Syria's president on Thursday announced a budget for 2019 of almost $9 billion, of which around a third has been allocated to investment projects including in areas ravaged by the war.

Libya's electoral commission could organize a referendum on a new constitution for the strife-torn country in February if it gets security guarantees and funds, its head said on Thursday.

"It is possible to organize a referendum on the constitution... towards the end of February," commission chief Imed al-Sayeh told a news conference.

Israel's army on Thursday demanded a U.N. peacekeeping force operating across the border with Lebanon to destroy a tunnel the military said was built by Hizbullah across the frontier.

Murtaza Ahmadi moved the world with his love for footballer Lionel Messi in 2016. His dream of meeting the Argentinian came true, but now the seven-year-old boy is living a nightmare as one of thousands of Afghans displaced by war.

Two more Ligue 1 games scheduled for this weekend, including the clash between Thierry Henry's Monaco and local rivals Nice, have been postponed, the French league (LFP) said Thursday, amid fears of more violent "yellow vest" protests in France over rising living costs.

Claudio Ranieri revealed on Thursday that Jose Mourinho was the first manager to welcome him back to the Premier League when he was appointed Fulham boss last month.

Boca Juniors striker Carlos Tevez conceded playing a Libertadores Cup final in Madrid on Sunday will be "weird" but rejected suggestions River Plate have been put at a disadvantage.

World markets slumped Thursday as the arrest of a top executive at Chinese telecoms giant Huawei raised doubts over the recent trade truce agreed by U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

The U.N. General Assembly will vote Thursday on a U.S.-drafted resolution condemning the Palestinian Hamas movement, in what could mark U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley's parting gesture at the United Nations.

Haley, who will step down as UN ambassador at the end of the year, has repeatedly accused the United Nations of having an anti-Israel bias and strongly supports Israel in its latest confrontation with Hamas in Gaza.

U.S.-backed Syrian fighters have broken into an eastern holdout of the Islamic State group on the Iraqi border, a commander and a monitor said Thursday, months into an anti-jihadist offensive.