JERUSALEM -- The Israeli government on early Friday approved a ceasefire deal with Hamas to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of all remaining hostages.

Under the terms of the agreement, a copy of which was obtained by Xinhua, the ceasefire is now in effect. (Israel-Gaza Ceasefire)

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WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on Thursday that Spain be expelled from NATO for refusing to increase its defense spending.

"They have no excuse not to do this," Trump told reporters at the White House during a meeting with visiting Finnish President Alexander Stubb. "Maybe you should throw them out of NATO frankly." (US-Spain-NATO)

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MOSCOW -- Fragments of detonated Russian missiles may have caused the crash of an Azerbaijani passenger jet in December, and Moscow will pay compensation, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.

In a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe, Putin discussed the causes of the accident with Aliyev, saying Russia was tracking three Ukrainian drones crossing its border then and "technical malfunctions" of Russia's air defense system may have been a factor in the crash. (Russia-Azerbaijan-Jet Crash)

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PYONGYANG -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Thursday that China stands ready to strengthen high-level exchanges and strategic communication with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks during his meeting with Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK. (China-DPRK-Premier) Enditem