WORLD

Iran tested a suicide drone against a practice vessel in the Gulf and fired one other missile or drone without warning ships in the area, a U.S. official in the region said.

War-weary Syrians are in such dire straits that they require "way more than what is possible today," the International Committee of the Red Cross's regional chief said on Thursday as a fundraiser raked in only half the targeted amount.

International donors led by the EU on Thursday pledged 5.6 billion euros ($6.1 billion) for Syrian refugees, but Brussels stressed it will not ease its stance on President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Hosting his counterpart Ebrahim Raisi in Havana, President Miguel Diaz-Canel said both nations "have had to face heroically, with tenacious resistance, the sanctions, the pressures, the threats, the blockades and the indifference of US imperialism and its allies."

In Washington they paused; in Frankfurt they hiked; and in Beijing, they cut.

Hopes China will unveil fresh measures to kickstart its ailing economy lifted most markets Friday, while the dollar struggled to bounce from losses fuelled by bets the Federal Reserve is near the end of its tightening cycle.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday hosts Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for talks in Paris, seeking to nudge the de-facto leader of the oil-rich kingdom into more full-throated support of Ukraine against the Russian invasion.

The willingness to restart discussions illustrates the rising sense of urgency in Western capitals about Iran's programme.

The United Arab Emirates in the coming days will lift a temporary restriction on issuing visas to Lebanese nationals due to security concerns, a UAE official told Reuters on Thursday. "Temporary restrictions are in place in response to security concerns. Temporary restrictions continuously undergo review and are subject to be lifted for specific categories of visas in the coming days," the UAE official said, without giving further details.

The defence ministry's initial clearance for the procurement comes just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for a state visit to the U.S. next week.

Singapore will "progressively deploy" more patrol robots across the city-state, police said Thursday, after more than five years of small-scale trials.

Five months after India's top women wrestlers accused their politically powerful federation chief of sexual harassment and sparked a nationwide protest movement, police filed charges.

NATO members are racing to complete a plan to provide long-term support to Ukraine, but are wrestling with how best to assure the country's security until it can join the military alliance, according to U.S.

Howling gales and crashing waves pounded the coastline of India and Pakistan on Thursday hours before a powerful cyclone was due to make landfall, with those unable to flee seeking shelter where they could.

At least 79 migrants died after their boat sank off the Peloponnese, Greece's coastguard said Wednesday, as concern mounted that the death toll could rise much higher.

After a week of heavy fighting, the real tests of Kyiv's counteroffensive lie ahead, with Ukrainian troops some distance from Russia's main defensive line and the bulk of forces prepared for the push still on standby.

Parliament delivered a surprise blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition on Wednesday by electing an opposition member to sit on a committee that appoints judges, a panel at the heart of a political battle over Israel's justice system.

Army warplanes bombed the Sudanese city of El Obeid Wednesday, as the country prepared to mark two months of suffering since a power struggle between rival generals plunged the country into a devastating war.

A lawyer for Russia on Wednesday dismissed Ukraine's account of the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 in World Court hearings earlier this week as "fiction".

Sweden should not expect a green light from Ankara on its NATO membership bid at the Western alliance's summit next month unless it prevents anti-Turkey protests in Stockholm, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Grossi delayed a trip to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station on Wednesday for security reasons as Moscow and Kyiv reported heavy fighting in southern Ukraine.

Authorities in India's western state of Gujarat evacuated more than 75,000 people from vulnerable coastal communities as cyclone Biparjoy was expected whirl in from the Arabian Sea to make landfall by Thursday evening.

Reporters Without Borders on Wednesday demanded that Pakistani prosecutors dismiss accusations against two journalists that could theoretically carry the death penalty, adding to US criticism of a crackdown.

Syrian refugees languishing in camps in eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley for years say their hopes for the future are evaporating as their host country loses patience and international support dwindles.

Asian markets rose Thursday after the Federal Reserve decided against hiking interest rates and China's central bank cut borrowing costs as officials look to kickstart the struggling economy.

Macron's office said the two would speak on Friday over lunch at the president's Elysee Palace, adding that they would discuss "especially the war in Ukraine and its consequences for the rest of the world". The prince's stay in France could last some days, with MBS also due to attend a Paris summit on a New Global Financing Pact hosted by Macron on June 22-23.

The powerful Hezbollah group and its allies thwarted a bid by their rivals to elect a top IMF official as Lebanon's president on Wednesday, sharpening sectarian tensions and further dimming prospects for preventing a collapse of the state.

Israeli defence exports hit an all-time high of $12.5 billion last year, with Arab countries that recently established ties accounting for nearly a quarter of purchase contracts, officials said Wednesday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signalled Wednesday that he would let his new economic team hike interest rates to combat inflation and stabilise the lira, reversing an era of unconventional policies.