The Appeals Chamber of the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon on Thursday reversed the acquittals of Hizbullah operatives Hassan Merhi and Hussein Oneissi, convicting them of all charges against them and issuing arrest warrants for them.

"The chamber has unanimously decided to reverse the acquittals of Misters Merhi and Oneissi. We unanimously find Mr Merhi and Oneissi guilty," presiding judge Ivana Hrdlickova said.

Two vital games, three goals, six points. Olivier Giroud is keeping AC Milan very much in the title race.

Giroud has scored 11 goals in all competitions since joining Milan from Chelsea in the offseason but it is his ability to do it in big matches that could prove to be the difference for the Rossoneri.

European and world soccer champion Chelsea was among the assets of Roman Abramovich frozen by the British government on Thursday after he was sanctioned for his close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Team activities from selling new tickets to signing players were instantly restricted. The merchandise store at the Stamford Bridge stadium in west London was rapidly closed with a sign on the doors telling supporters it was "due to the latest government announcement."

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday embraced calls for an international war crimes investigation of Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, citing the "atrocities" of bombing civilians, including a maternity hospital.

Speaking alongside Polish President Andrzej Duda at a press conference in Warsaw, where she is demonstrating U.S. support for NATO's eastern flank allies, Harris expressed outrage over the bombing Wednesday of the maternity hospital and scenes of bloodied pregnant women being evacuated, as well as other attacks on civilians. She stopped short of directly accusing Russia of having committed war crimes.

A Russian airstrike on a Mariupol maternity hospital that killed three people drew outrage on Thursday, with Ukrainian and Western officials branding it a war crime. As talks to reach a broad cease-fire failed, emergency workers renewed efforts to get vital food and medical supplies into besieged cities, and to get traumatized residents out.

Ukrainian authorities said a child was among the dead in Wednesday's attack in the crucial southern port of Mariupol. Another 17 people were wounded, including women waiting to give birth, doctors and children buried in the rubble.

The European Central Bank said Thursday that it will speed up ending its economic stimulus programs to combat record inflation, even as concerns mount about the impact of Russia's war in Ukraine on economic growth.

The bank said it will end its bond purchases in the third quarter but could modify that schedule if the inflation outlook changes. Previously, it said it would taper them off to 20 billion euros per month by the last three months of the year and continue them as long as needed.

The growth of Israel's West Bank settler population accelerated last year, according to figures released by a pro-settler group on Thursday, despite renewed American pressure to rein in construction on occupied territory that the Palestinians want for a future state.

The figures show that a settlement surge initiated when President Donald Trump was in office shows no sign of slowing down. Trump provided unprecedented support for Israel's claims to land seized in war, reversing decades of U.S. policy.

China is easing government exchange rate controls to let the Russian ruble fall faster in value against the Chinese yuan to help insulate Beijing from economic sanctions on Moscow.

The margin by which the ruble is allowed to fluctuate against the yuan in state-controlled daily trading will be doubled in size to 10% above or below the day's opening price starting Friday, the China Foreign Exchange Trade System announced.

Western sanctions are dealing a severe blow to Russia's economy. The ruble is plunging, foreign businesses are fleeing and sharply higher prices are in the offing. Familiar products may disappear from stores, and middle-class achievements like foreign vacations are in doubt.

Beyond the short-term pain, Russia's economy will likely see a deepening of the stagnation that started to set in long before the invasion of Ukraine.

South Korea's president-elect Yoon Suk Yeol said Thursday he would solidify an alliance with the United States, build up a powerful military and sternly cope with North Korean provocations, hours after he won the country's hard-fought election to become its next leader.

Yoon, whose single five-year term is to begin in May, said during his campaigning he would make a boosted alliance with the United States the center of his foreign policy. He's accused outgoing liberal President Moon Jae-in of tilting toward Pyongyang and Beijing and away from Washington. He's also stressed the need to recognize the strategic importance of repairing ties with Tokyo despite recent bilateral historical disputes.