North Korea is set to triple the number of its troops fighting for Russia along the front lines with Ukraine, sending an additional 25,000 to 30,000 soldiers to assist Moscow, according to an intelligence assessment from Ukrainian officials.

The assessment also says there are signs that Russian military aircraft are being refitted to carry personnel, reflecting the vast undertaking of moving tens of thousands of foreign troops across Russian Siberia, which shares a border with North Korea in its far southwest.

North Korea initially sent 11,000 troops to Russia in the fall of 2024 in great secrecy, with Russian President Vladimir Putin only confirming the deployment in late April.

In October, North Korean soldiers were pictured being handed equipment for the frontlines at the Sergeevka military base in Primorskyi Krai.

A month later, a Ropucha-class Russian ship docked at the Dunai port near Nakhodka, 95 kilometers (59 miles) to the southwest, which could carry up to 400 troops, analysts said.

“Satellite imagery shows a Russian personnel carrier arriving at Dunai in May, and activity at Sunan airport in May and June,” said Joe Byrne, senior analyst at the Open Source Centre. “This appears to indicate the routes previously used to move DPRK troops are active, and could be used in any large-scale future transfer of personnel.”

Jenny Town, senior fellow and director of the Korean program at the Stimson Center, said the Ukrainian assessment of up to 30,000 sounded “high… but they can certainly come up with that number. They won’t be elite soldiers. Kim Jong Un has said he is all in, so it depends on what Russia has asked for.”

Town said 10,000 to 20,000 “sounds more realistic,” and that North Korea might slowly deploy the troops in stages. “There have been rumors that Russian generals have been inside North Korea training troops there already,” she said.

Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said Thursday that Kyiv suspected further North Korean troops might be deployed but added that the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, risked putting his own government in peril by exposing so many elite troops to the high casualty rates of the front line. “Russia’s use of elite North Korean troops demonstrates not only a growing reliance on totalitarian regimes but also serious problems with its mobilization reserve,” Umerov said. “Together with our partners, we are monitoring these threats and will respond accordingly.”

On Friday, Ukraine’s military chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Russia was amassing 110,000 troops near the front-line hotspot town of Pokrovsk, in preparation for a possible offensive on the strategic population center.

Sergei Shoigu, a top adviser to Putin who previously served as his defense minister, visited Pyongyang on June 17 – a trip made on Putin’s orders, and his second visit in a fortnight, the Russian state-run TASS news agency reported. During the visit, Shoigu announced 1,000 North Korean sappers and 5,000 military construction workers would be sent to Russia, to clear mines and “restore infrastructure destroyed by the occupiers” in the Kursk region, according to TASS.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) has briefed lawmakers in Seoul that North Korea has begun selecting personnel for overseas deployment which could occur as early as July or August, according to remarks by lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun. He highlighted Russia’s public announcement of another 6,000 North Korean mine clearers and military construction workers being sent. It is unclear if the NIS shares the Ukranian intelligence assessment that the deployment could be as many as 30,000.

The six-minute video shows a Russian military instructor declaring that North Koreans aged 23 to 27 arrive “physically well-prepared.” He added, “As fighters they are not worse than ours. The enemy runs away first.”

The Russian trainer discusses with Kim a translation sheet of basic military Russian terms to Korean. It is unclear if the North Korean trainees are new arrivals or the remnants of the 11,000 sent last year. The reporter also visits a trench network where the North Koreans live with basic comfort items such as red Korean pepper, and handwritten posters declaring in Korean “Revenge for our fallen comrades” above their bunks.

Another two videos posted by TASS imply greater integration of North Korean soldiers into the Russian military than was previously seen. North Korean troops’ first exposure to the front line in Kursk was as a distinct, separate unit, owing to the language barrier with Moscow’s troops, according to assessments by Ukrainian officials.

One TASS video shows North Korean and Russian troops working to clear buildings together in close-combat training, and another shows North Koreans receiving training with shotguns, used to tackle the Ukrainian drone threat.

The manuals have emerged at the same time as increasing numbers of videos of North Korean artillery at the front line have been seen online, and as a report from 11 UN member states last month said that Pyongyang had sent at least 100 ballistic missiles and 9 million artillery shells to Russia in 2024.

The report also echoed statements from the South Korean military in March that another 3,000 North Korean troops had been sent to Russia early this year.

Town, from the Stimson Center, said Pyongyang saw a long-term benefit to Moscow being in its debt. “The more ‘blood debt’ there is between them,” she said, “the more North Korea will benefit in the long run, even if they are making sacrifices in the short term.”

Catherine, Princess of Wales visited a wellbeing garden at Colchester Hospital on Wednesday, marking her first public appearance since she unexpectedly dropped out of an appearance at Royal Ascot two weeks ago.

Kate visited the hospital garden in the southeast of England to “celebrate the incredible healing power of nature,” according to Kensington Palace.

During the visit, the princess also met with patients and staff at the hospital’s Cancer Wellbeing Centre “to understand how gardens in healthcare settings play a crucial role in promoting good health outcomes, preventing poor health and supporting increased recovery time,” the palace said.

Kate, 43, has underlined the importance of nature in her health journey over the last year.

“Over the past year, nature has been my sanctuary,” she said in a video posted on X to mark Mental Health Awareness Week in May.

Kate revealed her cancer diagnosis and that she had started chemotherapy last March. As she underwent treatment, she stepped back from public life and only made a few rare appearances last summer. In September, she announced she had completed chemotherapy and was “doing what I can to stay cancer free.”

Although she has taken on more appearances this year, the popular royal is understood to be working to find the right balance as she returns to public duties after treatment.

Before dropping out of Ascot at short notice, Kate had attended a number of engagements in recent weeks, including two major events in the royal calendar, the Trooping the Colour parade in London and the Order of the Garter service in Windsor.

She resumed in-person duties last week when she and Prince William invited Melinda French Gates for a meeting at Windsor Castle. They were understood to have discussed their philanthropic work, according to Britain’s PA Media news agency.

Kate’s visit to Colchester Hospital on Wednesday coincided with the hospital accepting a donation of 50 “Catherine’s Rose” plants, a specially-bred rose named in her honor by the Royal Horticultural Society. She planted some of these roses, which, when sold commercially, will have their proceeds donated to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.

Kate has become deeply involved in the charity since her diagnosis. In January, Kensington Palace announced that she had been named the joint patron of The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, the specialist cancer center in Chelsea, west London, where she was treated.

Funds from the sale of these roses will be used to help the charity establish a specialist program helping cancer patients live well with the disease, and after their treatment has been completed.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has approved a law to halt cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a move which will likely obscure any attempt by Tehran to restart its damaged nuclear program.

Wednesday’s decision comes a week after Iran’s parliament passed a law to suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog. Iran blames the IAEA for collaborating with Israel and providing a pathway for strikes on its nuclear facilities, an accusation which the agency denies.

Pezeshkian ordered Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, the Supreme National Security Council, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to begin implementing the law, state-run news agency IRNA said.

It’s unclear when and how the new law will be implemented, but the decision could pave the way for Iran to rebuild its nuclear program without inspections or monitoring from the IAEA. Iran is a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which requires members to allow monitoring and inspections of facilities to confirm the peaceful nature of nuclear programs.

Israel launched an unprecedented attack on Iran last month that targeted its military commanders, nuclear facilities and the scientists who develop its atomic program. In the week that followed, the United States launched supportive strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow. A 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran ended with a ceasefire last week.

Iran said its facilities were badly damaged in the attacks but that it intends to continue enriching uranium to continue its “peaceful” nuclear program. On Sunday, the IAEA said US strikes on Iran fell short of causing total damage to the program and that Tehran could restart enriching uranium “in a matter of months.”

Days before Israel attacked the Iranian facilities, the IAEA said it could not verify that Tehran’s nuclear program is entirely peaceful and issued a report saying Iran was enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels.

That document triggered an IAEA resolution censuring Iran, fueling outrage across the Iranian government who accuse the agency and its director general, Rafael Grossi, of being biased.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has repeatedly denied Iran is building a bomb and says weapons of mass destruction are forbidden under Islam. The country began enriching uranium to higher levels after US President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018 from a nuclear agreement signed between the Obama administration and Iran.

Donald Trump has not been shy about his desire for an end to the war in Gaza.

After the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran concluded with a ceasefire, the US president has been pushing hard for a truce between Israel and Hamas, saying he was “looking for it to happen next week,” when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to visit the White House.

Trump announced Tuesday that Israel had “agreed to the necessary conditions” to finalize a 60-day ceasefire. Netanyahu will convene his full cabinet on Saturday night to discuss it. Hamas, meanwhile, said it was considering the latest proposal, without indicating whether it would accept it.

The two sides have long had conflicting demands that negotiators have been unable to bridge, but there are renewed hopes of a deal as the war enters its 21st month. Here’s what to know.

Why now?

Netanyahu’s government has faced mounting international criticism for the suffering its war is inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel imposed a total blockade on humanitarian deliveries to the enclave in March. It somewhat eased the blockade in May, after a chorus of global experts warned that hundreds of thousands of people could soon starve.

Hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israeli strikes in recent days. And aid distribution has been marred by violence, with hundreds killed on their way to try to obtain food from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the controversial US-backed aid initiative.

Pressure is also growing on Netanyahu from within Israel. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Wednesday that he would join the coalition government to make a hostage deal possible.

Trump predicted Tuesday that Netanyahu wanted to end the war. “He wants to. I can tell you he wants to. I think we’ll have a deal next week,” Trump told reporters.

What’s in the proposed deal?

The precise details of the new proposal for a 60-day ceasefire and hostage release deal remain murky.

The Qatari prime minister previously said Qatar and Egypt had been working to find a “middle ground” to move forward from the US-conceived truce proposed months ago. That proposal outlined a 60-day ceasefire during which Hamas would release 10 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of a further 18 hostages taken by Hamas during its attacks on October 7, 2023.

Of the 50 hostages still in Gaza, at least 20 of them are believed to be alive, according to the Israeli government.

As part of the latest proposal, Israel has also agreed to allow a surge of humanitarian aid through traditional UN-run humanitarian channels rather than through the controversial US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the Israeli official said.

What are Israel’s demands?

In addition to the aim of bringing the hostages home, Netanyahu has not wavered from his more maximalist aims: disarmament of Gaza and the destruction of Hamas’ military capabilities and governance abilities.

“I’m telling you — there will be no Hamas. No ‘Hamastan.’ We are not going back to that. It’s over,” Netanyahu said Wednesday. “We will bring back all our hostages.”

But over the weekend, the prime minister made a rhetorical shift in laying out Israel’s goals – for the first time prioritizing the return of hostages ahead of what he once called the “supreme objective” of defeating Hamas.

Netanyahu said “many opportunities have opened up” following Israel’s military operations in Iran, including the possibility of bringing home everyone still held captive by Hamas. “Firstly, to rescue the hostages,” he said. “Of course, we will also need to solve the Gaza issue, defeat Hamas, but I believe we will accomplish both missions.”

It comes as the Israeli military this week recommended pursuing a diplomatic path in Gaza after nearly two years of fighting and the elimination of much of Hamas’ senior leadership.

What about Hamas?

Hamas has three main demands: a permanent end to the fighting, for humanitarian assistance to be carried out by the United Nations, and for Israel to retreat to the positions it held on March 2 this year, before it renewed its offensive and occupied the northern part of the Strip.

In response to the earlier Trump administration-backed ceasefire proposal in May, Hamas requested US assurances that permanent ceasefire negotiations will continue and that fighting will not resume after the 60-day pause.

Whether the ceasefire will be temporary or a pathway to a permanent truce is the biggest sticking point between the warring parties.

Hamas has also shown no willingness to relinquish its political and military power in Gaza.

When were the previous ceasefires?

In the 21 months of war between Israel and Hamas, ceasefires have been in place for a total of only nine weeks.

More than 57,000 people, of which more than 17,000 are children, have been killed in Gaza during the fighting, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

The first ceasefire came into effect in November 2023, but lasted only a week. In that time, 105 hostages were released from Gaza, in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners.

A second ceasefire was not struck until January 2025, shortly before Trump’s return to the White House. In just over 8 weeks – the first “phase” of the ceasefire – Hamas freed 33 hostages, with Israel releasing around 50 Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli freed.

Under the planned second stage, Israel was supposed to agree to a permanent ceasefire. But Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, shattering the ceasefire and derailing the talks, saying it did so to put pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages.

A teenage pilot, who is attempting to fly all seven continents solo, hit a patch of rough air this weekend when Chilean authorities detained him for changing his flight plan without their permission and landing in Antarctica.

Chilean prosecutors say American influencer Ethan Guo, 19, broke “multiple national and international regulations” by changing his flight plans without prior notice, landing on a part of Antarctica where the South American country maintains a territorial claim.

Guo, whose website states he is trying to raise $1 million for cancer research by becoming “the first person ever to fly to all seven continents solo,” has broadcast his continent-hopping journey since last September to more than a million Instagram followers.

His last post, on June 23, documents a flight over the Philippines.

Chilean authorities say that on Saturday, Guo submitted a false flight plan and took off from Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Airport in the southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas as the sole passenger and crew member aboard a Cessna 182Q aircraft, registered as N182WT. At one point during that flight, authorities say he turned off course toward Antarctica.

“The accused provided false information to the aeronautical authority. He submitted a flight plan indicating that he was going to fly over the city of Punta Arenas,” said Cristian Crisosto Rifo, the Regional Prosecutor of Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica.

“However, he continued toward Antarctica without informing anyone and without any authorization, landing at the airfield of Lieutenant Rodolfo Marsh Base in Chilean Antarctic territory. With this behavior, the accused seriously endangered the safety of air traffic to Antarctica and the Magallanes region,” the prosecutor added.

Cristoso explained that as soon as Guo landed in Antarctica, he was detained and formally charged. “The accused not only violated the Aeronautical Code but also multiple national and international regulations regarding routes to Antarctica and access to the white continent,” emphasized Crisosto.

On Sunday, his lawyer told reporters at a press conference after Guo was charged that the young pilot experienced “complications” while flying. “While already in the air, he began to experience a series of complications,” Karina Ulloa said, adding that Guo claims “that he was conducting an exploratory flight to see if he could follow this route or not.”

The Magallanes and Chilean Antarctic Prosecutor’s Office determined on Sunday that the teen must remain in the Chilean sector of the frozen continent until authorities give him permission to return to the city of Punta Arenas.

The Chilean court decreed a 90-day investigation period for this case, during which time Guo must remain in Chile.

UK lawmakers voted Wednesday to ban Palestine Action, a UK-based group that aims to disrupt the operations of weapons manufacturers supplying the Israeli government.

Members of Parliament voted 382 to 26 in favor of the measure against the group after two Palestine Action activists broke into Britain’s largest air base in central England, damaging two military aircraft.

The draft proscription order will reach the House of Lords on Thursday. If approved by the upper house, the ban would go into effect in the following days.

A full ban would mean that it would be illegal under UK law to be a member of – or invite support for – Palestine Action. It would put the group on par with terrorist organizations such as Hamas, al Qaeda and ISIS – sparking condemnation from United Nations experts, human rights groups, and politicians.

British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed the government’s intention to proscribe the group on June 23, after two Palestine Action activists sprayed red paint into the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyagers.

Video from the scene showed activists spraying red paint into the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyagers, which the group said were targeted for their alleged role in carrying military cargo and for their use in refueling Israeli, American and British military aircraft.

Palestine Action announced on Monday that it had started legal proceedings against the government’s decision. The group’s co-founder Huda Ammori said the clampdown mirrored “many authoritarian regimes around the world who have used counter-terrorism to crush dissent.”

If the ban goes into effect, it would likely be the first time in UK history that a direct action protest group has been proscribed under anti-terror legislation, according to several human rights advocates.

Those who defy the ban could face up to 14 years in prison, according to UK counter-terrorism police and the government. Even wearing items of clothing which “arouse reasonable suspicion” that an individual is a member or supporter of the group could result in six months in prison or a fine, police say.

‘Grave misuse of anti-terrorism powers’

Human rights organisations have vehemently criticised the government’s move, saying it is the latest in a series of draconian measures taken by the state to clamp down on legitimate protest in the country.

Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK chief executive, said on June 23 that proscribing Palestine Action could risk an “unlawful interference” with the fundamental rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.

She wrote to parliamentarians on Tuesday to warn that outlawing the group would be a “grave misuse of anti-terrorism powers.”

“Proscribing Palestine Action will mean that by the weekend, millions of people living in the UK will have limitations on their freedom of speech,” she said.

Experts from the United Nations also added to the growing chorus of criticism on Tuesday, saying they were worried about the “unjustified labelling of a political protest movement as ‘terrorist’.”

Others have previously shared messages of solidarity with the group: “We are all Palestine Action,” Labour MP Zarah Sultana posted June 24 on X. Former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the government’s proscription plan was “not what the counter terrorism laws were introduced for.”

Palestine Action called the government’s reaction to its air base action “unhinged.”

“The real crime here is not red paint being sprayed on these war planes, but the war crimes that have been enabled with those planes because of the UK Government’s complicity in Israel’s genocide,” the group said in a statement on June 24.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Rescuers were searching Thursday for 38 people missing in rough seas overnight after a ferry sank near Indonesia’s resort island of Bali.

Another four people died and 23 have been rescued, according to the Surabaya Search and Rescue Agency.

The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank almost half an hour after leaving East Java’s Ketapang port late Wednesday, the National Search and Rescue Agency said in a statement. It was bound for Bali’s Gilimanuk port, a 50-kilometer (30-mile) trip.

The ferry carried 53 passengers, 12 crew members and 22 vehicles, including 14 trucks, it said.

Many of those rescued were initially unconscious after drifting in choppy waters for hours, said Banyuwangi police chief Rama Samtama Putra.

Nine boats, including two tug boats and two inflatable boats, have been searching for the missing people, battling waves up to 2 meters (6.5 feet) high in the overnight darkness.

Ferry tragedies are common in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, where ferries are often used as transport and safety regulations can lapse.