Military plane crashes in S. Korea's southeastern city, killing 4

A military plane of the South Korean navy crashed on the hills in the southeastern city of Pohang, killing all four crew members, multiple media outlets said Thursday.

The P-3 maritime patrol aircraft with four crew members aboard took off from a military base in the southeastern city of Pohang for training at about 1:43 p.m. local time (0443 GMT), according to the defense ministry.

The patrol plane crashed into a hill near the base around 1:49 p.m. local time (0449 GMT) and no civilian casualties had yet to be identified, the ministry noted.

Hamas says U.S. ceasefire proposal under review, does not meet Palestinian demands

A senior Hamas official said Thursday that a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip remains under review, even though it does not meet the core demands of the movement and the Palestinian people.

Basem Naim, a member of Hamas's political bureau, said in a statement that the movement had received the Israeli response to the U.S. proposal brokered last week by U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.

According to Naim, the Israeli position fails to address key Palestinian demands, including a complete cessation of hostilities and the lifting of the long-standing blockade on Gaza.

Over 1,000 Afghan refugee families return home

More than 1,000 Afghan refugee families returned home on Wednesday, the state-run Bakhtar news agency reported on Thursday.

A total of 1,019 Afghan refugee families returned from Iran and Pakistan on Wednesday, the state-owned media outlet said. All the returnees have received necessary aid at the crossing points from the Afghan authorities, according to Bakhtar.

Chinese envoy calls for durable Gaza cease-fire

A Chinese envoy on Wednesday called for a durable cease-fire in Gaza and efforts to alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe in the strip.

Since May 16, Israel has continued to intensify its military offensive in Gaza, which has completely destroyed the densely populated areas and caused the deaths of more than 1,000 Gazans in the past two weeks alone, Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, told the Security Council.

U.S. federal judge halts policy banning Harvard University from enrolling international students

A U.S. federal judge on Thursday extended a Temporary Restraining Order on Trump Administration's policy that aimed to prevent Harvard University from enrolling international students.

Temporary Restraining Order "will remain in place" while parties confer and submit either a joint proposed preliminary injunction order or individual proposed orders for the judge to consider, after which time a final preliminary injunction order will be issued, according to court document from the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

UN extends authorization to inspect vessels suspected of violating Libya arms embargo

The Security Council on Thursday adopted a resolution to extend the authorization for UN member states to inspect vessels suspected of Libya arms embargo violation.

Resolution 2780 extends for six months the authorization for UN member states, acting nationally or through regional organizations, to inspect vessels on the high seas bound to or from Libya, if they have reasonable grounds to believe the vessels are carrying arms or related materials in violation of an arms embargo imposed by the Security Council.