Israel’s military has withdrawn its forces from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, wrapping up a key phase in its ground offensive against the Hamas militant group and bringing its troop presence in the territory to one of the lowest levels since the six-month war began.

But defense officials said Sunday that troops were merely regrouping as the army prepares to move into Hamas’ last stronghold, Rafah.

An Israeli airstrike on a house in southern Lebanon has killed three Amal Movement fighters, the Hezbollah-allied movement said.

Israel said warplanes bombed what it described as an Amal military compound and said the group was planning an attack against Israel. The military statement said its jets also struck several locations used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and a jet attacked a person doing "drone observation activity" near the border.

An international campaign to ban surrogacy received a strong endorsement Friday from the Vatican, with a top official calling for a broad-based alliance to stop the "commercialization of life" catering to wealthy would-be parents.

A Vatican-affiliated university hosted a two-day conference promoting an international treaty to outlaw surrogacy, based on the campaigners' argument that the practice violates U.N. conventions protecting the rights of the child and surrogate mother.

Throughout history, solar eclipses have had profound impact on adherents of various religions around the world. They were viewed as messages from God or spiritual forces, inducing emotions ranging from dread to wonder.

Ahead of the total solar eclipse that will follow a long path over North America on Monday, here's a look at how several of the world's major religions have responded to such eclipses over the centuries and in modern times.

North America is on the verge of another masking of the sun.

Monday's total solar eclipse will make landfall along Mexico's Pacific coast and cross into Texas and 14 other U.S. states, before exiting over Canada.

Venice's mayor has promised a light touch "without queues" when the city rolls out a new ticket policy in a few weeks, seeking to cut down on the hordes of visitors who descend on its canalled streets every summer.

The new strategy to lower the number of tourists visiting the UNESCO World Heritage site calls for day-trippers to pay a five-euro ticket to enter the historic city center and is due to start on April 25.

Many Yanomami, the Amazon's largest Indigenous tribe in relative isolation, have been contaminated with mercury coming from widespread illegal gold mining, according to a report released on Thursday by Brazil's top public health institute.

The research was conducted in nine villages along the Mucajai River, a remote region where illegal mining is widespread. Mercury, a poison, is commonly used in illegal mining to process gold.

Liverpool's players overcame an unexpected test of their Premier League title credentials against last-place Sheffield United on Thursday. Manchester United, meanwhile, went into meltdown at Chelsea.

This was a latest reminder of the gulf that separates English football's fiercest rivals ahead of their clash at Old Trafford on Sunday.

If there is one club whose history runs hand-in-hand with the Copa del Rey it is Athletic Bilbao.

The team that only fields players from or near Spain's northern Basque Country has always put a priority on the knockout competition. That commitment has led to 23 cup titles in the club's history — but the last one came in 1984. Since then it has been a series of near misses with six finals that all ended in defeat.

Kylian Mbappé could find himself on the bench again when runaway French league leader Paris Saint-Germain faces rock-bottom Clermont on Saturday.

Mbappé is the league top scorer with 24 goals and Clermont has the second-worst defense of the 18 top-flight teams with 46 conceded. It is a golden opportunity for Mbappé, PSG's all-time leading scorer with 251 goals, to add to his tally.