Israel pounded south Lebanon with deadly strikes and widened its offensive with the first raid near Beirut in weeks where authorities said a woman and two children were killed despite a ceasefire.

The attack near the capital came after heavy strikes on south Lebanon that authorities said had killed at least 14 people, including three children.

The escalation comes as Lebanon and Israel prepare for talks between military delegations at the Pentagon on Friday, and for US-brokered talks early next week -- the fourth round since the latest Israel-Hezbollah conflict erupted.

The United States and Iran accused each other of violating an ongoing truce on Thursday following an exchange of fire, three months after the Middle East war began with a wave of US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic.

The latest exchange was the most serious since the ceasefire started in April, rattling ongoing efforts to negotiate an end to the war and drawing in US ally Kuwait, which accused Iran of a "dangerous escalation".

By Jana Choukeir, Enas Alashray and Phil Stewart

DUBAI/WASHINGTON, May 28 (Reuters) - Iran's Revolutionary Guard said on Thursday it targeted a U.S. airbase after the U.S. military carried out what a Washington official said were strikes targeting an Iranian drone operation near the Strait of Hormuz, hours after President Donald Trump rejected a report he was close to a compromise deal with Tehran.

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."