By Julia Harte and Lucia Mutikani

-From battlefields in Afghanistan to a scenic home in the Pacific Northwest, Rahmanullah Lakanwal had followed a promising path before Wednesday, when U.S. authorities say he shottwo National Guard soldiers blocks from the White House.

Lakanwal, 29, drove across the country from his homein the state of Washington, said Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., at a news conference on Thursday. He lived in Bellingham, acoastal city near Canada's border, with his wife and five children.

The Israeli military carried out a fresh series of strikes against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon on Thursday, exactly a year into a ceasefire with the militant group.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said Israeli aircraft launched "a series of raids on Al-Mahmoudiya and Al-Jarmak", just north of the Litani River.

The November 27, 2024 ceasefire sought to end over a year of hostilities between the two sides.

LONDON (Reuters) -Irish novelist Sally Rooney said Britain's decision to ban pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation could stop her receiving royalties and even lead to her books being withdrawn from sale due to her support for the group.

The bestselling author said in a witness statement made public on Thursday, the second day of a legal bid to overturn the ban, that production company Element Pictures had expressed concern that paying her royalties could be a crime.

ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan praised Pope Leo's stance on the Palestinian issue after meeting him in Ankara on Thursday, and said he hoped his first overseas visit as Catholic leader will benefit humanity at a time of tension and uncertainty.

"We commend (Pope Leo's) astute stance on the Palestinian issue," Erdogan said in an address to the Pope and political and religious leaders at the presidential library in the Turkish capital Ankara.

The Israeli military said it had carried out another series of strikes against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon on Thursday, exactly a year into the ceasefire with the militant group.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said Israeli aircraft launched "a series of raids on Al-Mahmoudiya and Al-Jarmak in the Jezzine area".

The Israeli military "struck and dismantled Hezbollah terror infrastructure in several areas in southern Lebanon", it said in a statement.

TUNIS (Reuters) -Tunisia released on Thursday prominent lawyer and human-rights advocate Sonia Dahmani, a vocal critic of President Kais Saied, after she spent a year-and-a-half in prison over comments in which she criticized Saied’s policies.

Dahmani is widely seen as one of the leading voices defending freedom in Tunisia, and her arrest brought a wave of solidarity from lawyers and civil-society activists, who said the case carried a political dimension.

By Saeed Shah

KABUL/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Afghans who fled the Taliban and have waited years for a U.S. resettlement decision say their last path to safety has shut since Washington froze all Afghan immigration cases following a shooting near the White House.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said late on Wednesday it had halted processing for Afghan nationals indefinitely, hours after an Afghan man shot and critically wounded two National Guard soldiers in Washington.

Sebastien Ogier bounced back from a mediocre first full day at the season-closing Rally Saudi Arabia to share the honours in Thursday's final stage and boost his hopes of landing a ninth World Rally Championship.

The Frenchman, who described the conditions as "terrible", hit the same time as M-Sport Ford driver Martins Sesks in the final stage to close the day in seventh place overall, 44.2 seconds behind leader Adrien Fourmaux.

ANKARA (Reuters) -A maritime demarcation deal signed between Lebanon and Cyprus violates the rights of Turkish Cypriots on the island and is therefore unacceptable, Turkey said on Thursday.

Lebanon and Cyprus on Wednesday signed the long-awaited deal, which aims to pave the way for potential exploration of offshore gas fields and deepen energy cooperation in the Mediterranean.

By Joshua McElwee

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT TO ANKARA (Reuters) -Like many Americans on the annual holiday of Thanksgiving, Pope Leo was travelling on Thursday, flying from Rome to Turkey for his first overseas trip as leader of the Catholic Church.

While the first U.S. pope may not have a chance to enjoy a meal with turkey, stuffing and the other traditional dishes this year, several journalists aboard his papal flight from Rome tried to make sure he had a taste of the annual feast.