Lebanese authorities are investigating how a former Syrian militia commander suspected of committing crimes during the government of ousted President Bashar Assad was abducted in Lebanon and taken to Syria, judicial and security officials said.

Mansour Abbas has done nearly everything Israel asks of its Palestinian citizens.

The leader of a small Arab political party condemned Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack. He rarely speaks about the war in Gaza or Israel's occupation of the West Bank, instead focusing on local issues like crime. He broke a taboo in 2021 by bringing an Arab party into an Israeli government, in which he served as a loyal partner. This time around, the second-ranked member of his party list is a mainstream Jewish candidate.

A prominent Hezbollah lawmaker acknowledged Thursday that a truck full of explosives seized by Lebanese authorities last week belonged to the Iran-backed group and said the explosives were intended for use against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.

The truck, which was stopped at a checkpoint on the main highway linking Beirut with the eastern Bekaa Valley, was carrying 780 kilograms of explosives, including 250 kilograms of TNT and 250 kilograms of C-4 plastic explosives, according to judicial officials.

Israel on Tuesday returned 22 ancient artifacts that had been illegally removed from Greece, as Athens steps up an international repatriation campaign ultimately aimed at securing the return of sculptures taken from the Acropolis.

Culture Minister Lina Mendoni received the objects from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Amir Ganor, director of its theft prevention division, at a ceremony held at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

China's exports surged 36.3% in September from a year earlier, its customs agency said Wednesday, bringing it on track to exceed last year's record trade surplus as pressure ramped up from its trading partners, including the European Union, to rebalance trade.

The exports data, which was better than what economists had expected, accelerated from the 25% growth in August. High-tech goods such as semiconductors and autos have helped fuel its rising shipments overseas.

Barcelona survived a scare against Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday. But Bayern Munich was stunned by a late equalizer from Viking in a 3-3 draw in Norway.

Arsenal rolled over Lille and it was more misery for Manchester United.

Authorities on Wednesday raided the headquarters of one of Turkey 's few broadcasters not aligned with the government, and appointed a trustee manager to oversee it as part of an investigation into alleged corruption.

Press freedom groups and opposition parties, however, denounced the move against Halk TV — a popular news channel — calling it yet another step by the government to silence opposition voices.

Bulgaria on Wednesday said Russia was likely behind drone attacks that struck four ships in the Black Sea in the past week, sinking two, but there was no way of proving Moscow's culpability.

Rescuers are still searching for 11 crew members missing after drone strikes on Tuesday sank two ships in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone and adjacent waters, while five other crew members were rescued.

The U.S. and other wealthy nations need to urgently tackle mounting global debt levels that are weighing most heavily on low-income countries and straining the global financial system, the head of the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other U.S. leaders recognize that the federal deficit and national debt are too high. But economic growth alone would not be enough to address the country's more than $40 trillion in national debt, she said.

An Israeli strike on an apartment in Gaza City killed one woman early Wednesday, according to officials at Shifa hospital.

Israel’s military said it struck a Hamas militant but was still assessing the strike's outcome, without elaborating.