Amnesty International's head has warned that the proceedings of COP27 in Egypt could be stained by the death of one of the country's leading rights activists from a hunger and water strike in prison if Egyptian authorities do not release him within days.

Secretary General of Amnesty International Agnes Callamard said Egypt had no more than 72 hours to save the life of jailed dissident Alaa Abdel Fattah, who is also a U.K. citizen.

More than 100 world leaders are about to discuss a worsening problem that scientists' call Earth's biggest challenge, yet observers say it will be hard to make progress given all that is happening in the world.

Nearly 50 heads of states or governments on Monday will take the stage in the first day of "high-level" international climate talks in Egypt with more to come in the following days. Much of the focus will be on national leaders telling their stories of being devastated by climate disasters, culminating on Tuesday with a speech by Pakistan Prime Minister Muhammad Sharif, whose country's summer flood caused at least $40 billion in damage and displaced millions of people.

A fire broke out early Monday morning at a 35-story high-rise building in Dubai near the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building.

It wasn't immediately clear if there were any injuries in the blaze at the apartment building, which had been extinguished by the time an Associated Press journalist reached the site.

The U.N.'s COP27 climate summit kicked off Sunday in Egypt after a year of extreme weather disasters that have fueled calls for wealthy industrialized nations to compensate poorer countries.

Pope Francis said Sunday he was praying for "suffering peoples of the Middle East", at the end of a Bahrain visit promoting dialogue with Islam.

In a final address before boarding a flight to Rome, he also urged congregants to pray "for Ukraine, which is suffering so much," and for an end to the war.

Syrian government forces shelled tent settlements housing families displaced by the country's conflict in the rebel-held northwest early Sunday, killing at least six people and wounding dozens, opposition war monitors and first responders said.

The shelling is the latest violation of a truce reached between Russia and Turkey in March 2020 that ended a Russian-backed government offensive on Idlib province that is the last major rebel-held stronghold in Syria.

One of the world's leading Islamic clerics has called for dialogue between the faith's two main currents to settle sectarian differences, in an address to religious leaders including Pope Francis.

Thousands of Christians from around the Gulf packed Bahrain's sports stadium on Saturday for Pope Francis' big Mass, as he shifted the attention of his four-day visit to ministering to the Catholic community in the overwhelmingly Muslim region.

The English-language liturgy was clearly geared toward the South Asian migrant workers who make up the bulk of the Gulf's Catholics, with prayers in Malay, Tagalog and Tamil and a priest offering English translations of the pope's native Spanish homily.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has voiced alarm about rising tensions in the West Bank, in a call to thank outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who has conceded defeat in his country's elections.

Blinken spoke to Lapid to "commend Israel for its free and fair elections, and to thank the prime minister for his partnership," the State Department said in a statement.

Israel's election this week cemented the rise of the country's extreme right, with firebrand Itamar Ben-Gvir set to gain a powerful position in government.

After leading an energetic campaign centered on security and Jewish identity, Ben-Gvir celebrated as his Religious Zionism alliance achieved third place -- and likely kingmaker status -- in the November 1 vote.