Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told AFP in an exclusive interview he wants a security agreement with Israel once it withdraws its troops as a possible prelude to peace, and is determined to disarm Hezbollah without a confrontation.

Speaking ahead of his departure to France on Wednesday, President Joseph Aoun said Lebanon wanted a new force, European or otherwise, to prevent a security vacuum after UN peacekeepers leave south Lebanon when their mandate expires at the end of the year.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told AFP in an exclusive interview he wants to reach a security agreement with Israel once it withdraws from the south, and is determined to disarm Hezbollah without resorting to confrontation.

Speaking ahead of his departure to France on Wednesday, President Joseph Aoun said Lebanon wanted a new force, European or otherwise, to prevent a security vacuum after UN peacekeepers leave south Lebanon when their mandate expires at the end of the year.

By Maya Gebeily and Raghed Waked

RMEICH, Lebanon, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Kicking up a column of dust, the United Nations peacekeeping vehicles were the only cars on the road as they passed bombed-out buildings on their way to Christian towns deep in southern Lebanon's Israeli-occupied zone.

More than six months of Israeli bombardment and demolition, triggered by a Hezbollah rocket attack in early March, have left villages abandoned and residents forcibly displaced across swathes of land. Shrubs encroach on minarets and rusting metal gates mark where homes once stood.

By Maria Rugamer, Michael Kahn and Supantha Mukherjee

Sept 16 (Reuters) - European militaries are increasingly exploring cheaper missiles and interceptors after conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East exposed the limits of small inventories of high-end weapons.

Along Europe's eastern flank, Russia's daily drone and missile attacks on Ukraine have highlighted a lesson often overlooked in peacetime procurement planning: modern conflicts can consume weapons faster than many countries can replace them.

Yemen's Houthis reported fresh Saudi airstrikes on Wednesday, as Riyadh accused the group of launching a "cowardly" attack targeting Islam's holy city of Mecca.

The Houthis swiftly rejected as a "lie" Riyadh's early morning statement that it had shot down a drone heading towards Mecca, but the accusation prompted a chorus of outrage from around the Muslim world.

Renewed fighting between the Houthis and Yemen's Riyadh-backed government has dragged in the kingdom, after the Houthis declared a maritime blockade on Saudi ships in the Red Sea.

The United States hammered home a message touting its energy dominance at Tuesday's meeting of G20 energy ministers in Houston, while brushing past the consequences of Washington's war in Iran and environmental concerns.

The meeting's slogan to "Unleash the full potential of American energy" has been repeated by US officials tirelessly in Texas since the gathering kicked off Monday.

By Timour Azhari and Jana Choukeir

RIYADH/DUBAI, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia issued security alerts over a range of territory on Tuesday, including in the holy city of Mecca and second-largest city Jeddah, following a week of attacks from Iran-aligned fighters that have drawn it deeper into the Middle East war.

The alerts were swiftly lifted and Saudi authorities did not immediately report whether any incoming projectiles had landed, nor was there any immediate claim of responsibility for attacks.

By Jacob Bogage

WASHINGTON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The six-month-old U.S. war against Iran has cost $38 billion so far and that amount is projected to rise by $3 billion a month, Congress' nonpartisan bookkeeper reported on Tuesday, as the Trump administration searches for ways to end the conflict and reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz.

The war is expected to increase inflation by 0.5% in the first three months of 2027, according to the Congressional Budget Office accounting, which totaled expenses through August 1.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO/GAZA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Israeli airstrikes killed at least five Palestinians, including two children and a Hamas armed commander, in northern and southern Gaza on Tuesday, health officials and Hamas sources said.

Israeli airstrikes on a vehicle killed at least two Palestinians, one a child, and wounded seven others in what appeared to be a double tap strike in the northern Gaza Strip neighbourhood of Sheikh Radwan, according to medics.

The Israeli military said it had struck a militant in the area, without elaborating.

ISTANBUL, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Turkish authorities arrested at least 31 people pending trial on Tuesday as part of a government campaign targeting LGBTQ+ groups, while police detained at least 126 people during protests in Ankara and Istanbul against recent raids and arrests, lawyers said.

The arrests marked the latest escalation in what rights groups and opposition figures have described as a widening campaign against the LGBTQ+ community, with authorities over the past week raiding association offices, blocking websites and jailing suspects across multiple provinces.