*) Grief, hope in Türkiye and Syria as disaster hits one-week mark

The death toll in Türkiye and Syria has climbed to over 33,000, a week after two powerful earthquakes, centred in southeastern Türkiye, struck both countries.

Hope remains that more survivors could still be found, after rescuers saved a woman from the rubble in Gaziantep 170 hours into search efforts.

Late on Sunday, a young boy and a 62-year-old woman were also rescued in Hatay province.

In Türkiye, the death toll has reached 29,605, while the number of deaths in Syria reached 3,574, according to the latest figures.

*) UN admits aid failure for Syria as quake death toll soars

The United Nations has decried the failure to ship desperately needed aid to war-torn regions of Syria, while warning the death toll from last week's earthquake is set to rise far higher.

A 10-truck UN convoy carrying supplies crossed into northwest Syria via the Bab al Hawa border crossing, according to an AFP correspondent, but the agency's relief chief Martin Griffiths said on Sunday much more was needed for millions whose homes were destroyed.

Supplies have been slow to arrive in Syria, where years of conflict have ravaged the healthcare system, and parts of the country remain under the control of rebels battling the regime of President Bashar al Assad, which remains under Western sanctions.

*) Russia continues to shell Ukraine amid grinding push in east

Russian forces continued to shell Ukrainian cities amid a grinding push to seize more land in the east of the country, but Ukrainian officials say that Moscow is having trouble launching its expected large-scale offensive there.

The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group earlier said that his forces are facing fierce resistance around Bakhmut, a city in the eastern Donetsk region.

Yevgeny Prigozhin said that it could take two years for Moscow to control the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, whose capture Moscow has stated as a key goal of the war.

*) Israel set to legalise nine settlements in occupied West Bank

Israel's security cabinet has announced that it would legalise nine Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank following escalating violence in occupied East Jerusalem.

Netanyahu announced in a cabinet meeting on Sunday that he wanted to "strengthen settlements", which are illegal under international law.

More than 475,000 Israelis reside in settlements in the occupied West Bank, where 2.8 million Palestinians live.

*) New Zealand city grinds to halt as deluge from cyclone looms

Auckland residents brace for a severe flood from Cyclone Gabrielle, two weeks after a record-breaking storm swamped New Zealand's largest city and killed four people.

Much of Auckland ground to a halt as train services were cancelled, libraries and most schools were closed, and authorities asked people to make only essential trips.

Air New Zealand cancelled all domestic flights to and from Auckland through Tuesday morning, as well as many international flights.

The cyclone, which was moving south, dumped more than 220 millimeters of rain in areas north of Auckland, cutting power to about 58,000 households and forcing many roads to close.