By Rami Ayyub

JERUSALEM, May 8 (Reuters) - A prominent Palestinian-American developer asked a U.S. judge on Friday to throw out a lawsuit accusing him of supporting Hamas through his Gaza projects, arguing it equates participating in Gaza's economy with terrorism.

Bashar Masri, who built luxury hotels in Gaza and the Palestinians' first planned city in the West Bank, was sued last year by U.S. families of victims of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks who alleged his Gaza properties concealed tunnels the militant group used to stage its assault.

May 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. military struck two empty Iranian-flagged oil tankers on Friday that it said were seeking to violate the ongoing U.S. blockade, U.S. Central Command said in a post on X, adding that a third Iranian-flagged vessel had been disabled on Wednesday.

"All three vessels are no longer transiting to Iran," Central Command said.

(Reporting Ismail Shakil; writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Daphne Psaledakis)

Three-quarters of Europeans hold a negative view of the United States, a sharp jump compared to late last year, according to a wide-ranging survey published on Friday.

Based on polling across the EU's 27 member states, the share of people with an unfavourable opinion of the United States has risen 14 points since October-November 2025, to hit 74 percent.

Just 24 percent of Europeans now view the country positively, the Eurobarometer survey found.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was expecting a response from Iran on Friday to US proposals for a deal to end the conflict.

"We're expecting a response from them today at some point... I hope it's a serious offer, I really do," Rubio told reporters during a visit to Rome.

"The hope is it's something that can put us into a serious process of negotiation," he said.

He also slammed as "unacceptable" efforts by Iran to control the Strait of Hormuz, following a report that Tehran has created an authority to approve transit through the vital waterway.

Peyvand Naimi was at work on January 8 when they came for him.

Naimi, a member of Iran's Bahai religious minority from Kerman in southeastern Iran, was hauled away to prison, accused of offences he could not have committed and subjected to torture, according to supporters.

When allowed a brief call with his parents, he said: "'If they execute me do not be sad, my soul will be free of the cage of my body'," a close relative based outside Iran familiar with the details of the case told AFP, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.

By Crispian Balmer

ROME, May 8 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday at a moment of unusual strain between her government and President Donald Trump's administration, driven largely by the war with Iran.

Rubio is in Italy for a two-day trip aimed at easing ties with Pope Leo after unprecedented attacks on the pontiff by Trump, while also addressing Washington's frustration over Italy's refusal to support the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

A US fighter jet on Friday disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers, prompting retaliatory attacks and rattling a shaky truce as President Donald Trump said he was awaiting Tehran's reply to his latest proposal to end the Middle East war.

Iranian officials accused the United States of violating the ceasefire with the tanker strikes and hampering diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.

SEOUL, May 8 (Reuters) - South Korea's Oceans Ministry said on Friday that government investigators had started examining the cause of an explosion and fire aboard a Korean-operated vessel amid uncertainty over whether it had been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz.

• The ship's operator HMM said investigators dispatched from South Korea boarded the vessel at around 0600 GMT after it had been towed to a port in Dubai.

• The spokesperson said it was to early to estimate when the probe would conclude.

By Jesus Calero

May 8 (Reuters) - Global perceptions of the U.S. have deteriorated for a second consecutive year and are now worse than views of Russia, an annual study on democracy published on Friday showed, as U.S. President Donald Trump's policies continue to severely strain the NATO alliance.

By Mikhail Flores

CEBU, Philippines, May 8 (Reuters) - Leaders of Southeast Asian countries holding a summit on Friday are expected to thrash out a coordinated response to the impacts of the Middle East crisis, as they aim to ease pressure from an energy shock that has rattled their oil import-reliant economies.