The Brief

President Trump sharpened his public criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling him "more difficult to work with than Putin" and branding Ukraine's latest strikes a "disgrace," after Zelensky said Ukraine has the right to defend itself. EU leaders rallied around Zelensky following the fresh criticism, and Al Jazeera reported he asked them for an extra $79 billion to fight Russia next year. Trump also denied limiting Ukraine's access to the Starlink network, the BBC reported. Ukraine resumed drone strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, including a refinery in Russia's Ryazan region. Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told the BBC that restricting support for Ukraine is "completely wrong" and risks prolonging the war.

Poland scrambled fighter jets after Russia struck western Ukraine, with countries along NATO's eastern flank growing increasingly concerned about escalation. Russian authorities said Ukraine's refinery strike southeast of Moscow was retaliation for Russia's own attacks on Ukrainian energy sites.

On the ground, Ukraine's "Operation Vivaldi" has reclaimed more occupied territory in Donetsk this week, Al Jazeera and the BBC reported.

The roof of a private school in Peshawar, Pakistan, collapsed Thursday, killing at least 35 people, most of them children, and injuring dozens more, police and hospital officials said. The roof crashed through three classrooms, burying children under the debris.

Thousands gathered in Peshawar for funeral prayers for the victims, and Pakistani authorities have since ordered inspections of schools nationwide as families of the dead demand accountability over warnings that the roof had been leaking.

A Houthi ballistic missile attack on Yemen's al-Maashiq presidential palace killed five people, Yemen's information minister said, though the prime minister and other officials were unhurt. The strike comes amid a sharp rise in attacks on shipping near the Strait of Hormuz, where a UK maritime agency recorded 12 vessels struck in a single week.

A Saudi diplomat said Iran is encouraging the Houthi escalation against the kingdom, and a maritime risk firm warned vessels in the strait still face indiscriminate attacks even when they switch off tracking systems. Iran said Friday the strait will reopen if the U.S. leaves the Middle East, warning: "If it does not leave, we will expel it."

Yemen's government also said the Houthis fired two missiles at Aden airport, Al Jazeera reported, while government forces claimed advances in Marib. Al Jazeera separately reported President Trump said the U.S. Navy blockade has stopped all Iranian ships from crossing the Strait of Hormuz.

A series of drone strikes in the Black Sea, including an attack that set a tanker ablaze in Romanian waters, has left two people dead and at least 25 others missing across the exclusive economic zones of Romania and Ukraine, officials said.

The strikes threaten a major global shipping route and have fueled fears that Russia is testing NATO's response, risking drawing other countries directly into the war in Ukraine.

Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians harvesting olives in the occupied West Bank, injuring several people including Heidi Levine, a veteran American photojournalist working with the Washington Post, witnesses and officials said. The BBC said it witnessed masked settlers attacking Palestinian farmers and setting olive trees on fire amid a surge in similar incidents.

Al Jazeera reported settlers armed with clubs and guns also torched olive trees and vehicles in the towns of Abu Falah and Turmus Ayya. PBS NewsHour said the attacks, in which a Washington Post photographer was beaten, are the latest violence to disrupt this month's olive harvest.

Canada's prime minister is in Alberta for two days making a final push for national unity ahead of Monday's referendum on the province's potential separation from Canada, warning that "the stakes are high."

At a pro-Canada rally in Calgary, Mark Carney said the referendum "comes at the worst possible time" and that "some outside our borders are working to break us so they can own us," PBS NewsHour reported.

Pope Leo is scheduled to make a public appearance on Sunday, his first since surgery this week, Al Jazeera reported. Doctors say he can now carry out normal activities with full independence.

The BBC said the pontiff was diagnosed with lung cancer after surgery at Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Tuesday. The Vatican released photos of him celebrating Mass at the hospital, along with get-well notes from patients in its pediatric oncology ward.