A news conference between Zelenskyy and Trump’s Ukraine envoy is canceled

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A news conference that was planned to follow talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy has been canceled. The cancellation happened Thursday as political tensions deepened between the two countries over how to end the almost three-year war with Russia. The event was originally supposed to include comments to the media by Zelenskyy and retired U.S. Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg. But it was changed at the last minute to a simple photo opportunity where two leaders posed for journalists. They did not deliver statements or field questions. A Ukrainian presidential spokesman said the change was requested by the U.S. side.

Yoon appears in 2 different SKorean courts while defending his martial law decree

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has appeared in two different courts, contesting his arrest on rebellion charges in one and pleading to preserve his presidency in the other, both related to his brief imposition of martial law in December. Security was heightened at the Seoul Central District Court as Yoon arrived for a preliminary hearing that involved discussions of witnesses and other preparations for his criminal trial. The court was also reviewing a request by Yoon’s lawyers to cancel his arrest and release him. Yoon then traveled across the capital to the Constitutional Court, which is nearing a decision on whether to formally remove him from office.

Hamas returns bodies of 4 Israeli hostages said to include a mother and her 2 children

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Hamas has handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages, said to include a mother and her two children who have long been feared dead and had come to symbolize the nation’s agony following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. The militant group said it released the remains of Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, as well as Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted. Kfir was the youngest captive taken that day. Hamas has said all four were killed in Israeli airstrikes. The militants displayed four black coffins on a stage in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, surrounded by banners, before handing them over to the Red Cross.

Teenager arrested in stabbing deaths of 2 women in Czech Republic

PRAGUE (AP) — Officials in the Czech Republic say an assailant has attacked and killed two women with a knife at a shopping center, and that a Czech teenager has been arrested for the crime. A motive was not immediately known for the attack in the city of Hradec Kralove, some 100 kilometers east of Prague. But police say there is no indication of a “terror attack,” and that the attacker apparently chose victims at random. The victims were not immediately identified. Police detained a 16-year-old Czech nationalless than a mile from the scene, shortly after the attack. A knife was found nearby.