By Alexander Cornwell and Tuvan Gumrukcu
JERUSALEM/ANKARA, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Israel accused Turkey of "dangerous adventures in Syria" on Thursday, while Ankara called for a halt to "reckless" Israeli attacks, two days after Israel bombed a Syrian airbase where it said Turkish troops were about to deploy.
The Vatican expressed "serious concerns" Thursday about problems implementing a US-brokered deal between Israel and Lebanon, following a meeting between Pope Leo XIV and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
During a private, 30-minute audience at the Vatican, Aoun had urged the pontiff to support Beirut's push to secure the withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon envisaged by the deal, the Lebanese presidency said.
Iran on Thursday executed an Afghan national convicted over the killing of police officers during anti-government demonstrations, the 30th in a wave of hangings since the start of the Middle East war, a rights group said.
Ghaem Hosseini was executed after being convicted of involvement in the deaths of four police officers, the Iranian judiciary's Mizan Online website reported.
The United States on Thursday warned allies and China to join President Donald Trump's
FRANKFURT, Aug 20 (Reuters) - People exiled in Germany under threat or attack from agents of their repressive home countries now have a support line to call, courtesy of the country's domestic intelligence service.
Germany's BfV, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, on Thursday published a brochure advertising a helpline for people who found refuge in Germany from authoritarian nations such as Russia, China or Iran.
By Renju Jose
SYDNEY, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Australia summoned Israel's ambassador on Thursday and expressed outrage at a decision by its military not to pursue criminal proceedings over the death of an Australian aid worker in a 2024 airstrike in Gaza.
The Israeli military said on Wednesday it had found no basis to investigate the killings of seven aid workers with the World Central Kitchen charity, including Australian Zomi Frankcom, after a fact-finding and assessment procedure.
From a small makeshift tent in the central Gaza Strip, a dedicated team works to carefully store and document some of the war-shattered territory's most precious commodities: local seeds.
Shelves of unassuming plastic tubs line the walls of the Al Qarara Seed Bank, each holding indigenous seeds seen as a way of reviving Gaza's devastated farming sector and preserving its agricultural heritage.
Earlier this month Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei reshuffled Tehran's top security team, putting his own personal stamp on the appointments and readying the Islamic republic for a long-term confrontation with the United States.
Khamenei, in power since his father Ali Khamenei was killed at the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran in February, has yet to be seen in public since taking on the top job and his health and influence remain uncertain.
France, Italy, Britain and Germany on Thursday piled on mounting international condemnation of a major settlement project in the occupied West Bank, after Israeli authorities opened bidding for more than 1,200 homes in the area.
The E1 plan was green-lit by Israel last year and would further separate east Jerusalem, occupied and annexed by Israel and predominantly inhabited by Palestinians, from the West Bank.
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was launching a major new campaign to target Iran's economy, threatening "tremendous" punishment on any country that helps or does business with the Islamic republic.
The intensified economic pressure campaign comes as the war nears its sixth month with no immediate diplomatic or military off-ramp in sight and the vital Strait of Hormuz still significantly choked-off.
