China Unveils Less Aggressive Defense Budget

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said North Korea is preparing to send 10,000 troops to help Russia’s war on Ukraine, in a sign of deepening military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang. “We know about 10,000 soldiers of North Korea, that they are preparing to send to fight against us,” Zelensky told reporters in Brussels on Thursday.

As cities around the world grapple with congestion and seek to lower emissions, one New Zealand-based startup is looking upward for solutions. Next year, Whoosh will begin construction on a gondola-like ride-hailing network in a 370-acre area of tourism hot spot Queenstown—the first of its kind. Whoosh resembles a ski lift, descending for passenger pickup, but operates differently.

On Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who is said to have orchestrated the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, in the Gaza Strip. “Eliminated: Yahya Sinwar,” the IDF posted to their official X account on Thursday afternoon. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] This came hours after the IDF stated that they were “checking the possibility” of Sinwar being among three militants killed during an exchange of fire with the IDF in Gaza on Wednesday. “During IDF operations in Gaza, 3 terrorists were eliminated,” the IDF said in a statement Thursday.

LAHORE, Pakistan — Pakistani police fired tear gas and charged at student protesters who ransacked a college building Thursday, as anger spread over an alleged on-campus rape. Tensions have been high on college campuses since reports about the alleged rape in the eastern city of Lahore went viral on social media, and protests have broken out in four cities so far. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The latest violence started when hundreds of students demonstrated outside a campus in the city of Rawalpindi in Punjab province.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — U. S. long-range B-2 stealth bombers launched airstrikes early Thursday morning targeting underground bunkers used by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, officials said. It wasn’t immediately clear what damage was done in the strikes. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] However, it is incredibly rare for the B-2 Spirit to be used in the strikes targeting the Houthis, who have been attacking ships for months in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. The Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel reported airstrikes around Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, which the group has held since 2014.

(CAPE TOWN, South Africa) — Months of drought in southern Africa triggered by the El Niño weather phenomenon have had a devastating impact on more than 27 million people and caused the region’s worst hunger crisis in decades, the United Nations’ food agency said Tuesday. The World Food Program warned it could become a “full-scale human catastrophe.” [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Five countries — Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe — have declared national disasters over the drought and resultant hunger.