U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy will meet with Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders in Berlin this weekend, the White House said, as Washington presses for a plan to end Russia's war with Ukraine.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday warned that the Black Sea should not turn into an "area of confrontation" between Russia and Ukraine, after several strikes in recent weeks.

Germany has said it will send a group of soldiers to Poland to help with a project to fortify the country's eastern border as worries mount about the threat from Russia.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he was surprised that his Lebanese counterpart declined an invitation to visit Iran, proposing instead to meet Araghchi in a "neutral third country".

Minister Youssef Rajji said on Wednesday that he could not accept Araghchi's invitation to visit Tehran "under the current circumstances."

Israeli warplanes carried out Friday a series of strikes on several regions in south Lebanon and West Bekaa, despite Lebanon recently moving to negotiations with Israel.

The strikes targeted several regions including Ansar-Zrariyyeh, Iqlim al-Tuffah and al-Rihan heights in south Lebanon, and Zillaya in West Bekaa.

Several Democratic lawmakers have called for the Israeli and U.S. governments to fully investigate a deadly 2023 attack by the Israeli military on journalists in southern Lebanon.

The October 13, 2023 airstrike killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah and wounded six other reporters, including two from AFP -- video journalist Dylan Collins and photographer Christina Assi, who lost her leg.

Israel's far-right national security minister on Thursday vowed to remove the grave of Arab nationalist leader Ezzedine al-Qassam, whose tomb lies in Israel and whose name was given to the armed wing of Hamas.

Itamar Ben Gvir, known for his inflammatory remarks, posted a video on X showing him accompanying security forces as they dismantled a prayer tent next to the grave of the Syrian-born militant.

South Sudan said Thursday it had come to an agreement with warring parties over a key oilfield in Sudan's southern Kordofan, near the country's border, after the site was seized by paramilitaries.

Information minister Ateny Wek Ateny told a press conference that "a tripartite agreement has been reached" between South Sudan's army, the Sudanese army, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which grants the South Sudanese "the primary security responsibility over the Heglig Oil field, also known as Panthou, amid rising tension".

Israel said on Thursday that Hamas "will be disarmed" as part of the U.S.-sponsored peace plan for Gaza, after a top leader from the Islamist movement suggested a weapons freeze.

"There will be no future for Hamas under the 20-point plan. The terror group will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarized," the Israeli official told AFP.

At a cafe in a bustling Cairo neighborhood, Liverpool games once drew wall-to-wall crowds, but with Mohamed Salah off the pitch, his Egyptian fans would now rather play cards or quietly doomscroll than watch the Reds play.

Salah, one of the world's greatest football stars, delivered an unusually sharp rebuke of manager Arne Slot after he was left on the bench for three consecutive games.