An Israeli NGO on Wednesday condemned a government plan to invest around $2.7 billion in infrastructure and thousands of new residential units across several settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Cuba has restored its power grid, authorities said Wednesday, after the third total blackout in less than ten days as the island faces an energy crisis amid a U.S. oil blockade.

France arrived in the World Cup semi-finals hailed as the most scintillating attacking force to grace the tournament since Brazil's fabled 1982 side.

The EU has asked the United States for tariff exemptions on more products, a spokesman said on Wednesday, including cheese and wine.

France is experiencing a "very worrying" drought that has spurred a record number of water restrictions for the time of year, the ecology minister said on Wednesday.

Lebanon's parliament commenced a legislative session on Wednesday to discuss and vote on several bills, including an amnesty law that could cover swathes of prisoners.

More than 40 draft laws will be discussed and voted on in the two-day session, the most prominent being the abolition of the death penalty, which has not been carried out in years, and the amnesty.

Lebanon and Israel concluded the first day of Washington-mediated talks in Rome on Tuesday, a U.S. official said, as Israel said it was ready to move forward with plans to withdraw from two parts of southern Lebanon.

Lebanese authorities have arrested a man close to Hezbollah, accusing him of spying for Israel and of providing intel that led to the killing of commanders in the Iran-backed group, a judicial official told AFP.

The United States has expanded its sanctions targeting Iran's oil sector, taking further aim at the network of petroleum shipping magnate Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the Treasury Department said.

The United States launched a wave of strikes against Iran on Wednesday, after it reimposed a naval blockade in a return to war between the two foes.

Nearly a month after they signed a memorandum of understanding towards ending the Middle East war, the two sides resumed fighting with strikes on targets across the region.