A spokesman for Christian churches in the Holy Land has accused Israel of discriminating against Christian tourists during the normally busy Christmas holiday season.

Israel last month closed its borders to foreign tourists in response to the outbreak of the omicron coronavirus variant.

The U.S. Navy said Thursday it rescued five Iranians suspected of smuggling drugs after they apparently set fire to their stash on board a traditional sailing vessel off the coast of Oman.

The Navy released aerial surveillance footage showing the traditional ship, known as a dhow, as it sailed in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday. Those on board pour a liquid, likely an accelerant, over the cargo hold as the Navy approaches. Smoke then pours from the vessel after those on board apparently set the fire, with an explosion rocking the ship.

The United Nations' nuclear watchdog and Iran reached a deal Wednesday to reinstall cameras damaged at an Iranian site that manufactures centrifuge parts, though inspectors remain limited on what footage they can access.

The agreement will see cameras put back at Karaj, which came under what Iran describes as a sabotage attack in June. Iran had since refused the International Atomic Energy Agency access to replace cameras damaged in the incident, part of an ongoing hard-line tact taken by Tehran at negotiations underway in Vienna over its tattered 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

The U.S. Navy announced Wednesday it tested a laser weapon and destroyed a floating target in the Mideast, a system that could be used to counter bomb-laden drone boats deployed by Yemen's Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.

The test Tuesday saw the USS Portland test-fire its Laser Weapon System Demonstrator at the target in the Gulf of Aden, the body of water separating East Africa from the Arabian Peninsula.

The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog has warned that the restrictions faced by his inspectors in Iran threaten to give the world only a "very blurred image" of Tehran's program as it enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.

Speaking in a wide-ranging interview to The Associated Press, Rafael Mariano Grossi said he wanted to tell Iran that there was "no way around" his inspectors at the International Atomic Energy Agency if the Islamic Republic wanted to be "a respected country in the community of nations."

The United Arab Emirates has suspended talks on a $23 billion deal to purchase American-made F-35 planes, armed drones and other equipment, in a rare dispute between Washington and a key U.S. ally in the Persian Gulf.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Tuesday that the former Soviet republic has "no plans to attack anyone," and its gathering of troops is purely defensive amid speculations of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine as soon as next month.

In recent weeks, there has been a massive Russian troop buildup near Ukraine's border which has prompted fears of a possible invasion in Kyiv and the West.

The Arctic continues to deteriorate from global warming, not setting as many records this year as in the past, but still changing so rapidly that federal scientists call it alarming in their annual Arctic report card.

The 16th straight health check for the northern polar region spotlighted the first ever rainfall at Greenland summit station, record warm temperatures between October and December 2020, and the new problem of expansion of beavers in the Arctic.

Navigating her boat toward a wooden platform floating in an idyllic New Hampshire lake where "On Golden Pond" was filmed, biologist Tiffany Grade spotted what she had feared.

An olive brown loon's egg with black speckles was sitting on an nest, abandoned by its parents and with no chance to hatch. Gently scooping it up with gloved hands, Grade placed the egg in a zip lock bag and packed it into a cooler.

Stocks are opening lower again on Wall Street Tuesday as traders took in the latest sign that inflation is still running high. The S&P 500 index gave up 0.5% in the early going. Technology companies had some of the biggest losses, which helped pull the Nasdaq down 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed. Treasury yields rose after the latest report on inflation, which showed that wholesale prices jumped a record 9.6% in November from a year earlier, more than expected. Federal Reserve policymakers began a two-day meeting Tuesday at which they're expected to speed up the withdrawal of economic stimulus measures.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below.