A former British soldier who escaped prison ahead of his trial was found guilty at a UK court on Thursday of spying for Iran but cleared of a bomb hoax charge.
A jury at Woolwich Crown Court in southeast London found army soldier Daniel Khalife, 23, guilty of espionage and terrorism charges, including eliciting or attempting to elicit information likely to be useful to a person preparing an act of terrorism.
Lebanese official media said Israeli fire wounded two people in a border village on Thursday, a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect.
A Lebanese military source said the armed forces were extending their deployment in the country's south, without approaching Israeli-controlled areas, following the ceasefire that ended two months of all-out war and more than a year of hostilities.
Lebanon's official National News Agency said two people were wounded in the village of Markaba "due to the enemy targeting" of a square in the village.
With its longtime leaders dead, its military capabilities vastly diminished, and its fighters forced to retreat from southern Lebanon, Hezbollah emerges from its war with Israel facing unprecedented challenges.
But analysts say that it is too early to write off the Iran-backed group, which still plays a major role in Lebanese politics.
When Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza more than a year ago, it was the most formidable member of Iran's so-called "axis of resistance", with an arsenal believed to be superior than the Lebanese military's.
Israel said it conducted an air strike on a Hezbollah weapons facility on Thursday, the first since a ceasefire in the war in Lebanon took effect.
The truce, which came into force on Wednesday, seeks to end a war that has killed thousands in Lebanon and sparked mass displacements in both Lebanon and Israel.
The war began with Hezbollah firing into Israel in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas and its unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel.
Lebanon's parliament will meet on January 9 to elect a new president, seeking to end more than two years without a head of state, official media reported Thursday, a day after an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire began.
The official National News Agency also reported that parliament on Thursday extended the mandate of army chief Joseph Aoun, himself floated as a potential presidential contender.
"Speaker Nabih Berri called a parliament session to elect a president of the republic on January 9," the NNA reported.
A Syria war monitor on Thursday said clashes between the army and jihadists killed more than 130 combatants in the worst fighting in the country's northwest in years, as the government also reported fierce battles.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions launched a surprise attack on the Syrian army in the northern province of Aleppo on Wednesday.
The OPEC+ alliance of major oil-producing nations has postponed a weekend meeting to December 5 in what analysts said were signs of disagreement among the group over plans to increase output.
The 22-member OPEC+ group led by Saudi Arabia and Russia was due to decide on its 2025 output policy at a ministerial meeting originally scheduled for Sunday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel would do "everything" to stop Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon after Iran's top diplomat warned it could end its ban on developing one if Western sanctions are reimposed.
The renewed war of words between the Middle East foes came as Iran prepares to hold key nuclear talks with European governments on Friday which have been overshadowed by their joining with Washington to have Tehran censured by the UN atomic watchdog.
As soon as a truce was announced between Israel and Hezbollah, widow Umm Mohammed Bzeih rushed back to south Lebanon to check on her beloved home, only to find it badly damaged.
"I'm cleaning the rooms so we can stay... though the windows are broken," said Bzeih, 44, the contents of her home strewn everywhere, the curtains ripped and food rotting in the kitchen.
Saudi Arabia announced Wednesday it is ready to open the first part of the Riyadh Metro, a major project intended to help shift the car-centric kingdom to public transport.
Three lines will open to the public on December 1, "with gradual launches completing the six-line, 176-kilometre (109 mile) network across the city," the Royal Commission for Riyadh City said in a statement.
All six lines are expected to be operating by January 5, the statement said.
