By Ori Lewis NEVATIM AIR BASE, Israel (Reuters) - - Israel on Monday became the first country after the United States to receive the U.S.-built F-35 stealth jet which will increase its ability to attack distant targets, including Iran. The much-hyped arrival of the first two fighter jets was overshadowed by U.S.

By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres was sworn in on Monday as the ninth United Nations Secretary-General, pledging to personally help broker peace in various conflicts and reform the 71-year old world body to become more effective. Guterres, 67, will replace Ban Ki-moon, 72, of South Korea on Jan. 1.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there had been a suspected gas attack in Islamic State-held territory near Palmyra on Monday, amid heavy aerial bombardment of the same area which together killed at least 53 people.

(Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge rejected on Monday a move by family members of Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho to claim assets seized by the U.S. government in its probe into the scandal-tainted 1MDB fund.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan said on Monday it had protested strongly against China's allegations its fighter jets had engaged in "dangerous and unprofessional" behavior when they scrambled at the weekend as Chinese aircraft flew between Okinawa and Miyako islands.

By Isla Binnie and Philip Pullella ROME (Reuters) - Italian President Sergio Mattarella asked Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni on Sunday to try to form a new government, giving him a mandate to lead Italy out of a political crisis caused by the resignation of Matteo Renzi.

By Caren Bohan and David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said the United States did not necessarily have to stick to its long-standing position that Taiwan is part of "one China," questioning nearly four decades of policy in a move likely to antagonize Beijing.

By Tife Owolabi UYO, Nigeria (Reuters) - At least 100 people were killed by the collapse of a church in southeastern Nigeria, a resident and photojournalist who visited a morgue said on Sunday, but officials put the death toll at just 27.

By Ahmed Mohammed Hassan and Ali Abdelaty CAIRO (Reuters) - A bombing at Cairo's largest Coptic cathedral killed at least 25 people and wounded 49, many of them women and children attending Sunday mass, in the deadliest attack on Egypt's Christian minority in years. The attack comes as President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi fights battles on several fronts.

SEOUL (Reuters) - Having taken over the reins of state, South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn will begin receiving official briefings from aides of disgraced President Park Geun-hye on Monday, following her impeachment by parliament at the end of last week.