Briefly

UNITED STATES

Witkoff to meet Iranians for 3rd time

The United States said on Thursday that President Donald Trump's confidant Steve Witkoff will meet Iranian officials for the third straight week as the adversaries seek a nuclear deal. Witkoff, a businessman friend of Trump who has become his negotiator, last met Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Rome last Saturday, where they reported progress and called for talks among technical teams. The State Department announced that Witkoff would himself attend the technical talks that are slated to take place on Saturday in Oman — where he held his first meeting with Araghchi on April 12.

MIDDLE EAST

Israel army warns of 'larger' assault

Gaza rescue teams and medics said Israeli airstrikes killed at least 55 people on Thursday, as the military threatened an even larger offensive if hostages were not freed soon. Israel resumed its military assault in the Gaza Strip on March 18, after the collapse of a two-month ceasefire that had brought a temporary halt to fighting in the territory. Israel's army chief, visiting troops in Gaza on Thursday, threatened to expand the offensive in Gaza if the hostages seized were not released.

THAILAND

6 dead as police aircraft crashes

A small police plane crashed near the shore of Thailand's resort town of Hua Hin on Friday morning, killing six people, the Thai police said. The Thai national police said on its social media page that the aircraft of the police aviation division crashed into the sea off Chaam District, Phetchaburi Province shortly after taking off from the nearby Hua Hin airport, with all six onboard killed. The police said the accident took place when the plane was conducting a test flight for parachute training.

FRANCE

Answers sought in school knife killing

Mourners on Friday placed flowers in front of the French private school where a student killed a girl in a stabbing spree that prompted demands for tighter security in classes. Investigators were working to determine the motive of the youth, who also wounded three other pupils at the Notre-Dame de Toutes-Aides high school in the western city of Nantes. The suspect sent a long email to fellow pupils before the attack, in which he said: "Globalization has transformed our system into a machine to decompose humanity."

Agencies - Xinhua