The atmosphere of the third round of Lebanese-Israeli talks over the demarcation of their maritime border was “negative,” Lebanese TV networks reported on Thursday.

“No progress was made, amid escalation by each of the negotiating parties, and the dispute is revolving around the point from which demarcation should begin,” al-Jadeed TV said.

Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan on Thursday urged for expanded lockdown measures amid the spike in coronavirus cases in Lebanon which registered a daily record of 1,850 cases yesterday.

Hamad said the partial lockdown implemented on selected towns and villages is not enough to curb the virus outbreak.

Israel plans to nominate a far-right former general and Cabinet minister who once called for the expulsion of Palestinians from the West Bank to head the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, officials said Tuesday.

Effie Eitam, a religious nationalist with a history of harsh rhetoric toward the Palestinians and Israel's Arab minority, is also a staunch advocate of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories, which are widely seen as a violation of international law and an obstacle to peace.

Syrian opposition groups allied with Turkey lobbed hundreds of missiles and artillery rockets at government posts in northwestern Syria on Tuesday, in retaliation for a deadly attack that killed dozens of their fighters a day earlier.

The renewed violence has undermined an already shaky cease-fire in place since March that aimed to quell military operations and government troop advances in the overcrowded rebel-held enclave.

U.S. officials said that Russian hackers have targeted the networks of dozens of state and local governments in the United States in recent days, stealing data from at least two servers. The warning, less than two weeks before the election, amplified fears of the potential for tampering with the vote and undermining confidence in the results.

The advisory from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security's cybersecurity agency describes an onslaught of recent activity by a Russian state-sponsored hacking group against a broad range of networks, some of which were successfully compromised. The alert released Thursday functions as a reminder of Russia's potent capabilities and ongoing interference in the election even as U.S. officials publicly called out Iran on Wednesday night.

Long-time Iraqi civil servant Qusay Abdul-Amma panicked when his monthly salary was delayed. Days of waiting turned to weeks. He defaulted on rent and other bills.

Questions swirled Thursday about the origins of Pope Francis' bombshell comments endorsing same-sex civil unions, with all evidence suggesting he made them in a 2019 interview that was never broadcast in its entirety.

The Vatican refused to comment on whether it cut the remarks from its own broadcast or if the Mexican broadcaster that conducted the interview did. And it didn't respond to questions about why it allowed the comments to be aired now in the documentary "Francesco," which premiered Wednesday.

Saad Hariri was tasked with forming a new government Thursday, a year after he was toppled amid nationwide protests against widespread corruption and a flunking economy.

President Michel Aoun designated Hariri to form the next government after a slight majority of votes from lawmakers, securing the return of an old name to lead the country desperate for change.

Saad Hariri's supporters fired celebratory gunfire in the northern city of Tripoli on Thursday after he was named as prime minister-designate.

A medical source told AFP the shooting wounded three including an elderly man and someone cleaning in front of his shop.

A leading international human rights group on Thursday said a Lebanon-led probe into the devastating port explosion in Beirut this summer has been marred by political meddling and lack of judicial independence, resulting in failure to yield credible results two months later.

Human Rights Watch called for a United Nations-led inquiry into the causes of the blast to determine responsibility. The New York-based rights watchdog called on international supporters of Lebanon, led by France, meeting next week to press the Lebanese authorities to accept an independent probe.