US envoy visits aid site in Gaza run by Israeli-backed group that has been heavily criticized

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy has visited a food distribution site in the Gaza Strip operated by an Israeli-backed American contractor whose efforts to deliver food to the hunger-stricken territory have been marred by violence and controversy. International experts warned this week that a “worst-case scenario of famine” is playing out in Gaza. Israel’s nearly 22-month military offensive against Hamas has shattered security and made it nearly impossible to safely deliver food to starving people. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Friday toured a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution site in the city of Rafah, which has been almost completely destroyed and is now a largely depopulated Israeli military zone.

Kyiv mourns after deadliest attack in a year kills 31 people in Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Kyiv is observing a day of mourning after a Russian drone and missile attack killed 31 people, including five children, and injured over 150. The attack on Thursday marked the highest number of child casualties in a single strike on the city since October 2022. It was also the deadliest attack on the city since July last year, when 33 were killed. The Russian assault destroyed a large part of a nine-story residential building and damaged over 100 other structures. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for stronger sanctions against Russia. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces are under pressure in the eastern city of Chasiv Yar as Russia pushes to break through Ukraine’s defenses there.

South Korea’s jailed ex-leader Yoon resists questioning by taking off prison uniform

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s jailed ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol has again refused to attend questionings by investigators. But in his latest refusal Friday, Yoon took off his prison uniform and lay down on the floor of his detention room, according to investigators. Yoon, removed from office in April over his ill-fated imposition of martial law, was sent back to prison last month as he stands a high-stakes trial over rebellion and other charges. He faces investigations into other criminal allegations that are not related to his Dec. 3 martial law decree.

Indonesia begins releasing hundreds of prisoners under president’s clemency plan

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia has begun releasing hundreds of inmates from its notoriously overcrowded prisons after parliament approved the first stage of President Prabowo Subianto’s wide-ranging clemency plan. The first group of 1,116 began leaving prisons on Friday, and include prominent rivals of previous President Joko Widodo who were jailed during his term, as well as Papuan independence activists. The announcement was made late Thursday after a consultation between the government and party factions in the legislature. Subianto surprised the nation barely two months after he took office in October when he said he planned to grant clemency to 44,000 inmates nationwide.