North Korean leader Kim Jong Un joined troops training on a new model of tank and drove one himself, state media reported Thursday, as his rivals South Korea and the U.S. wrapped up their annual military exercises.

It's the third time Kim was reported to have observed military exercises since the start of the 11-day South Korean-U.S. exercises, which he views as rehearsals for an invasion. That's a less provocative option than missile tests. North Korea has intensified launches since 2022 and ramped up belligerent rhetoric this year.

One religious icon unites Cubans: The Virgin of Charity of Cobre.

Cuba's patron saint is venerated by observant Catholics and followers of Afro-Cuban Santeria traditions as well as Cubans in exile and back on the island. The wooden statue of the Virgin Mary is kept at the Basilica of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre nestled in the shadow of the lush Sierra Maestra mountains. An identical replica is worshipped by Cuban-Americans at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity in Miami.

Math enthusiasts around the world, from college kids to rocket scientists, celebrate Pi Day on Thursday, which is March 14 or 3/14 — the first three digits of an infinite number with many practical uses.

Around the world many people will mark the day with a slice of pie — sweet, savory or even pizza.

Yemen's Houthi rebels claim to have a new, hypersonic missile in their arsenal, Russia's state media reported Thursday, potentially raising the stakes in their ongoing attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways against the backdrop of Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The report by the state-run RIA Novosti news agency cited an unnamed official but provided no evidence for the claim. It comes as Moscow maintains an aggressively counter-Western foreign policy amid its grinding war on Ukraine.

Israeli warplanes targeted Thursday a house in al-Naqoura and the outskirts of the southern town of Kounin, while Israeli artillery targeted Wadi Hamoul and the outskirts of Tayr Harfa.

Hezbollah had carried out five attacks on northern israel and the occupied Shebaa Farms on Wednesday, while Israeli warplanes struck overnight the southern border towns of al-Labbouneh and Mays al-Jabal.

Israel plans to tell 1.4 million Palestinians displaced in the southern city of Rafah to seek shelter in central Gaza ahead of a planned military offensive into the south.

Civilians would be directed toward “humanitarian islands” that would provide temporary housing, food, water and other necessities, Israel’s chief military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said Wednesday. He did not say when this would occur, nor when the Rafah offensive might begin.

Adidas said Wednesday that it's donated or is planning to give away more than $150 million to groups fighting antisemitism and other forms of hate from the sales of Yeezy shoes last year after it severed ties with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.

The German sportswear brand had 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) worth of popular Yeezy sneakers piled up in warehouses after it broke off its partnership with Ye in October 2022 over his antisemitic and other offensive comments on social media and in interviews.

U.S. stocks are drifting around their records Wednesday, as a lull carries through financial markets worldwide.

The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in early trading, a day after setting an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 71 points, or 0.2%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% lower.

Ukrainian long-range drones smashed into two oil facilities deep inside Russia on Tuesday, officials said, while an armed incursion claimed by Ukraine-based Russian opponents of the Kremlin unnerved a border region just days before Russia's presidential election.

Three and a half years after hundreds of tons of improperly stored ammonium nitrate ignited at the Beirut port, setting off one of the world's biggest non-nuclear explosions, Lebanese and French officials put forward a plan for reconstruction and reorganization of the port Wednesday.

The Aug. 4, 2020, explosion at Beirut's port killed more than 200 people, injured and displaced thousands and devastated entire neighborhoods of the city.