A senior Army three-star general with extensive experience in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars has been nominated to become the top U.S. commander for the Middle East.

President Joe Biden has nominated Army Lt. Gen. Erik Kurilla to head U.S. Central Command and be promoted to four-star general, according to multiple U.S. officials.

Poland's most powerful politician has acknowledged that the country bought advanced spyware from the Israeli surveillance software maker NSO Group, but denied that it was being used to target his political opponents.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Poland's ruling conservative party, Law and Justice, said in an interview that the software, Pegasus, is now being used by secret services in many countries to combat crime and corruption. He noted that Pegasus represents a technological advancement over earlier monitoring systems, which did not allow the services to monitor encrypted messages.

Orthodox Christians in Russia, Serbia and other countries began Christmas observances Thursday amid restrictions aimed at dampening the spread of the coronavirus, but few worshipers appeared concerned as they streamed into churches.

The majority of Orthodox believers celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, with midnight services especially popular. The churches in Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Greece mark it on Dec. 25 along with other Christian denominations.

North Korea claimed Thursday to have conducted the second successful test flight of a hypersonic missile, days after leader Kim Jong Un vowed to bolster his military forces despite pandemic-related difficulties.

Wednesday's launch, the North's first known weapons test in about two months, indicates the country will press ahead with plans to modernize its nuclear and missile arsenals rather than return to disarmament talks anytime soon.

An Israeli court on Wednesday sentenced a man to one year in prison for his involvement in a mob attack on an Arab motorist during a spasm of communal violence last year.

Lahav Nagauker, who was 20 at the time, was convicted of incitement to violence and racism as part of a plea deal that resulted in lighter charges.

Israel's defense minister met with the Jordanian king on Wednesday, both sides said, part of a reset of ties between the two countries.

According to Benny Gantz' office, the two discussed "security and policy topics." Gantz "welcomed the expansion of relations between Jordan and the current Israeli government."

Unknown perpetrators attacked a group of U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, vandalizing their vehicles and stealing official items from them, a U.N. official said Wednesday.

Such scuffles with U.N. peacekeepers are not uncommon in southern Lebanon since the peacekeeping force was expanded following the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbullah.

An influential Saudi cleric who once served for years as head of the kingdom's Shariah courts and whose ultraconservative views sparked outcry died on Wednesday, leaving behind a legacy that mirrored the kingdom's decades-long slide toward Wahhabism.

His family announced his death on Twitter, saying 90-year-ol Sheikh Saleh bin Mohammed al-Luhaidan died after battling an illness that was not disclosed. His funeral is taking place Wednesday in line with Islamic tradition of immediate burial.

A Katyusha rocket struck an Iraqi military base hosting U.S. troops at Baghdad's international airport on Wednesday, an Iraqi military statement said.

No damage or casualties were reported from the attack, the third in as many days since Monday's anniversary of a U.S. airstrike that killed top Iranian general Qassim Soleimani in Baghdad two years ago.

North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile into the sea on Wednesday, the South Korean and Japanese militaries said, the first such launch in about two months and a signal that Pyongyang isn't interested in rejoining denuclearization talks anytime soon and would rather focus on boosting its weapons arsenal.

The latest launch came after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to further bolster his military capability — without disclosing any new policies toward the United States or South Korea— at a high-profile ruling party conference last week.