China said on Friday an "airship" that is flying over the United States is for civilian meteorological and other scientific purposes and voiced regret that it strayed into U.S. airspace.
U.S. officials said on Thursday that a Chinese spy balloon has been flying over the United States for a couple of days, in what would be a brazen act just days ahead of a planned trip to Beijing by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
In a statement late on Friday, China's foreign ministry also said that it would continue to maintain communications with the United States to properly handle the unexpected situation.
"The airship is from China and is civilian in nature, used for meteorological and other scientific research. Due to the influence of westerly winds and its limited control capability, the airship deviated from its intended course," it said.
"China regrets that the airship strayed into the United States by mistake due to force majeure. China will continue to maintain communication with the U.S. side to properly handle this accident," it said.
Israeli forces killed 35 Palestinians in aerial and ground bombardments across the Gaza Strip on Thursday and battled in close combat with Hamas in areas of the southern city of Rafah, health officials and Hamas media said.
Iran's late President Ebrahim Raisi is set to be buried in the holy city of Mashhad on Thursday evening, four days after he was killed in a helicopter crash along with foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and six other people.
A Russian missile attack on Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv killed at least six people and wounded at least 11 on Thursday, local authorities said.
A furious China launched "punishment" drills around Taiwan on Thursday in what it said was a response to "separatist acts", sending up heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated President Lai Ching-te.
Nine people have died and around 50 were injured after a structure collapsed at a campaign event for the Citizens' Movement party in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon.
Dubai Duty Free executive vice chairman and CEO, Colm McLoughlin, announced that he will be stepping down from his role after 55 years in the travel retail industry and 41 years of leadership at Dubai Duty Free. Colm joined the Business Breakfast to reflect on his epic career.
78% of AI users are now bringing their own AI tools to work, but what does this mean for employers? Zubin Chagpar, Senior Director and Business Group Leader, Modern Work and Surface Devices, Microsoft CEMA tells us more.