A Ukrainian circus troupe is performing a never-ending "Alice in Wonderland" tour of Italy, caught in the real-world rabbit hole of having to create joyful performances on stage while their families at home are living through war.

Like many Ukrainian artists who were abroad when Russia invaded on Feb. 24, the acrobats and dancers of the Theater Circus Elysium of Kyiv were opening a limited engagement in Italy. The tour, originally scheduled to end in mid-March, has now been extended at least through June as the performers seek to keep working to send money to relatives back home.

North Korea fired three short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea on Thursday, South Korea's military said, in the latest of a series of weapons demonstrations this year that came just hours after it confirmed its first case of the coronavirus since the pandemic began.

The launches could underscore North Korea's determination to press ahead with its efforts to expand its arsenal despite the virus outbreak to rally support behind the leader, Kim Jong Un, and keep up pressure on its rivals amid long-dormant nuclear diplomacy.

North Korea imposed a nationwide lockdown Thursday to control its first acknowledged COVID-19 outbreak after holding for more than two years to a widely doubted claim of a perfect record keeping out the virus that has spread to nearly every place in the world.

The outbreak forced leader Kim Jong Un to wear a mask in public, likely for the first time since the start of the pandemic, but the scale of transmissions inside North Korea wasn't immediately known. A failure to slow infections could have serious consequences because the country has a poor health care system and its 26 million people are believed to be mostly unvaccinated. Some experts say North Korea, by its rare admission of an outbreak, may be seeking outside aid.

Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest for international travel, reported on Thursday it handled over 13.6 million passengers in the first three months of 2022 — more than double last year's number in a clear sign that a long-awaited travel revival has reached the global aviation hub.

This quarter's passenger count represents the airport's busiest since the virus struck in 2020 and compares to just 5.7 million passengers logged in the same period last year.

Thousands gathered to mourn a slain Al Jazeera journalist in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday, as the head of the Palestinian Authority blamed Israel for her death and rejected Israeli calls for a joint investigation.

Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American reporter who covered the Mideast conflict for more than 25 years, was shot dead Wednesday during an Israeli military raid in the West Bank town of Jenin. Journalists who were with her, including one who was shot and wounded, said Israeli forces fired upon them even though they were clearly identifiable as reporters.

Israel on Thursday approved the construction of more than 4,000 settler homes in the occupied West Bank, an Israeli rights group said.

It's the biggest advancement of settlement projects since the Biden administration took office. The U.S. opposes settlement construction and views it as an obstacle to any eventual peace deal with the Palestinians. Most of the international community views the settlements as illegal.

Finland on Thursday took a step towards fast-track membership of NATO, triggering a warning from the Kremlin, as the war in Ukraine throttled supplies of Russian gas to Europe.

"Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay," President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin announced in a statement in Helsinki.

Qatar's emir arrived in Iran on Thursday for talks with the Iranian president, state media reported, as efforts to save Tehran's tattered nuclear deal with world powers hit a deadlock.

State TV showed the arrival of Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport, where he was received by Iran's senior vice president Mohammad Mokhber. The report said said bilateral, regional and international issues are on agenda during the visit.

A Manhattan federal court jury returned a mixed verdict Wednesday in the trial of a New Jersey software developer who authorities say researched and photographed U.S. landmarks for possible attacks.

The jury was unable to reach a verdict on one terrorism charge — providing material support for a terrorist group — but found Alexei Saab, 44, had received military-type training from Hizbullah.

An Al Jazeera correspondent who was shot dead on Wednesday during an Israeli raid in the West Bank was a highly respected journalist in the Middle East whose unflinching coverage was known to millions of viewers.

News of Shireen Abu Akleh's death reverberated across the region. The 51-year-old journalist became a household name synonymous with Al Jazeera's coverage of life under occupation during her more than two decades reporting in the Palestinian territories, including during the second intifada, or uprising, that killed thousands on both sides, most of them Palestinians.