Iran said Thursday it launched a rocket with a satellite carrier bearing three devices into space, though it's unclear if any of the objects entered orbit around the Earth.

The state TV report, as well as others by semiofficial news agencies, did not say when the launch was conducted nor what devices the carrier brought with it. However, the launch comes amid ongoing negotiations in Vienna over Iran's tattered nuclear deal. Previous launches have drawn rebukes from the United States.

Israel's Environment Minister said Thursday a clandestine oil deal that would have turned a scuba divers' paradise into a waypoint for Emirati oil headed for Western markets has effectively been blocked.

Tamar Zandberg told Israeli Army Radio that following a Justice Ministry opinion that her office had the authority to limit the activities of the Israeli government-owned corporation signed onto the deal, "the agreement cannot be realized."

United States navy vessels seized 385 kilograms (849 pounds) of heroin in the Arabian Sea worth some $4 million, in a major bust by the international maritime operation in the region, officials said Thursday.

The USS Tempest and USS Typhoon seized the drugs hidden aboard a stateless fishing vessel plying Mideast waters, the international task force said in a statement. The seizure took place on Monday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told U.S. counterpart Joe Biden on Thursday he is "convinced" that "effective dialogue" between Moscow and Washington is possible, hours ahead of telephone talks as tensions rise over Ukraine.

Putin and Biden will hold their second telephone call in less than a month at 2030 GMT in the latest effort to defuse tensions surrounding Moscow's military build-up on the border with Ukraine.

Greece's health minister said Wednesday that music will be banned at all commercial venues for New Year's celebrations as part of new restrictions announced in response to a surge in COVID-19 infections fueled by the omicron variant.

Qatar wants to attract 1.2 million people to the World Cup but will struggle to accommodate many of them.

With ticket sales beginning in January, supporters are in for a shock when they look for somewhere to stay: Qatar already looks sold out.

Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the ATP Cup in Australia ahead of the first Grand Slam tournament of the season, organizers said Wednesday.

No reason was given but the top-ranked Serb has declined to comment on his vaccination status in recent months and Australia's strict regulations require all players, officials and fans to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Losses for Liverpool are about as rare as penalty misses by Mohamed Salah.

Both happened on Tuesday and, even at the halfway stage of the season, it could cost Jürgen Klopp's team the Premier League title.

The dozens of Type 90, or "Kyumaru," tanks rumbling through recent shooting drills on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido exemplify the challenge its arms makers face both at home and overseas as the country fortifies its defenses against strategic threats.

The Self Defense Force needs the more advanced aircraft and weaponry sold by U.S. arms manufacturers as Japan's strategic focus shifts from Russia in the north to the south, where it faces incursions by Chinese fighter jets and naval vessels and North Korean missile launches.

China is calling on the United States to protect a Chinese space station and its three-member crew after Beijing complained that satellites launched by Elon Musk's SpaceX nearly struck the station.

A foreign ministry spokesman accused Washington on Tuesday of ignoring its treaty obligations to protect the safety of the Tiangong station's three-member crew following the July 1 and Oct. 21 incidents.