Top European diplomats will hold talks in Istanbul Friday with their counterparts from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt, a meeting initiated by Ankara, a Turkish foreign ministry source said.

Foreign ministers from the so-called E3 group -- Britain, France and Germany -- will meet counterparts from the newly created R4 group to discuss the Palestinian issue, developments in Yemen and the Hormuz Strait, and ways to end the Russia-Ukraine war, the source said.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Thursday threatened to strike American bases across the Middle East if the U.S. military continues to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

"The U.S. military must know that if this trend continues, the conflict will extend to its bases in the region," the Guards, the ideological arm of Iran's military, said in a statement on their Sepah News website.

An attack targeting the King Fahd International Airport in eastern Saudi Arabia's Dammam killed a Saudi citizen and an Indian national and injured eight others Wednesday evening, the kingdom's civil aviation authority said.

The authority said in a statement that injuries from the attack ranged from "minor to serious" and that material damage to the airport was also being assessed.

Russia shot down 808 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Russian defense ministry said Thursday, in the wake of a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.

The drones, launched after Putin met Wednesday in Saint Petersburg with U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy, were destroyed by air defense systems over various regions of Russia and annexed Crimea, the ministry said in a statement.

The leader of France's hardline CGT union on Wednesday called for strikes after talks with Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu over fresh protests collapsed, as the country reeled from last weekend's riots.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that any interference in the Yemen war by Egypt or any other country would make the situation "more difficult".

The European Union opened an investigation into online travel agent Booking.com on Wednesday over alleged failures to tackle fake listings and phishing scams.

The El Nino weather phenomenon gripping the planet could be off the charts, the United Nations warned Wednesday, saying countries should take urgent action to prepare for the worst.

Holders Paris Saint-Germain made it three wins from three in this season's Champions League, beating Barcelona 4-2 thanks to late goals from Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz on Tuesday, while Liverpool clinched a dramatic comeback victory over Villarreal.

The images of France's riots posted and broadcast around the world have cast a pall on the country's important tourism sector, with many fearing worse consequences if violence returns.