Domino

China canceled 12,000 metric tons of United States pork shipments amid a high-stakes trade standoff between the superpowers, according to data released Thursday.

The United Nations’ World Food Programme has run out of food in Gaza, the organization said Friday, almost two months into Israel’s humanitarian blockade of the besieged enclave.

The agency says it delivered its final food stocks to kitchens in Gaza on Friday, and the kitchens are expected to deplete their supplies in the coming days.

Two Belgian teenagers who were found with thousands of ants valued at more than €8,000 and allegedly destined for European and Asian markets will be sentenced in two weeks, a Kenyan magistrate has said.

Njeri Thuku, sitting at the court in Kenya's main airport, said she would not rush the case but would take time to review environmental impact and psychological reports filed in court before passing sentence on 7 May.

China on Thursday sent three astronauts to its permanent space station Tiangong to replace the crew stationed there since last October.

The Shenzhou-20 spaceship took off at 5:17 p.m. local time (0917 GMT) from Gobi Desert in northwestern China, according to state media.

The Israeli military acknowledged on Thursday that it was responsible for killing a United Nations aid worker in a strike on a UN guesthouse in Gaza last month, backtracking on its previous denials in the face of mounting public evidence of Israeli responsibility.

The Israeli military said its preliminary investigation into the incident “indicates that the fatality was caused by tank fire from IDF troops operating in the area.”

This could also be a precursor to Kazakhstan leaving the OPEC+ alliance unofficially led by Saudi Arabia, which has since 2022 agreed on a series of collective production cuts totalling around 5.85 million barrels per day (bpd), or nearly 6% of global production. But the agreement has been far from water-tight, as a number of members have failed to comply with their production targets, including Iraq and the United Arab Emirates.

Kazakhstan has arguably been the worst offender recently. Its crude oil production surged in March to 1.85 million bpd from an average of 1.74 million bpd in 2024, after production began at the extension of the country’s giant Tengiz field at the start of the year, far exceeding the country’s output quota of 1.468 million bpd, according to OPEC data.

“The ratification reflects the government’s firm stance in response to the continuing atrocities and ongoing acts of genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people,” the statement said.

The attack occurred in the Baisaran Valley, just a few miles from the town of Pahalgam. The bodies of injured or dead tourists were being brought down from the hills on horseback and all-terrain vehicles, according to eyewitness accounts.

Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the ruling in his first comments on the matter, saying it gave "much needed clarity".

The prime minister told the BBC: "I'm really pleased the court has clarified the position.

"We can move on from there. [I] think that has been very helpful."

CHERNIHIV REGION, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine said it would reciprocate any genuine ceasefire by Moscow, but voiced skepticism after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a temporary Easter truce in Ukraine starting Saturday.

The announcement from Kyiv came as Russia and Ukraine conducted their largest prisoner exchange since Moscow’s full-scale invasion started over three years ago. Putin announced a temporary Easter ceasefire in Ukraine starting Saturday, citing humanitarian reasons. According to the Kremlin, the ceasefire will last from 6 p.m. Moscow time (1500 GMT) on Saturday to midnight (2100 GMT) following Easter Sunday.

As a young photojournalist living in Gaza, Fatima Hassouna knew that death was always at her doorstep. As she spent the past 18 months of war documenting airstrikes, the demolition of her home, the endless displacement and the killing of 11 family members, all she demanded was that she not be allowed to go quietly.

“If I die, I want a loud death,” Hassouna wrote on social media. “I don’t want to be just breaking news, or a number in a group, I want a death that the world will hear, an impact that will remain through time, and a timeless image that cannot be buried by time or place.”