Iran, Venezuela and Sudan are in arrears on paying dues to the United Nations' operating budget and are among eight nations that will lose their voting rights in the 193-member General Assembly, the U.N. chief said in a letter.

Also losing voting rights are Antigua and Barbuda, Republic of Congo, Guinea, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in the letter to General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid.

Human Rights Watch said in its World Report 2022 released Thursday that “the corrupt and incompetent Lebanese authorities have deliberately” plunged the country into one of the worst economic crises in modern times, demonstrating a disregard for the rights of the population.

It called for the international community to use “every tool at its disposal to pressure Lebanese policymakers to put in place the reforms necessary to pull Lebanon out of this crisis,” said Aya Majzoub, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch. She added that they should include imposing sanctions against leaders responsible for the “ongoing grave human rights violations.”

Public drivers, tanker trucks and buses blocked major highways Thursday to protest the country's deteriorating economic and financial conditions

The general strike by public transport and labor unions started at 5 a.m., making it difficult for people to move around.

Israel has said that it had broken up an Iranian spy ring that recruited Israeli women via social media. The women agreed to photograph sensitive sites, gather intelligence and in at least two cases, to encourage their sons to join Israeli military intelligence.

Israel views Iran as its greatest threat, and the two nations have been waging a shadow war for years. Israel has repeatedly threatened to take military action against Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran denies it is seeking such weapons and has vowed a harsh response to any aggression.

Two Israeli soldiers were killed by friendly fire overnight while on a security patrol near a military base in the Jordan Valley, the military said early Thursday.

It said they were misidentified and mistakenly killed by fellow soldiers.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has urged rival factions in Sudan to engage in talks to move forward in their transition to democracy after a coup toppled the civilian-led government.

The Oct. 25 military takeover has upended Sudan's plans to move to democracy after three decades of repression and international sanctions under autocrat Omar al-Bashir. A popular uprising forced the military's overthrow of al-Bashir and his Islamist government in April 2019.

Hizbullah has hosted a conference for Saudi opposition figures in its stronghold south of Beirut on Wednesday in a defiant gesture certain to anger the oil-rich kingdom.

The gathering came as the Lebanese government is trying to mend relations with Saudi Arabia that hit a new low in October when the kingdom recalled its ambassador from Beirut and banned all Lebanese imports.

Paris Saint-Germain called off its upcoming trip to the Persian Gulf region on Wednesday because of coronavirus concerns.

The French league leader was scheduled to fly to Qatar for a three-day training camp starting Sunday and then play a friendly match in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Jan. 19.

The head of the International Energy Agency blamed Russia for worsening Europe's natural gas crisis, saying Wednesday that high prices and low storage levels largely stem from the behavior of state-owned gas supplier Gazprom.

Russia could send up to a third more gas through existing pipelines, said Fatih Birol, executive director of the Paris-based 30-member organization that provides policy recommendations on affordable and sustainable energy. That would amount to some 10% of European daily consumption — about what industry officials say would be needed to avoid a severe shortage in case of colder-than-expected weather.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized Wednesday for attending a garden party during Britain's coronavirus lockdown in 2020, but brushed aside opposition demands that he resign for breaching the rules his own government had imposed.

Johnson is facing a tide of anger from public and politicians over claims he and his staff flouted pandemic restrictions by socializing when it was banned. Some members of his Conservative Party have joined in the criticism, saying he must quit if he can't quell the furor.