China hosted defence ministers from Iran and Russia for a meeting in its eastern seaside city of Qingdao on Thursday against the backdrop of war in the Middle East and a summit of NATO countries in Europe that agreed to boost military spending.

Beijing has long sought to present the 10-member Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) as a counterweight to Western-led power blocs and has pushed to strengthen collaboration between its member countries in politics, security, trade and science.

At a church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, hundreds of people gathered recently for a weeknight charity fundraiser hosted by a celebrity guest.

The venue was not announced in advance due to security concerns, and attendance cost at least $60 a pop -- with some spending $1,000 to get a photo with the host.

Yet, the event was not a gala hosted by a movie star or famed politician, but by a photojournalist: Gaza native Motaz Azaiza, whose images of the Israeli assault following the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas launched him to international recognition.

China hosted defence ministers from Iran and Russia for a meeting in its eastern seaside city of Qingdao on Thursday against the backdrop of war in the Middle East and a summit of NATO countries in Europe that agreed to boost military spending.

Beijing has long sought to present the 10-member Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) as a counterweight to Western-led power blocs and has pushed to strengthen collaboration between its member countries in politics, security, trade and science.

Syrian architect Abdel Aziz al-Mohammed could barely recognise his war-ravaged village when he returned after years away. Now, his meticulous documentation of the damage using a drone helps to rebuild it.

"When I first came back, I was shocked by the extent of the destruction," said Mohammed, 34.

Walking through his devastated village of Tal Mardikh, in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, he said he could not recognise "anything, I couldn't even find my parents' home".

The bedroom of 74-year-old Cherifa Attia smells like burnt rubber. The vast phosphate processing plant beside her home has been belching out toxic fumes into the atmosphere, blighting this Tunisian city.

"This is killing us," said Cherifa as the foul air permeated her home. "That's all we breathe. Day and night."

Residents of Gabes, a city of around 400,000 people, have been campaigning for decades against the pollution from the plant, finally winning a promise from the government in 2017 to begin its gradual closure.

Relieved Israelis returned to work and school on Wednesday after the military lifted restrictions following a ceasefire with Iran, while some voiced lingering apprehension about the future.

People sunbathed and played football on Tel Aviv's beaches, streets and markets came back to life, and schools reopened on Wednesday following the deal to end the 12-day war.

"Finally, we can start to live again," said Yosi, 40, a yoga teacher and mother of two, sitting at a cafe in Tel Aviv.

Iran on Wednesday hanged three men convicted of spying for Israel after what activists decried as an unfair trial, bringing to six the number of people executed on such charges since the start of the war between the Islamic republic and Israel.

The hangings have also amplified fears for the life of Swedish-Iranian dual national Ahmadreza Djalali who has been on death row for seven-and-a-half years after being convicted of spying for Israel which his family vehemently denies.

Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Wednesday hailed what it called its ally Iran's victory over Israel after 12 days of war, declaring it the start of a "new historical phase".

In a statement, Hezbollah offered its "most sincere congratulations" to the Islamic republic, praising its "glorious divine victory".

The victory, it said, was "manifested in the precise and painful strikes it launched" against Israel, as well as "the lightning response to the American aggression against its nuclear facilities".

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that progress was being made to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, as a new ceasefire push began more than 20 months since the start of the conflict.

"I think great progress is being made on Gaza," Trump told reporters, adding that his special envoy Steve Witkoff had told him: "Gaza is very close."

He linked his optimism about imminent "very good news" to a ceasefire agreed on Tuesday between Israel and Hamas's backer Iran to end their 12-day war.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States would hold nuclear talks with Iran next week, teasing the possibility of a deal even after boasting that recent US strikes had crippled the Islamic republic's atomic programme.

Trump credited the unprecedented US attacks with the "total obliteration" of Iran's nuclear capabilities, and said they had set the country's programme back "decades".

But leaked US intelligence cast doubt on that assessment, saying the strikes had likely delayed Tehran by just a few months.