U.S. Vice President JD Vance criticized on Thursday Israel's parliament vote on West Bank annexation, saying the move was an "insult."

Speaking on the tarmac of Tel Aviv's international airport before departing at the end of his visit to Israel this week, Vance said that if the vote was a "political stunt, then it is a very stupid political stunt."

A Sudanese paramilitary force targeted the country's capital and its main airport on Thursday with drones, just a day after the first passenger flight in two years landed in the city, according to military officials and local media.

The attack by the Rapid Support Forces came as the group seeks to maintain pressure against Sudan's military while the deadlocked conflict grinds on.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla prayed Thursday with Pope Leo XIV in an historic visit to the Vatican to forge closer relations between the Church of England and the Catholic Church, a welcome spiritual respite for the royals from the turmoil at home over sexual misconduct allegations against Prince Andrew.

Charles, who is the titular head of the Church of England, and Camilla sat in golden thrones on the raised altar of the Sistine Chapel, in front of Michelangelo's "Last Judgment," while Leo and the Anglican archbishop of York presided over an ecumenical service.

China's ruling Communist Party said Thursday it will focus on speeding up self-reliance in science and technology, a long-running push that has become more pronounced as the U.S. has imposed increasingly tight controls on its access to semiconductors and other high-tech items.

The announcement by the state media came in a communique after a four-day meeting that approved a draft of the party's next five-year development plan.

The European Union on Thursday heaped more economic sanctions on Russia, adding to U.S. President Donald Trump's new punitive measures the previous day against the Russian oil industry.

It is a broadened effort to choke off the revenue that funds Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and to force President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war.

Iran has been bombed, seen United Nations sanctions reimposed and its economy collapse further into the red this year. But its theocracy so far hasn't taken any major action to halt the slide, restart crucial nuclear negotiations with the West nor fully prepare for possible further hostilities with Israel and the United States.

In the past, Iran's 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei heralded the benefit of Tehran's "strategic patience" in confronting its enemies. Now, however, concern is growing that patience has slipped into paralysis as Iran's partners in its self-described "Axis of Resistance" have been devastated and there's no overt sign of materiel support from either China or Russia.

The pumpkin is the undisputed star of the show at the Klaistow farm near Berlin.

As U.S. Vice President JD Vance's visit to Israel comes to a close, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio landed in Israel on Thursday in a visit aimed at keeping the momentum on the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

According to a U.S. official, Rubio will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later on Thursday.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever insisted on Thursday that his European partners must share the risk of using billions of dollars in frozen Russian assets that are held in his country to help keep Ukraine's economy and war effort afloat in coming years.

Ukraine's budget and military needs for 2026 and 2027 are estimated to total around $153 billion, and the European Union's executive branch has been developing a plan to use Russia's frozen assets as collateral to drum up funds.

Artificial intelligence has caused concern for its tremendous consumption of water and power. But scientists are also experimenting with ways that AI can help people and businesses use energy more efficiently and pollute less.

Data centers needed to fuel AI accounted for about 1.5% of the world's electricity consumption last year, and those facilities' energy consumption is predicted to more than double by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. That increase could lead to burning more fossil fuels such as coal and gas, which release greenhouse gases that contribute to warming temperatures, sea level rise and extreme weather.