The Latest Breaking News from Stephane Sejourne

The EU will propose cutting steel import quotas and significantly increasing tariffs on the metal from abroad, the bloc's industry chief Stephane Sejourne told the sector on Wednesday, mirroring US moves.

The EU unveiled dozens of projects Tuesday to ramp up extraction of critical raw materials in Europe as the bloc seeks to reduce its over-reliance on China.

The head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has named her team, which will lead the EU's most powerful institution for the next five years. While the number of women falls short of the gender parity she aimed for, they've been handed the lion's share of top roles.

To confront the challenges, von der Leyen handed French candidate Stephane Sejourne a powerful executive vice president role overseeing industrial strategy, and also named a new commissioner for defence to help Europe rearm.

French President Emmanuel Macron has proposed Stephane Sejourne, the country's outgoing foreign minister, to replace Thierry Breton as its European commissioner, after Breton announced he would be quitting, claiming EU chief Ursula von der Leyen had asked Paris to withdraw his candidacy.

Deadly Israeli strikes hit Lebanon and Gaza on Saturday as the US secretary of state headed back to Israel aiming to finalise a Gaza truce agreement, which diplomats say could help avert a wider regional conflagration.

Lebanon's health ministry said an Israeli air strike on Saturday in southern Lebanon killed nine people, as the Israeli military reported hitting weapons stores of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.

Watch as foreign secretary David Lammy and his French counterpart Stephane Sejourne deliver a joint statement during a visit to Jerusalem on Friday 16 August.

Negotiators seeking a Gaza ceasefire were set to meet for a second day in Qatar on Friday, while top European diplomats were expected in Israel to stress the urgency of averting a wider war.