Lebanon's parliament has approved some amendments to a banking secrecy law that has been a key demand of the International Monetary Fund before it agrees to a bailout program amid the country's economic meltdown.
Despite the changes, legal advocacy groups say the alterations to the law will likely not be enough to please the IMF because it restricts moves to lift banking secrecy provisions to judicial authorities. The decades-old law is seen by many as a way to hide the widespread corruption that brought the small nation to bankruptcy over the past three years.

The war in Ukraine and rising demand for natural gas around the world helped speed up a U.S.-mediated maritime border deal between Lebanon and Israel, Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has said.
Bassil, who is under sanctions by the U.S., also told The Associated Press in an interview at his office that "it would be a crazy act" if Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati does not form a new government before the six-year term of President Michel Aoun ends Oct. 31. Disagreements between Aoun and Mikati have delayed the formation of a new Cabinet since May 15, following parliamentary elections. Since then, the government has been in a caretaker capacity.

A Russian warplane crashed Monday into a residential area in a Russian city on the Sea of Azov after suffering engine failure, leaving at least 13 people dead, three of whom died when they jumped from upper floors of a nine-story apartment building to escape a massive blaze.
A Su-34 bomber came down in the port city of Yeysk after one of its engines caught fire during takeoff for a training mission, the Russian Defense Ministry said. It said both crew members bailed out safely, but the plane crashed into a residential area, causing a fire as tons of fuel exploded on impact.

Air strikes cut power and water supplies in a repeatedly bombed Ukrainian city and pounded energy and infrastructure facilities elsewhere in the country on Tuesday, part of an apparent quickening effort by Russia to drive Ukrainians into the cold and dark as winter bites.
All of Zhytomyr, a city with military bases 140 kilometers (85 miles) west of the capital, was without electricity and water after a double missile strike on an energy facility, said Mayor Serhiy Sukhomlyn. Hospitals were left running on backup power, he said.

Credit Suisse has agreed to pay $495 million as part of a settlement with the U.S. over a yearslong dispute tied to mortgage-backed securities, an investment vehicle that played a central role in the 2008 financial crisis.
The Swiss bank said that some of the transactions were prior to 2008.

Around 34,000 homes could be inundated or isolated in Victoria state as a flood emergency continues across parts of Australia's southeast, an official said Monday.
Victoria is the worst-affected state with some towns experiencing the highest river peaks in decades. The states of New South Wales and Tasmania were also experiencing flooding in an emergency that began last week.

PSG forward Kylian Mbappé has denied reports that he wants to leave the French league club during the January transfer window.
A series of articles published in France and Spain said that Mbappé is frustrated in Paris and is looking for a way out.

A few hours after scoring the winning goal in Paris Saint-Germain's victory over Marseille in the French league, Neymar arrived in court in Spain on Monday to face a trial for alleged irregularities involving his transfer to Barcelona in 2013.
Neymar's parents, former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell and representatives for both the Spanish club and Brazilian team Santos also appeared in court after a complaint brought by Brazilian investment group DIS regarding the amount of the player's transfer.

A weekend fire at Iran's notorious Evin Prison damaged one of the largest buildings in the complex, according to satellite photos analyzed Monday. Authorities raised to eight the number of inmates killed, doubling the initial toll.
What happened on Saturday night at the prison — for decades the main holding facility for political detainees and a centerpiece of the state's systematic crushing of dissent — remains unclear. Online videos purport to show chaotic scenes with a prison siren wailing as flames rise from the complex, the apparent crackle of gunfire and people screaming: "Death to the dictator!"

The U.K.'s new Treasury chief ripped up the government's economic plan on Monday, dramatically reversing most of the tax cuts and spending plans that Prime Minister Liz Truss announced less than a month ago and raising new questions about how long the beleaguered British leader can stay in office.
In a televised address, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said he was scrapping "almost all" of Truss' tax cuts, along with her flagship energy policy and her promise — repeated just last week — that there will be no public spending cuts.
