By Simon Lewis and Michelle Nichols

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Russia on Thursday proposed its own draft of a U.N. resolution on Gaza in a challenge to a U.S. effort to pass its own text at the Security Council that would endorse President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan, according to a copy of the draft seen by Reuters.

The U.S. formally circulated the draft resolution to the 15 Council members last week and has said it has regional support for its resolution that would authorize a two-year mandate for a transitional governance body and international stabilization force.

By Jasper Ward

(Reuters) -Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called for the United Nations to impose "appropriate measures" against the United States and Israel over military strikes in June against Iran's nuclear sites.Araghchi said that President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials bear "criminal responsibility" for the strikes after Trump's statement last week that he directed Israel's initial attack on Iran on June 13.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A Pentagon intelligence report raises concerns over Saudi Arabia's bid to buy F-35 jets from the United States, warning that China could acquire the aircraft's technology if the sale proceeds, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the assessment.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward; Writing by Katharine Jackson)

By Timour Azhari

RIYADH (Reuters) -Saudi Arabia plans imminently to boost commercial ties with Lebanon after Lebanese authorities demonstrated "efficacy" in curbing drug smuggling to the kingdom over the past months, a senior Saudi official said on Thursday.

Ties between Riyadh and Beirut have been strained for years due to the power of Iran-backed Hezbollah over Lebanese political and security affairs, but the kingdom sees an opening after the group was severely weakened by war with Israel last year.

Survivors of the bloody takeover of El-Fasher walked for days through the desert, past bodies and armed men who humiliated them, desperate to escape the Sudanese city now overrun by paramilitary forces.

Several gave harrowing accounts to AFP, describing scenes of terror as nearly 100,000 people fled the last army stronghold in western Darfur after its fall to Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on October 26.

OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada's domestic spy agency this year foiled potentially lethal threats by Iran directed against people whom Tehran sees as enemies, the agency's head said in a rare speech on Thursday.

Dan Rogers, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, also said his agents had blocked attempts by Russia to illegally acquire Canadian goods and technologies.

Rogers, appointed in February, spoke as he presented an annual update on security challenges facing Canada. CSIS directors seldom appear in public.

The Palestinian Authority said Thursday that Israeli soldiers had killed two 15-year-olds in the occupied West Bank, while Israel called them "terrorists" attempting to carry out an attack.

Settler violence has surged in recent weeks across the West Bank, drawing international condemnation and even rare criticism from within the Israeli military and government.

MrBeast, the world's most followed YouTuber with over 450 million subscribers, opened a temporary amusement park in Riyadh on Thursday, the latest celebrity drawn to Saudi Arabia as it aspires to become a major entertainment hub.

Eager for a chance to meet the social media star, families and teenagers gathered at "Beast Land", a venue featuring obstacle course-like challenges similar to those in his popular videos where contestants compete for massive pay days.

By Joan Faus

BARCELONA (Reuters) -Nineteen boats carrying around 360 people reached Spain's Balearic Islands in the past two days, the latest surge in arrivals defying attempts by authorities to curb the fastest-growing migratory route into the European Union.

Arrivals via the Western Mediterranean route - primarily boats departing Algeria for Spain - rose 27% in January-October compared with the same period last year, the steepest increase among routes, even as overall arrivals to the EU fell 22%, according to data from EU border agency Frontex.

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and the United States shipped vast amounts of oil to Israel during its two-year Gaza offensive, according to a report by Oil Change International, which says the same fossil-fuel system driving climate change is also enabling "genocide."

Released at the UN climate summit in Brazil, the analysis titled "Behind the Barrel" found that 25 countries were responsible for 323 shipments of crude and refined petroleum products totaling 21.2 million tonnes between November 1, 2023, and October 1, 2025.