US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has postponed his planned trip next week to Israel amid the escalation on the Israeli-Lebanese border, Axios reported on Thursday, citing two unnamed Israeli officials briefed on the matter.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has declared more than 100,000 pounds ($132,500) in gifts, benefits and hospitality since December 2019, more than any other member of parliament, according to figures compiled by Sky News.Starmer, who became Labour Party leader in April 2020 and won power at an election in July, has come under fire in the British media since it emerged he accepted thousands of pounds worth of clothes from a wealthy businessman.He has said he followed all the necessary transparency rules on declaring gifts, but the figures are politically damaging at a time when his government is cutting financial help with paying energy bills for millions of pensioners.Sky reported Starmer had accepted 107,145 pounds in gifts, benefits and hospitality, one of the categories in parliament's register of interests, since the 2019 national election.The next highest was House of Commons leader Lucy Powell at 40,289 pounds. It said legal fees were excluded from the totals.Starmer's gifts included 12,588 pounds worth of tickets from soccer's Premier League, which is lobbying against the prime minister's plans for a soccer regulator.This comprised more than 6,000 pounds worth of tickets for Arsenal matches, his favorite team, 1,628 pounds worth of tickets to the Euro soccer finals and four tickets with hospitality for a Taylor Swift concert worth a total of 4,000 pounds.Earlier this week he defended the right to accept hospitality gifts, saying that if he did not, he would not be able to go to a soccer match.

Turkish air strikes in northern Iraq destroyed 24 targets of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) on Wednesday, the Turkish Defence Ministry said in a statement, adding many militants had been "neutralized" in the attack.Ankara typically uses the term "neutralized" to mean killed.The operations targeted PKK caves, storage areas, and bases in the Hakurk, Gara, Qandil and Asos regions, the ministry said.

US President Joe Biden will welcome United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the White House on Monday for talks on issues ranging from the war in Gaza, Sudan and responsible artificial intelligence development.White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the visit would be the first-ever by a president of the Gulf Arab country to Washington, adding that Vice President Kamala Harris would meet separately with the UAE leader.Discussions would also focus on climate, clean energy, and UAE's role as a partner in the Group of Seven's global infrastructure partnership, Kirby told reporters.Kirby also said on Wednesday that the US remains involved in intensive diplomatic efforts to prevent an escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and said the US was not involved in the hand-held radio and pager device blasts.

Iran will follow up on an attack targeting its ambassador in Lebanon, the Iranian envoy to the United Nations said in a letter on Wednesday, adding that it "reserves its rights under international law to take required measures deemed necessary to respond."