By Francois Murphy

VIENNA, May 28 (Reuters) - The trial of a 21-year-old man over a foiled Islamist attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in 2024 enters its final day on Thursday, with the defendant, Beran A, having already pleaded guilty to the main charges including terrorism-related offences.

Beran A, whose last name has not been made public in accordance with Austrian privacy rules, was arrested on August 7, 2024, the day before the first of three planned concerts by the U.S. pop star in the Austrian capital.

Global average temperatures are likely to continue at or near record levels this year and for the next four years afterwards, the United Nations warned Thursday.

The 11 hottest individual years ever recorded all happened from 2015 onwards and the UN's weather and climate agency said the trend was set to continue, with a new hottest-ever year "likely" before 2031.

There is a 75 percent chance that the 2026-2030 five-year mean temperature will surpass the key threshold of 1.5C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average, the World Meteorological Organization said.

Australian police charged on Thursday a woman linked to the Islamic State group with membership of a terrorist organisation and entering a known conflict zone.

Hundreds of women from Western nations were lured to the Middle East as IS gained prominence in the early 2010s, in many cases following husbands who had signed up as jihadist fighters.

A joint counter-terror police team said they will allege that the woman, 34, travelled to Syria between 2013 and 2014 with a man to join Islamic State.

The man is now believed to be imprisoned in the Middle East, they added.

WASHINGTON, May 27 (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday issued new Iran-related sanctions by adding the Persian Gulf Strait Authority to its Specially Designated Nationals list, the Treasury Department's website showed.

The authority is a body Iran has set up to manage requests for passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

(Reporting by Bhargav Archarya; Writing by Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Sonali Paul)

The United States on Wednesday reimposed sanctions on Francesca Albanese, a UN expert on the Palestinian territories who has harshly criticized Israel, after an appeals court overruled an earlier order prohibiting the action.

A notice on the Treasury Department's website showed that it had reimposed a sanctions designation on Albanese that blacklists her globally, making it impossible for her to use major credit cards or carry out bank transactions.

May 27 (Reuters) - The United States has re-added Francesca ​Albanese, a U.N. expert on the ‌Palestinian territories, to a list of sanctioned individuals, according to a notice posted to the U.S. Treasury's website on Wednesday.

Here are the details:

• The U.S. imposed sanctions on Albanese in July 2025 over what it said were her efforts to prompt the International Criminal Court to take action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies and executives.

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Gram Slattery

WASHINGTON, May 27 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he was unconcerned about the political fallout of an extended conflict with Iran, and that Iranian leaders had miscalculated if they thought the November midterm elections would force him into a deal.

"They thought they were going to outwait me," Trump said at a White House cabinet meeting, referring to Iran's leadership. "You know, 'We'll outwait him. He's got the midterms.' I don't care about the midterms."

President Donald Trump on Wednesday appeared to threaten to attack US ally Oman if it sides with Iran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said Oman must "behave" or he would "blow them up," when he was asked if he would accept a short-term deal to allow Iran and the Gulf state to control the waterway.

"No, the strait is going to be open to everybody," Trump told reporters during a cabinet meeting at the White House.

"It's international waters and Oman will behave just like everybody else or we'll have to blow them up. They understand that, they'll be fine."

By Dawoud Abu Alkas , Nidal al-Mughrabi and Jana Choukeir

GAZA/CAIRO/DUBAI, May 27 (Reuters) - Dozens of Palestinians carried the body of Hamas' armed wing chief through the streets of Gaza City in a funeral procession on Wednesday, a day after Israel killed him as it moves to eliminate the militant group's top brass despite a ceasefire.

The Israeli military said Mohammad Odeh was killed in a targeted attack on Tuesday night, just over a week after his predecessor, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, was killed in an Israeli strike on a Gaza apartment block.

BEIRUT, May 27 (Reuters) - Israel's military on Wednesday declared a new swathe of southern Lebanon as a combat zone and said residents in the area should move north, warning it would act "with great force" against Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in the zone.

The military's statement, posted on X, appeared to signal further escalation after more than 120 strikes on Tuesday hit Lebanon's south and east, despite a ceasefire announced on April 16.