Israeli artillery shelled Hamas posts in the Gaza Strip on Thursday after Palestinians set off bombs along the border fence, the military said, with no casualties reported. A security source from Hamas, the Islamist movement which runs the Gaza Strip, said that one round hit an observation post near the border, causing damage but no casualties. He said that earlier, shortly after sunrise, there were four explosions along the border, which slightly damaged the Israeli frontier barrier.

Saudi Arabia is fast-tracking an atomic energy programme to reduce its dependence on oil, but concerns over nuclear proliferation in the Middle East could put a damper on its ambitious plans.

The atomic policy, which limits nuclear activities to peaceful purposes, was approved by the cabinet on Tuesday just days before powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits Washington.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest exporter of oil, has framed its nuclear project as driven purely by economics.

The kingdom is struggling to meet fast-rising energy demand and crude prices remain far below their peaks reached before the 2014 market crash.

President Donald Trump has announced that he is replacing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, with Mike Pompeo, who currently serves as Director of the CIA. He tweeted the news on Tuesday, thanking Tillerson for his service and saying that Gina Haspel will become the new Director of the CIA. Haspel will be the first woman to serve in the position.

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho will begin a rare two-day visit on Thursday to Sweden, which represents the United States diplomatically in the isolated country, the Swedish Foreign Ministry said. Ri will hold talks with his Swedish counterpart Margot Wallstrom on the security situation on the Korean peninsula and Sweden’s representation of the United States, which has no embassy in North Korea, the ministry said.

President Rodrigo Duterte of Philippines on Wednesday announced the withdrawal of the country’s ratification of the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). “I therefore declare and forthwith give notice, as president of the Republic of the Philippines, that the Philippines is withdrawing its ratification of the Rome Statute effective immediately,” he said in a statement.

The Russian military said it has conducted a successful test of a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile capable of sneaking through enemy defences. A video posted by the Defence Ministry Sunday showed a MiG-31 fighter jet launching a Kinzhal (Dagger) missile during a training flight. The ministry said the missile, which carried a conventional warhead, hit a practice target at a firing range in southern Russia.