The mayor of Acre, Amichai Ben-Shlush, as well as his deputy and other suspects, were arrested on Tuesday morning on suspicion of bribery, election bribery, and other offenses, Israel Police announced.The mayor was arrested by officers from the National Fraud Investigation Unit (NFIU) at Lahav 433, who began an undercover investigation against the suspects several months ago.The suspects are believed to have bought votes during the last local election campaign in exchange for securing positions in the municipality and helping to win tenders in the city.

The IDF confirmed that Al Jazeera journalist Hossam Shabat, who was killed on Monday by Israeli forces, was a Hamas terrorist, the military announced on Tuesday morning.

Israel Police detained nine Palestinians from Hebron who were illegally staying in an apartment in Tel Aviv's Hatikvah neighborhood on Tuesday.All nine were transferred to a police station for questioning and further investigation.Police officers also took action against the person who provided them with shelter in the apartment.

Britain gave the green light on Tuesday to a new road tunnel to cross the River Thames in southeast England, in its latest push for new infrastructure projects to help revive the country's sluggish economy."The Lower Thames Crossing application has today been granted development consent by the Secretary of State for Transport," the government said in a statement.

The IDF soldier who was injured in Monday's terror attack in Yokneam and evacuated to Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, has stabilized and is conscious as of Tuesday afternoon.He is due to be transferred from intensive care to a surgical ward later on Tuesday.

The United States said on Tuesday it has made separate agreements with Ukraine and Russia to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea and to implement a ban strikes against energy facilities in the two countries.The White House said in a statement that Washington would help restore Russia's access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports and would continue facilitating talks on both sides in a bid toward achieving a sustainable peace.