, making it harder for LIV players to qualify for golf's majors.

By Mike Stone

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Trump administration is considering a Saudi Arabian request to buy as many as 48 F-35 fighter jets, a potential multi-billion-dollar deal that has cleared a key Pentagon hurdle ahead of a visit by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, two sources familiar with the matter said.

A sale would mark a significant policy shift, potentially altering the military balance in the Middle East and testing Washington's definition of maintaining Israel's "qualitative military edge."

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump plans to meet with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House on Monday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday at a press briefing.

Since seizing power from Bashar al-Assad last December, Sharaa has made a series of foreign trips as his transitional government seeks to re-establish Syria's ties with world powers that had shunned Damascus during Assad's rule.

CAIRO (Reuters) -Israel on Tuesday received a body from Hamas via the Red Cross in Gaza that would be transported to Israel for identification, the Israeli Prime Minister's office said, after Hamas said it had located the remains of a hostage to be returned to Israel.

Hamas said it had found the body of a hostage who had been held by Palestinian militants in Shejaia, an eastern suburb of Gaza City in an area still occupied by Israeli forces, after Israel granted access to the location for teams from Hamas and the International Committee of the Red Cross.