Voters in Oman headed to the polls Sunday to choose municipal councilors in only the second local election held in the Gulf sultanate.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin welcomed the "Syrian army's victory against the terrorists in Aleppo" during a late-night phone call, Iranian media reported on Sunday.

A Saudi soldier was killed in a cross-border firefight with Yemeni rebels, the interior ministry said Sunday.

A Russian military plane heading to Syria crashed into the Black Sea on Sunday, with no sign of survivors among the 92 on board, including Red Army Choir members on their way to celebrate the New Year with troops.

The Tu-154 plane went down shortly after taking off from the southern city of Adler where it had been refueling, defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a briefing broadcast on the ministry's website.

Israel scrambled Saturday to contain the fallout from the UN Security Council vote to halt settlements in Palestinian territory after lashing out at US President Barack Obama over the "shameful" resolution.

The council passed the measure Friday after the United States abstained, enabling the adoption of the first UN resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy.

Hamas on Saturday welcomed a landmark UN Security Council vote demanding a halt to Israeli settlements in occupied territory, with the Palestinian Islamist movement saying it marked an "important evolution."

The UN Security Council on Friday demanded that Israel halt settlements in Palestinian territory, after the United States refrained from vetoing the resolution condemning its closest Middle East ally.

The passengers from a hijacked Libyan flight that was diverted to Malta have left the Mediterranean island and are returning home.

Malta's interior minister, Carmelo Abela, said the passengers left Malta early Saturday.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Friday vowed that the country's policies at the United Nations will change after he takes office.

"As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th," he said on Twitter, referring to the date of his inauguration.

The U.N. Security Council's vote on Friday demanding Israel halt settlements in the occupied territories is a "big blow" to Israeli policy and a "historic day," Palestinian officials said.

The U.N. Security Council on Friday demanded that Israel halt its settlement activities in Palestinian territory, in a resolution adopted after the United States refrained from vetoing the measure condemning its closest Middle East ally.

In a rare step, the United States instead abstained, allowing the measure to pass by a vote of 14 in favor in the 15-member council.