Pope Leo XIV delivered a diplomatic but subtly strong critique of Argentine President Javier Milei's austerity measures and libertarian agenda as he arrived Sunday in Argentina, insisting that political leaders must put people, not the economy, first.

Leo used his first public speech in Argentina to lay out a vision of governance, democracy and society sharply at odds with Milei's, exposing differences over spending cuts, social justice and artificial intelligence that the government had sought to play down ahead of the visit.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog formally gave opposition politician Gadi Eisenkot the first chance to form the next government Sunday evening.

Complex coalition negotiations still lie ahead, but it marked a significant step in the former military chief's effort to oust Israel's longest-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, after elections held in a deeply divided country. Israel remains scarred by the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, and the multifront wars they triggered.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that President Donald Trump launched the war against Iran even if it was not "necessarily popular" to safeguard the world from the country's nuclear ambitions.

He would not comment directly about the Republican wipeout in Tuesday's elections, which delivered a resounding rebuke to Trump. The unpopularity of the Iran war and its impact on gasoline prices and other parts of the economy helped Democrats seize control of Congress.

Syria is preparing to send fighters to Saudi Arabia to deploy along its border and potentially help it fight Iranian-backed rebels in neighboring Yemen, three officials with knowledge of the plans told The Associated Press.

Syrian military advisers have already deployed to Saudi Arabia, but no fighters have been sent to Yemen, according to a regional official and two Syrian officials, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. military on Friday carried out new limited strikes on Iran, targeting an Iranian air defense system.

Iranian state media reported the sound of two explosions in the Suza area of Qeshm Island, which is in the crucial waterway for oil shipments.

Airstrikes hit a market in southwestern Yemen on Friday, killing at least 20 people, according to an official with Iran-backed Houthi rebels. It would be one of the deadliest attacks since fighting resumed between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces.

A Houthi health ministry spokesperson, Anees Alsabahi, told Houthi-run TV Al Masirah that 15 people were also wounded in the airstrikes on the market in al-Waziyah in the province of Taiz. He said that the death toll was expected to rise from the airstrikes, which he blamed on the Saudi-led coalition.

The world's coral reef ecosystems almost all face a high risk of collapse in the next 50 years, mostly due to warming oceans and heat waves, according to a global assessment released Thursday.

It's the latest dose of bad news for coral reefs, which are critical sources for seafood and tourism and often serve as buffers from coastal erosion and storms. Sometimes dubbed "rainforests of the sea," they have some of the world's richest biodiversity. They support a quarter of marine species as well as coastal communities and businesses.

There are stretches of high desert in northwestern New Mexico where Mother Nature has sculpted otherworldly forms using wind, rain and the passage of time.

Hefty planks of rock defy gravity as they balance atop spindly pedestals of clay, while some columns of sandstone take on the appearance of lace, elaborately eroded by the seasons.

Cristiano Ronaldo's glorious Portugal career ultimately ended in acrimony.

What a contrast to his great rival Lionel Messi, who also retired from international football this year, but only after leading Argentina to back-to-back World Cup finals.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino now has a serious challenger in his fight for re-election amid the biggest crisis of his 11-year leadership of world football.

FIFA council member Kohzo Tashima — a colleague of Infantino for nearly 11 years — intends to run for president against the incumbent, Japanese media reported on Thursday after a meeting of the national football federation.