As if deadly snakes, spiders and sharks were not enough, Australia now has a new creepy critter: a "lucifer" bee with devil-like horns.

The species -- dubbed Megachile (Hackeriapis) lucifer -- was found in the state of Western Australia, Curtin University announced on Tuesday.

A bill proposing the death penalty for Palestinian captives passed a first reading in Israel's parliament on Monday -- a measure that applies to Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis.

Syria is joining the American-led international alliance against the Islamic State, a U.S. official said Monday hours after its president held a historic meeting with Donald Trump at the White House.

"During the visit, Syria announced that it is joining the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS," becoming the 90th member of the alliance and "partnering with the United States to eliminate ISIS remnants and halt foreign fighter flows," the senior administration official said.

Israel said it has killed 15 Hezbollah members since the start of November, as it launched further strikes on Lebanon.

The Israeli military launched multiple attacks on Monday, hitting the south and east of the country, while at least one person was killed according to the Lebanese health ministry.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel would strongly enforce its ceasefire agreements in Lebanon and Gaza, vowing that "whoever seeks to harm us, we harm them".

"We are determined to enforce with an iron fist the ceasefire agreements where they exist against those who seek our destruction, and you can see what happens every day in Lebanon," Netanyahu told lawmakers in parliament on Monday.

A U.S. official visiting Lebanon has called on its authorities to end "the malign influence of Iran through Hezbollah", adding that his country was determined to cut off Tehran's funding of the Islamist group.

Washington is pushing to cut off Hezbollah's funding sources while also pressing the Lebanese government to disarm the group. Hezbollah was weakened in its most recent war with Israel, which was halted by a November 2024 ceasefire.

A Bulgarian court on Monday adjourned an extradition hearing for a shipowner wanted over the devastating blast at Beirut port in 2020, asking Lebanon to confirm he would not face the death penalty.

Lebanon wants Bulgaria to extradite Igor Grechushkin, a 48-year-old Russian-Cypriot, over the disaster -- one of the world's largest non-nuclear explosions -- which destroyed swathes of the Lebanese capital, killed more than 220 people and injured more than 6,500.

The United Arab Emirates is not planning to join the international stabilization force for Gaza because it lacks a clear framework, a senior official said on Monday.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said it had received on Monday the bodies of 15 Palestinian prisoners under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire exchange deal.

"The ministry of health announces the receipt of 15 bodies of martyrs released today by the Israeli occupation through the Red Cross, bringing the total number of bodies received to 315" under the hostage-prisoner exchange deal, the ministry said.

Iran on Monday dismissed accusations by the United States that Tehran had attempted to kill the Israeli ambassador in Mexico, describing it as "absurd".

"We found this claim very ridiculous and absurd," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei during a weekly press briefing, adding that it was part of an attempt "to destroy Iran's friendly relations with other countries".