The Kremlin said Friday that peace talks between Russia and Ukraine were on "pause" as U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to end the three-and-a-half-year conflict falter.

Pushing for a deal to end the fighting, Trump has engaged in a flurry of diplomacy -- including hosting Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska -- but Moscow has pressed on with its offensive and aerial barrages.

EU countries on Friday agreed to prolong Ukraine-related sanctions for another six months on over 2,500 Russian individuals and entities, including President Vladimir Putin, diplomats said.

Ambassadors from the bloc's 27-member states signed off on the move ahead of a deadline on Monday, after Hungary and Slovakia dropped demands to take a number of people off the blacklist, diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani has assured the U.N. Security Council that his country would continue its "diplomatic" role in mediating a ceasefire in Gaza.

"We will continue our humanitarian and diplomatic role without any hesitation, in order to stop the bloodshed," he told the U.N. body on Thursday, after earlier suggesting a reassessment of his country's mediation efforts following the Israeli strikes in Doha.

A Belgian festival said Thursday it stood by its decision to axe a leading German orchestra's performance over concerns about its Israeli conductor -- despite furious protests from Israel and Berlin.

Madrid ramped up security measures on Thursday ahead of the final stage of the Vuelta a Espana, with pro-Palestinian protestors targeting the race.

Israel's army said it had intercepted  a missile on Thursday fired from Yemen, a day after Israeli forces carried out air strikes there that killed 35 people and wounded more than 130.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the missile attack on Israel.

Syria said Thursday that its forces dismantled a cell affiliated with Lebanon's Hezbollah, a key ally of ousted president Bashar al-Assad.

"Specialized units in cooperation with the general intelligence service... were able to arrest a terrorist cell belonging to the Hezbollah militia that was active" in the Damascus countryside, an interior ministry statement said, quoting a local commander.

The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting following what Poland said was a Russian drone raid on its territory, the Polish foreign ministry said on Thursday.

"Following Poland's request, a U.N. Security Council emergency meeting will be convened regarding the violation of Polish airspace by Russia," it said in a post on X.

Qatar said it would hold funerals on Thursday in the capital Doha for those killed in an unprecedented Israeli strike that targeted Hamas figures in the Gulf country earlier this week.

"The Ministry of Interior announces that the funeral prayer for the martyrs of the Israeli targeting... will be held on the afternoon of Thursday, September 11, 2025, at Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque, and they will be buried in the Mesaimeer Cemetery," it said in a statement on X.

The Health Ministry said an Israeli strike in the country's south on Thursday killed one person, the latest raid despite a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

"An Israeli enemy drone strike targeted a motorcycle on the Ain Baal-Bazouriyeh road, killing one person," the Ministry said in a statement, referring to an area in south Lebanon's Tyre district.