Authorities in Greece Tuesday opened an investigation into the crash of a private plane from Israel that killed a prosecution witness in the corruption trial of former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Haim Geron, a former senior official at Israel's ministry of communications, and his wife Esther were killed in the crash late Monday off the island of Samos. The Israeli Foreign Ministry identified the victims, both aged 69, adding that consular officials and the ministry were working with the family to return the bodies. Geron was one of more than 300 witnesses that prosecutors listed for Netanyahu's trial on corruption charges. He is on trial for allegedly accepting expensive gifts from wealthy associates, allegations he denies. Greece's Air Accident Investigation and Aviation Board is investigating the causes of the crash, officials said Tuesday.

Saydi Mubarak and her mother share a bond that goes beyond a close mother-daughter relationship: They were both diagnosed with breast cancer a year ago and underwent months of chemotherapy at a Beirut hospital, together facing the anxiety, the hair loss and the uncertainty for the future.

Now they share the fear of not being able to get the medication they need to complete their treatment because in Lebanon, where a devastating economic crisis has upended daily life, there are almost no drugs to be found.

Russia's Vladimir Putin and Syria's Bashar Assad have met in Moscow to discuss the cooperation between their armies and how to continue operations to gain control of the last rebel-held areas in Syria, state media in Damascus reported on Tuesday.

The Monday night meeting between the two presidents was the first since they held a summit in the Syrian capital in January last year. Syrian state TV described it as a long meeting and said the two were later joined by Syria's foreign minister and Russia's defense minister to discuss mutual relations and fighting terrorism.

Western governments and the U.N. human rights chief voiced concerns Monday about the Taliban's first steps as they establish power in Afghanistan. The United Nations, meanwhile, hosted a donors conference to drum up emergency funds for beleaguered Afghans who could soon face widespread hunger after decades of conflict.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was leading the world body's call for more than $600 million for the rest of this year in a "flash appeal" for Afghans after their country's government was toppled by the Taliban and U.S. and NATO forces exited the 20-year war in a chaotic departure.

Women in Afghanistan can continue to study in universities, including at post-graduate levels, but classrooms will be gender-segregated and Islamic dress is compulsory, the Taliban government's new higher education minister said Sunday.

The announcement came as a Taliban official said Qatar's foreign minister arrived in the Afghan capital of Kabul — the highest level visitor since the Taliban announced their interim Cabinet. There was no immediate confirmation of the visit by Qatari officials.

Britney Spears announced her engagement Sunday to her boyfriend Sam Asghari with an exuberant post displaying a diamond ring engraved with the word "lioness."

The news comes days after her father filed to end the court conservatorship that has controlled the singer's life and money for 13 years.

World shares and U.S. futures were mostly higher Monday, bouncing back from losses last week on Wall Street.

Stocks rose in London, Paris, Tokyo and Shanghai but fell in Hong Kong, where a Financial Times report that Chinese regulators want to break up the mammoth e-commerce payments platform Alipay dragged shares in Alibaba Group Holding nearly 4.3% lower. The company said it had no comment on the report.

Whether it was Timothée Chalamet's beaming face greeting fans, Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain's playfulness for the cameras, Josh Brolin's ear-to-ear grin in the front row of a "Dune" event or those looks exchanged between Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, the 78th Venice International Film Festival mixed elegance and fun in a way rarely seen since early 2020.

Reminders of the pandemic were all around — fans were kept farther back, films played in cinemas with empty seats, and masks remained, albeit in the background. At photo calls and on the red carpets, sunglasses were often the only thing covering stars' faces as the shutters clicked.

The Champions League group stage starts Tuesday with a match between traditional heavyweights Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but big-spending upstarts elsewhere are the title favorites this season after a summer of eye-catching transfers.

Paris Saint-Germain bolstered its ranks with the arrivals of superstar Lionel Messi from Barcelona, former Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos, Italy's European Championship-winning goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Netherlands midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, and wing backs Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes — the latter arguably the most exciting player in Portugal last season.

Vinícius Júnior is quickly helping the Real Madrid faithful to forget about Kylian Mbappé.

Madrid fans were frustrated with the failed negotiations to bring in Mbappé at the transfer deadline last month, but a few matches into the new season they have found that they can count on Vinícius Júnior.