The top diplomats from Russia and the U.S. met Tuesday in Saudi Arabia to discuss improving ties and negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine — talks that represented a rapid and major change in American foreign policy under President Donald Trump.

No Ukrainian officials were present at the meeting, which came as the beleaguered country is slowly but steadily losing ground against more numerous Russian troops in a grinding war that began nearly three years ago. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country won't accept any outcome from this week's talks if Kyiv doesn't take part. European allies have also expressed concerns they are being sidelined.

Israelis have marked 500 days of war in Gaza with protests demanding further progress on a ceasefire so all remaining hostages can be returned.

People demonstrated in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on Monday as less than two weeks remain in the ceasefire's current phase. Talks on the more difficult second phase are yet to start. Over 70 hostages remain in Gaza, around half thought to be dead.

Israeli forces withdrew from border villages in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, under a deadline spelled out in a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement that ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war.

The Israeli troops, however, have remained in five strategic overlook points inside Lebanon — a sore point with Lebanese officials and the militant Hezbollah group, who have maintained that Israel is required to make a full withdrawal by Tuesday.

The Israeli army said its forces will remain at five "strategic points" inside Lebanon beyond Tuesday, when the deadline for troop withdrawal from south Lebanon under a fragile ceasefire expires.

"Based on the current situation, we will leave small amounts of troops deployed temporarily in five strategic points along the border in Lebanon so we can continue to defend our residents and to make sure there's no immediate threat," Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani told journalists on Monday.

Rising tennis star João Fonseca finished "an unbelievable week" with a straight sets victory over Francisco Cerúndolo in the Argentina Open final on Sunday to claim his first tour-level title.

The 18-year-old Brazilian, who won the Next Gen ATP Finals last December, beat his Argentine opponent 6-4, 7-6 (1) on clay.

Liverpool continued its charge toward the Premier League title on Sunday with a 2-1 win against Wolverhampton. For Manchester United, it just keeps getting worse after a 1-0 loss at Tottenham.

The fortunes of England's two most successful teams could hardly be more contrasting.

Neymar scored his first goal for Santos since returning to Brazil when he converted a penalty Sunday in a 3-1 win over Sao Paulo-based Água Santa.

Finding the net from the spot in the 14th minute of the Sao Paulo state championship match will provide the 33-year-old star some relief after a tough restart.

Even as he's vowed to push the United States ahead in artificial intelligence research, President Donald Trump's threats to alter federal government contracts with chipmakers and slap new tariffs on the semiconductor industry may put new speed bumps in front of the tech industry.

Since taking office, Trump has said he would place tariffs on foreign production of computer chips and semiconductors in order to return chip manufacturing to the U.S. The president and Republican lawmakers have also threatened to end the CHIPS and Science Act, a sweeping Biden administration-era law that also sought to boost domestic production.

Pope Francis' respiratory tract infection is presenting a "complex clinical picture" that will require further hospitalization, the Vatican said Monday as concerns grew about the increasingly frail health of the 88-year-old pontiff.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the results of tests conducted in recent days and Monday indicate the pope is suffering from a "polymicrobial respiratory tract infection" that has necessitated a further change in his drug therapy. Scientists say polymicrobial diseases are caused by a mix of viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites.

Japan's economy grew at a better-than-expected annual rate of 2.8% in October-December, underlined by steady exports and moderate consumption.

On a quarter-to-quarter basis, the world's fourth largest economy grew 0.7% for its third straight quarter of growth, the Cabinet Office reported Monday in its preliminary data.