The US-born giant panda Bei Bei has left his home at Washington's National Zoo for China.
Bei Bei will travel on a specially equipped flight from Washington to Chengdu, accompanied by his keeper and a veterinarian.
The giant panda turned four years - the age when all pandas born outside return to China under their breeding agreements.
"Today is bittersweet. We've cared for Bei Bei, and along with millions, watched him grow into a true ambassador for his species," said zoo director Steve Monfort.
"We look forward to continuing our 47-year giant panda conservation program and collaboration with Chinese colleagues to study, care for and help save the giant panda and its native habitat."
Zoo officials said they had prepared a special stash of treats for him: 30 kilos of bamboo, two pounds of apples and pears, two pounds of cooked sweet potatoes, two bags of biscuits and water.
U.S. President Donald Trump fired General Timothy Haugh as director of the National Security Agency on Thursday, according to two officials familiar with the decision, and congressional Democrats denounced the removal of the nonpartisan official from a top security post.
Israel stepped up airstrikes on Syria, declaring the attacks a warning to the new rulers in Damascus as it accused their ally Turkey of trying to turn the country into a Turkish protectorate.
The Trump administration moved forward with the sale of more than 20,000 US-made assault rifles to Israel last month, according to a document seen by Reuters, pushing ahead with a sale that the administration of former president Joe Biden had delayed.
The Ministry of Justice said seven companies reportedly based in the UAE and sanctioned by the United States for ties to Sudan do not operate in the country.
Dubai Police announced on Friday it arrested 222 beggars during Ramadan and Eid, after a campaign was launched under the slogan “An Aware Society, Free of Begging,” in partnership with other government entities.