90 truckloads of UN aid delivered to Gazans, breaking 11-week blockade

The first aid in 11 weeks delivered to Gazans includes nutrition supplies, flour, medicines and other critical goods, UN humanitarians said Thursday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said about 90 trucks loaded at the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem checkpoint headed for multiple destinations, carrying the supplies to Gazans facing the threat of famine.

OCHA said nearly 20 truckloads, carrying about 500 pallets of nutrition supplies, were safely offloaded in UNICEF's warehouse in Deir al Balah. The material delivered includes ready-to-use therapeutic food and lipid-based nutritional supplements. The life-saving supplies are being unpacked and repackaged into smaller loads to dozens of distribution points.

DPRK conducts full-scale investigation into destroyer launch accident

An investigation group of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) got down to a "full-scale investigation" into the serious destroyer launch accident which occurred at the Chongjin Shipyard on Wednesday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Friday.

The accident investigation group included a public prosecutors organ and relevant experts, said the KCNA report.

"Detailed underwater and internal inspection of the warship confirmed that, unlike the initial announcement, there were no holes made at the warship's bottom, the hull starboard was scratched and a certain amount of seawater flowed into the stern section through the rescue channel," the KCNA said, citing the investigation result.

Experts estimated that "it will take two or three days to keep the balance of the warship by pumping up the seawater from the flooded chamber and making the bow leave the slipway and 10-odd days to restore the warship's side," according to the KCNA.

Britain signs deal to transfer Chagos Islands to Mauritius

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday signed an agreement transferring sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

The deal formally cedes British control of the Chagos Archipelago to the Mauritian government. Under the terms of the agreement, Mauritius will lease the Diego Garcia military base -- located within the archipelago -- back to Britain and the United States.

Starmer said the full rationale behind the decision remains "highly classified." He noted that failure to reach a settlement could have led Mauritius to pursue legal action at international courts, where Britain was likely to lose, potentially facing additional penalties.

The signing proceeded after a temporary injunction issued by the British High Court early Thursday was lifted later in the day.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed the agreement in a social media post, describing it as "a historic deal."

Ukraine holds meeting to prepare largest prisoner swap with Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Thursday that he held a meeting to prepare for a 1,000 for 1,000 prisoner exchange with Russia.

In a Telegram post following the meeting, Zelensky said Defense Minister Rustem Umerov is overseeing the implementation of the deal on the captives swap reached in Trkiye's Istanbul on May 16.

He noted that multiple Ukrainian agencies, including the Presidential Office, the Defense Intelligence, and the Security Service, are involved in the exchange process.

"We are clarifying the details for each individual included on the lists submitted by the Russian side," Zelensky said.

He stressed that the return of Ukrainians held in Russian captivity remains one of the country's top priorities.

Since March 2022, Ukraine and Russia have carried out 64 prisoner exchanges, under which more than 4,700 Ukrainians have been released.

Israeli PM recalls negotiation delegation from Doha

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday ordered the return of the Israeli delegation from Doha, a senior Israeli official confirmed to Xinhua, describing it as "an impasse" in the negotiations with Hamas over a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said Israel had recalled its senior negotiation team on Tuesday for consultations after a week of indirect talks, and now the remaining working-level team still in Doha will also return.

Hamas, in a statement on Tuesday, accused the Israeli government of derailing the talks, saying the low-level Israeli team left in Doha had no mandate to finalize an agreement. The group accused Netanyahu of "misleading world public opinion and pretending to participate in the negotiation process," claiming no substantive negotiations had taken place since Saturday.

Citing an Israeli diplomatic source, Israel's state-owned Kan TV reported that the talks broke down over a key disagreement -- Israel insisted on a deal involving a temporary truce in return to the release of only some hostages, while Hamas demanded international guarantees, primarily from the United States, that Israel would not resume fighting, in exchange for the release of all hostages.

2 Israeli embassy staff killed in shooting in Washington D.C.

Two staff members from the Israeli Embassy in the United States were killed in a shooting Wednesday evening near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., according to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.

"We are actively investigating and working to get more information to share," Noem said in a post on social platform X.

The shooting occurred near the Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum, known as the Capital Jewish Museum, according to media reports.

Police identified the suspect as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, Illinois. During an online press briefing, D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith said that the suspect shouted "Free Palestine" as he was taken into custody.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yeshiel (Michael) Leite said at a press conference that the victims were a couple who had been preparing to get engaged. Embassy spokesperson Tal Naim Cohen confirmed that the two were shot at close range while attending a museum event.