JERUSALEM, June 11 (Reuters) - Israel is expected to approve on Thursday the allocation of 1 billion shekels ($337.8 million) to build new settlements and connect them to infrastructure in the occupied West Bank, Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now said.

The plan is being promoted by Israel's far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, a proponent of Israeli settlement expansion who has said he wants to bury the idea of Palestinian statehood.

US President Donald Trump withdrew his threat to launch a more devastating wave of bombings against Iran on Thursday and promised instead that he would soon be able to announce the signing of a deal with Tehran to end the war.

As the World Cup opening ceremony got underway in Mexico, Trump posted news of a potential breakthrough, triggering a stock market rally and sending oil prices tumbling on hopes that Gulf exports could soon return to normal.

DUBAI, June 11 (Reuters) - Efforts to reach a preliminary deal between Iran and the U.S. have intensified, three Iranian sources and a European official told Reuters on Thursday, despite strikes launched by both sides, as they discuss a mechanism over releasing frozen Iranian funds.

The sources said Iran and the United States were still exchanging messages over details of a memorandum of understanding amid the ongoing confrontation between Tehran and Washington.

By John Irish, Michel Rose and Andrea Shalal

PARIS, June 11 (Reuters) - Wars in the Middle East and Ukraine are set to dominate next week’s Group of Seven summit, as host France crafts an agenda aimed at projecting unity and avoiding confrontation with U.S. President Donald Trump.

The June 15–17 gathering in Evian-les-Bains, on the shore of Lake Geneva, brings together the leaders of France, Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, alongside the European Union.

ANKARA, June 11 (Reuters) - The team of the ousted leader of Turkey's main opposition, Ozgur Ozel, has resigned from the party's assembly, his office said on Thursday, adding the move should legally trigger an extraordinary congress to re-elect a chairman.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 11 (Reuters) - Malaysian low-cost airline AirAsia X said on Thursday it has postponed the launch of its planned service via Bahrain until at least August due to the conflict in the Middle East.

AirAsia initially planned to commence the route in June, linking Kuala Lumpur to Bahrain and onward to London's Gatwick airport. It said in a statement it now expects the serviceto start in August or September, subject to market conditions.

• The airline said affected passengers would be offered refunds or rescheduled bookings.

By Ahmed Tolba, Enas Alashray and Bo Erickson

DUBAI/WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - The United States and Iran traded air attacks on Thursday for a second straight day, with President Donald Trump vowing further strikes if Tehran does not immediately agree to a peace deal.

The escalation in hostilities began earlier this week with the downing of a U.S. Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz, which sparked a series of tit-for-tat attacks across Iran and on U.S. bases around the region.

By Duncan Miriri and Elias Biryabarema

NAIROBI/KAMPALA, June 11 (Reuters) - Finance ministers in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania will present their 2026/27 budgets to parliament on Thursday, with investors focused on how they will shield their economies from cost shocks linked to the Middle East war while keeping debt in check.

June 11 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Wednesday for his Civil Contract party's 'decisive victory' in weekend elections.

Pashinyan's party won 49.8% of votes from Sunday's ballot, enough to secure a parliamentary majority under Armenia's electoral system, despite what international election observers called blatant interference by Russia.

By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA, June 11 (Reuters) - The number of people displaced worldwide by conflict and persecution fell in 2025 for the first time in a decade, but levels of refugees facing long-termdisplacement remain unacceptably high, a U.N. refugee agency report said on Thursday.

Last year, 5.4 million people fled their homes, bringing the total number of refugees or people in refugee-like situations worldwide to 41.6 million, including 6 million Palestinian refugees, UNHCR said.