Briefly

SOUTH KOREA

Patrol plane crash kills 4 crew members

All four crew members were killed as a South Korean military plane crashed, local newspaper Chosun Ilbo said on 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 pm, according to the defense ministry. The patrol plane crashed into a hill. No civilian casualties have been reported yet, the ministry noted. The newspaper said the burned bodies of all of the crew members were found at the site. Three bodies were retrieved from the crashed plane's wreckage, according to Yonhap news agency.

MIDDLE EAST

Israel announces new West Bank settlements

Israel's government has approved 22 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, Finance Minister

Bezalel Smotrich said on Thursday, a move that could deepen divisions with allies, who have threatened sanctions over further expansion. Smotrich, an advocate for Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, wrote on X that the new settlements would be located in the northern area of the West Bank. Israeli media cited the Defense Ministry as saying that among the new settlements, existing "outposts" would be legalized and new settlements would also be built.

Agencies - Xinhua