Fresh talks between Israel and Lebanon in Rome were cut short on Wednesday, with negotiations now scheduled to resume on Thursday, according to U.S. media reports.
The reports, citing a U.S. State Department official, said the U.S.-mediated talks ended early for the day due to "events on the ground." However, a separate source told media that Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter requested a pause approximately three hours before the talks were originally set to conclude. The source attributed the request to what Israel described as "multiple misleading messages" from the Lebanese delegation.
Meanwhile, a Lebanese diplomatic source told media that it was the U.S. delegation that asked for the suspension "to hold internal consultations."
The talks are expected to resume on Thursday, according to the U.S. media reports.
The latest negotiations began on Tuesday at the U.S. Embassy in Rome and were scheduled to last three days. The meeting is the seventh round of U.S.-brokered talks and the second to be hosted by Rome in less than a month.
It marks a fresh push to solidify a fragile Israel-Lebanon truce and address outstanding issues, including Israeli troop withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah.
The early adjournment came as tensions between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah remained high. Israel's military said on Wednesday that it carried out airstrikes in southern Lebanon late on Tuesday. The military said the strikes targeted a tunnel, which it claimed was used by Hezbollah to carry out attacks against Israel Defense Forces soldiers.
Lebanon-Israel talks in Rome cut short, scheduled to resume Thursday: U.S. media
Lebanon-Israel talks in Rome cut short, scheduled to resume Thursday: U.S. media
The fourth meeting of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) in 2026 concluded its second day of session in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, on Sunday, with highlights on topics such as cross-border cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region and digital economy.
Founded in November 1995, ABAC is the only non-governmental body with an official advisory role in the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, engaging in a formal dialogue and submitting annual policy recommendation reports to APEC leaders.
On Sunday morning, two working groups under the ABAC held separate closed-door discussions. The Connectivity working group focused on concrete areas of cooperation, such as cross-border infrastructure and the facilitation of cross-border trade within the Asia-Pacific region. Meanwhile, the Digital Innovation working group centered its attention on high-profile topics including the practical application of artificial intelligence, the development of the digital economy, and the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises.
During the discussions, representatives from some foreign enterprises noted that while digital technologies have indeed created numerous new opportunities across the Asia-Pacific region, the levels of digital development vary significantly among different economies; they therefore hope that any proposed recommendations from the meeting will take these disparities into account. Chinese representatives also expressed a desire to incorporate real-world examples of AI-driven industrial empowerment from China into the outcome documents, ensuring that the recommendations are better aligned with the actual needs of businesses.
The 14 outcome documents prepared by the ABAC this year have been finalized; the meeting also took stock of this year's collaborative achievements and mapped out the direction for cooperation in the coming year.
The second day of the event also included colorful activities. The delegates took cruise ships to experience the technological prowess of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge up close, and also attended a friendly exchange event in the evening.
APEC business representatives eye cooperation, digital economy at Shenzhen meeting
