U.N. investigators are looking into allegations against 14 of the 19 staffers from the U.N. relief agency for Palestinians who Israel claims were involved in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants that spurred the latest war in Gaza. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Friday provided the first information on the investigation ordered by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The U.N.’s internal watchdog  is carrying out the probe following Israel’s initial allegations in January. It reported that of the 19 allegations against UNRWA agency staffers, one case was closed because Israel provided no evidence and four others were suspended for lack of sufficient evidence.

The British Army says the military horses that bolted and ran loose when spooked by construction noise in central London earlier this week “continue to be cared for and closely observed." In an update to their condition on X, formerly Twitter,, the Army gave no fresh update on the condition of the two horses — Vida and Quaker — that were operated on Wednesday. Trojan and Tennyson were the other two who broke loose. The Army also confirmed that the three soldiers thrown from their steeds and hospitalized with injuries “are expected to recover and return to duty.”

A private security firm says missiles suspected to have been fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels landed a distance away from a ship traveling through the Red Sea. The attack Friday follows an uptick in assaults launched by the Houthis in recent days after a relative lull in their monthslong campaign over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The private security firm Ambrey said three missiles could be seen in the attack, which landed closest to a Panama-flagged, Seychelles-registered tanker it described as being “engaged in Russia-linked trade.” Those details corresponded to a tanker called the Andromeda Star, which had been previously broadcasting its location off Mocha, Yemen. The Houthis did not immediately claim the missile fire.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the U.S. has determined that an Israeli military unit committed gross human-rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank before the war in Gaza began six months ago. But he says the U.S. will hold off on any decision about aid to the battalion while it reviews new information provided by Israel. The news comes in a letter from Blinken to House Speaker Mike Johnson obtained by The Associated Press on Friday. At stake is what could be the first-ever U.S. block on aid to an Israeli military unit over its treatment of Palestinians. Israeli leaders had protested angrily this week in anticipation of a U.S. decision.

Scotland’s leader has insisted that he won’t be resigning amid the fallout of his decision to pull the plug on a three-year power-sharing agreement that has made his Scottish National Party a minority government. First Minister Humza Yousaf said Friday that he “absolutely” will fight a no-confidence vote that has been tabled against him.  A defeat could set off a chain of events that leads to Yousaf stepping down and a potential early election in Scotland. Yousaf may have to rely on the vote of a lawmaker who left the party last October.

Ukraine’s foreign minister has doubled down on the government’s move to bolster the pool of fighting forces by cutting off consular services to conscription-age men outside the country. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Friday that the policy was a matter of “justice.” The decision means men aged 18-60 can’t to renew their passports unless they return to Ukraine. Some opposition politicians and human rights activists have criticized the move. But Kuleba said it would ensure men in Ukraine and those who have left were both treated fairly. Kuleba said he hoped countries that are home to displaced Ukrainians would help implement the policy. Poland and Latvia said Friday they would work with Ukraine on how to proceed.

A court in Romania’s capital has ruled that a trial can start in the case of influencer Andrew Tate, who is charged with human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.The Bucharest Tribunal ruled that prosecutors’ case file against Tate met the legal criteria but did not set a date for the trial to begin. Tate’s spokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, said the ruling will be appealed. Tate, was arrested in December 2022 near Bucharest along with his brother Tristan Tate and two Romanian women. Romanian prosecutors formally indicted all four in June last year. They have denied the allegations.

A Ukrainian court has ordered the detention of the country’s farm minister in the latest high-profile corruption investigation. The minister is suspected of unlawfully obtaining valuable land. Officials said he was released after paying bail. Ukraine is trying to root out corruption that has long dogged the country. Also Friday, Kyiv security officials were assessing how they can recover lost battlefield momentum in the war. Russia, despite sustaining high losses, has been taking control of small settlements as part of its effort to drive deeper into eastern Ukraine. Military analysts say it’s been slow going for the Kremlin’s troops in eastern Ukraine and is likely to stay that way, but the key hilltop town of Chasiv Yar is vulnerable to the Russian onslaught.