ANKARA (Reuters) -Japan's defence minister will hold talks in Turkey on Tuesday on defence industry cooperation, including the possible supply of Turkish-made drones, as Tokyo expands the role of unmanned systems in its armed forces, a diplomatic source said.

Gen Nakatani is the first Japanese defence minister to make such an official trip to Turkey, a NATO member country that is keen to expand its economic and other ties beyond Europe and the Middle East. Turkey and Japan are both U.S. allies.

By Ali Kucukgocmen

TEKIRDAG, Turkey (Reuters) -A drought in Turkey's northwestern province of Tekirdag has left the area's main dams without potable water, straining infrastructure and leaving some homes without water for weeks, due to a sharp drop in precipitation in the country this year.

Authorities say drought is a critical issue, with several provinces warning of limited fresh water supply this summer.

NICOSIA (Reuters) -Cyprus has dispatched 1,200 metric tons of humanitarian aid for Gaza by sea via Ashdod in Israel, its foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

The pre-screened cargo would be transferred without additional security checks on arrival in Ashdod and with international humanitarian organisation World Central Kitchen the final contractor and distributor, the Cyprus Foreign Ministry said.

"The entire undertaking is under the auspices of the U.N. delivery mechanism," it said.

A record 383 aid workers were killed last year, the United Nations said Tuesday, branding the figures and lack of accountability a "shameful indictment" of international apathy, and warning that this year's toll was equally grim.

The 2024 figure was up 31 percent on the year before, the UN said on World Humanitarian Day, "driven by the relentless conflicts in Gaza, where 181 humanitarian workers were killed, and in Sudan, where 60 lost their lives".

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S.-based charity HEAL Palestine and other rights groups criticized the State Department's decision to stop visitor visas for Palestinians from Gaza, saying it will harm wounded children seeking medical treatment on short-term U.S. visas.

The State Department said on Saturday it was halting all visitor visas for Gazans while it conducted "a full and thorough" review, after far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer said Palestinian refugees were entering the U.S.

The United Nations Security Council began to debate Monday a resolution drafted by France to extend the UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon for a year with the ultimate aim to withdraw it.

Israel and the United States have reportedly opposed the renewal of the force's mandate, and it was unclear if the draft text has backing from Washington, which wields a veto on the Council.

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The United Nations Security Council started negotiations on Monday on a French-drafted resolution to extend a long-running peacekeeping mission in Lebanon and signal an intention to work on an eventual withdrawal of the U.N. troops.

The U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), established in 1978, patrols Lebanon's southern border with Israel. The mandate for the operation is renewed annually, and its current authorization expires on August 31.

At the Rafah crossing into the Gaza Strip, hundreds of aid trucks sat unmoving in the Egyptian desert, stuck for days with only a handful allowed through by Israel to relieve the humanitarian disaster across the border.

After nearly two years of war, UN-backed experts have said famine is unfolding in the Palestinian territory, while there are also dire shortages of clean water and medicines.

Yet aid groups say the flow of essential supplies remains painfully slow, despite the growing crisis.

KINSHASA (Reuters) -The Congolese government and M23 rebels have missed Monday's deadline to reach a peace agreement in Doha, raising fears that tensions between the two parties might derail talks and reverse progress made to end the conflict.

Fighting in eastern Congo has intensified this year, with the M23 group launching an offensive that allowed it to capture the two largest cities in the region.

Irish author Sally Rooney has vowed to give fees generated by two BBC adaptations of her books to the Palestine Action group -- banned recently in the UK as a terrorist organisation -- as a government spokesperson on Monday warned anyone flouting the law risked prosecution.

The writer, whose second novel "Normal People" (2018) and its 2020 BBC television adaptation won her international acclaim, announced her plans in the Irish Times.