Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington this week is looming as a fraught one between the two allies, coming at a moment of extreme political flux in the United States, and wariness among American leaders about Netanyahu's history of interjecting himself into U.S. domestic politics.

The main purpose of Netanyahu's visit is a speech to a joint meeting of Congress. But at stake, in meetings with administration officials, are hopes for progress in U.S.-led efforts to mediate an end to the nine-month Israel-Hamas war. The visit comes as the toll of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza nears 40,000. It's also in a week when new deaths were reported among the surviving hostages — who include Israelis, Americans and other nationalities — held by Hamas and other militants since the first hours of the war.

A Russian court has sentenced U.S.-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva to six and a half years in prison for spreading "false information" about the military, a court spokesperson told AFP on Monday.

"Alsu Kurmasheva was sentenced. Six years, six months," Natalya Loseva, a spokesperson for the Supreme Court of Tatarstan, told AFP. Her employer, RFE/RL slammed the trial as a "mockery of justice".

Hollywood was quick to react to the news that President Joe Biden was ending his bid for reelection and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.

Barbra Streisand, a Democratic supporter, wrote Sunday on X that "we should be grateful for his upholding of our democracy." While many paid tribute to Biden's presidency, others wondered about the future.

Malayan tigers and Aldabra tortoises are native to hot and humid lands, but that doesn't mean they don't enjoy a frozen treat on a hot Florida summer day.

Temperatures in South Florida this month have reached the upper 90s Fahrenheit (mid-30s Celsius) with humidity reaching 70%, combining for "feels like" temperatures regularly exceeding 100 F (38 C).

Paris is a popular destination for vacations, of course. The food and drink. The art and history. The landmarks. And so on.

The city itself will be one of the protagonists of the 2024 Olympic Games — which is why the Eiffel Tower and Seine River are featured just as prominently as gymnast Simone Biles or swimmer Katie Ledecky in NBC's ads promoting its TV coverage — and the athletes heading to France, not to mention their friends and family, have been drawing up lengthy to-do lists of the various tastes they want to try and the sights they want to see.

LeBron James wasn't totally sure what the opening ceremony was all about when he was picked for his first Olympics in 2004.

This time, he'll be one of the stars of the show.

A barrage of Ukrainian drones sparked a blaze overnight at an oil refinery and separately killed one person in southern Russia, officials in Russia and Ukraine said Monday.

Kyiv and Moscow have intensified fatal cross-border missile and drone attacks over recent months with both sides primarily targeting energy infrastructure.

Delays at some airports continue after a faulty software update caused havoc worldwide and led to the grounding by almost all airlines of a number of flights, but the impact is receding.

Total cancellations within, into or out of the U.S. earlyl Monday totaled 758, according to the latest data from FlightAware, which is greater than a typical with no holiday. The vast majority of cancellations were Delta Air Lines flights.

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates ordered an investigation and an expedited trial of Bangladeshi nationals arrested for protesting against their home government across the Gulf country, state media reported.

The protests in the UAE followed weeks of protests in Bangladesh by demonstrators protesting a quota system that reserved up to 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's war of independence in 1971. The country's top court on Sunday scaled back on the controversial system, in a partial victory for student protesters.

A man died after being struck by lightning near the summit of Germany's highest peak, police said Monday.

The 18-year-old German resident was one of a group of three young men who took the mountain railway up the Zugspitze late Sunday afternoon and then continued to the summit, which is a climb of about 80 meters (260 feet) from a terrace used by many visitors.