The head of an American organisation focused on hostage releases said on Monday he believes U.S. journalist Austin Tice was still being held in Syria by people loyal to toppled leader Bashar al-Assad.

The good news from Lebanon is that Hezbollah's incumbent prime minister, Najib Mikati, has lost the race for another term, causing the Iran-backed H

Nawaf Salam, the president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, has been named as Lebanon's new prime minister. Two thirds of the 128 members of parliament nominated the 71-year-old judge for the post - reserved for a Sunni Muslim under a sectarian power sharing system - during consultations with newly elected President Joseph Aoun.

Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam said on Tuesday his hands were "extended to everyone", in a gesture to the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group that accused opponents of seeking to exclude it by nominating him for the post.

The top judge at the International Court of Justice Nawaf Salam has been designated Lebanon’s next prime minister in a surprising turnaround for the crisis-ridden country.

The selection of Mr. Salam was seen as a blow to Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group and political party that has acted as the real power in Lebanon for decades.

Nawaf Salam, who has been designated as the new Prime Minister of Lebanon, has resigned as a member of the International Court of Justice, said the ICJ on Tuesday. Salam's term as head of the ICJ had been due to end in early February 2027.

Nawaf Salam, the head of the International Court of Justice, was named Monday as Lebanon's new Prime Minister after he won the support of 84 parliamentarians in another blow to the once powerful Hezbollah.

Salam said he was against exclusion and on the contrary supported unity. "This is my sincere call, and my hands are extended to everyone," he said. (Reporting by Clauda Tanios and Laila Bassam; Writing by Tom Perry;

President Joseph Aoun summoned jurist Nawaf Salam on Monday to designate him as Lebanon's prime minister, after a majority of Lebanese lawmakers nominated him for the post. Salam, 71, is an attorney and judge who served as Lebanon's ambassador to the United Nations from 2007-17.