US conducts joint drill with S. Korea

SEOUL, South Korea — The U.S. and South Korean militaries conducted an aerial exercise involving at least one U.S. B-1B bomber and multiple fighter jets in the allies’ first joint air force drill of President Donald Trump’s second term.

Seoul’s Defense Ministry said South Korean F-35 and F-15 fighter jets and American F-16s were involved in the exercise over the Korean Peninsula, but it didn’t specify how many. The training was conducted to demonstrate the U.S. deterrence capabilities against North Korean nuclear and missile threats and improve interoperability between South Korean and U.S. forces, the ministry said in a statement.

South Korea and the United States in recent years have expanded their combined military exercises and joint three-way drills with Japan in the face of growing North Korean nuclear threats, while also sharpening their defense strategies built around U.S. strategic assets. The drills have increasingly involved advanced U.S. weapons systems, such as long-range bombers, aircraft carriers and submarines.

Czech stabbings kill 2 women, teen held

PRAGUE — An assailant attacked and killed two women with a knife Thursday at a shopping center in the Czech Republic, officials said, and a Czech teenager later was arrested in connection with the crime.

A motive was not immediately known for the attack in the city of Hradec Kralove, some 60 miles east of Prague. Police said on the social media platform X there was no indication of a “terror attack,” and that the attacker apparently chose victims at random.

The victims were not immediately identified. Reports initially said they had been injured, one of them seriously, but police later confirmed that both died.

Police detained a 16-year-old Czech national less than a mile from the scene, shortly after the attack. A knife was found nearby.

Prime Minister Petr Fiala offered his condolences to relatives of the dead. “What has happened in Hradec Kralove today is an absolutely incomprehensible and horrible act,” he posted on X.

Police said the situation was under control, there was no danger to the public and that security in the city was not boosted. No other details were immediately available.

US sanctions Rwandan in Congo conflict

NAIROBI, Kenya — The United States on Thursday sanctioned a Rwandan government minister for his supposed role in the conflict in neighboring Congo, where Rwanda-backed rebels are battling the Congolese army and have captured more territory, including two key cities.

Along with the Rwandan minister for regional integration, James Kabarebe, the U.S. also sanctioned a spokesperson of the M23 rebels, Lawrence Kanyuka Kingston. Two companies linked to Kanyuka and registered in Britain and France were also sanctioned.

The U.S urged “the leaders of Rwanda to end their support for M23” and withdraw all Rwandan troops from Congo. U.N. experts say there are about 4,000 troops from Rwanda in Congo.

The U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement that the U.S. also calls on Congo and Rwanda’s governments “to hold accountable those responsible for human rights violations and abuses.”

The U.S. announcement said that Kabarebe, the Rwandan minister who is also a retired military officer, has been liaising with the M23 rebels and handling the revenue and export of minerals that the Rwanda-backed rebels have procured in eastern Congo.

Bolsonaro admits guilt, says Brazil’s Lula

SAO PAULO — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Thursday that his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, is acknowledging his guilt in a case in which he’s accused of plotting a coup to stay in power after his 2022 electoral defeat by focusing on a campaign for amnesty.

Bolsonaro and allied lawmakers are pushing for a bill that would pardon those convicted over an insurrection on Jan. 8, 2023 — when supporters of the far-right leader stormed government buildings in Brasilia, Brazil’s capital, emulating the U.S. Capitol riots. They are also trying to amend a law that prevents convicted criminals from running for office.

“He’s asking for amnesty, which means he’s basically saying, ‘Guys, I’m guilty. I tried to come up with a plan to kill Lula, I tried to come up with a plan to kill (Vice President Geraldo) Alckmin, I tried to come up with a plan to kill (Justice) Alexandre de Moraes,'” Lula told Radio Tupi during a live interview.

Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet on Tuesday charged Bolsonaro with devising a multipronged plot to remain in power despite his loss to Lula, including a suspected plan to poison Lula and shoot dead Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, a foe of the former president.

Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing and dismissed accusations against him as vague, saying the charges were the result of an authoritarian regime manufacturing internal enemies.

  photo  In this photo provided by the South Korea Defense Ministry, U.S. Air Force B-1B bomber, top second from left, F-16 fighter jet and South Korean Air Force F-15K fighter jets, right bottom, fly over the Korean Peninsula, South Korea during a joint aerial drill between South Korea and the United States, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (South Korea Defense Ministry via AP)
  
  photo  In this photo provided by the South Korea Defense Ministry, U.S. Air Force B-1B bomber, top center, F-16 fighter jets and South Korean Air Force F-15K fighter jets, right bottom, fly over the Korean Peninsula, South Korea during a joint aerial drill between South Korea and the United States, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (South Korea Defense Ministry via AP)
  
  photo  In this photo provided by the South Korea Defense Ministry, U.S. Air Force B-1B bomber, top center, F-16 fighter jets and South Korean Air Force F-15K fighter jets, right top, fly over the Korean Peninsula, South Korea during the joint aerial drills between South Korea and the United States, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (South Korea Defense Ministry via AP)
  
  photo  In this photo provided by the South Korea Defense Ministry, U.S. Air Force B-1B bomber, top center, F-16 fighter jets and South Korean Air Force F-15K fighter jets, right bottom, fly over the Korean Peninsula, South Korea during a joint aerial drill between South Korea and the United States, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (South Korea Defense Ministry via AP)