Sports
Junior Kroupi on Arsenal radar - Friday's gossip
Arsenal are eyeing Bournemouth youngster Eli Junior Kroupi, Real Madrid are considering a move for Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite, Chelsea are interested in Nico Williams, plus more.
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Friday
World
At least 21 killed after vehicle loaded with explosives rams Pakistan mosque
A four-year-old child is among those killed in the attack, during which gunmen also opened fire on a police facility.
Business
Oil prices little changed as market assesses disruption from Saudi pipeline closure
Saudi Arabia and the Houthis exchanged fresh attacks across their border, raising concerns that the widening Middle East conflict could further disrupt supplies
World
Philippines: At least 2 students killed in school shooting
Emergency services received reports of gunfire at the Banga National High School in southern Mindanao on Friday afternoon. At least two students were killed, while several others were injured.
Politics
Live: Russia strikes four Ukrainian vessels in Black Sea
Moscow on Friday struck four Ukrainian cargo vessels in the Black Sea, according to Russian state media. The attacks came as polling stations in Russia opened for the country's first parliamentary election since the start of the war in Ukraine. Follow our liveblog for all the latest updates.
Politics
Russia votes in parliamentary election as war in Ukraine drags on
Polls opened in Russia's Far East on Friday as the country began three days of voting for its parliamentary election, the first since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin's main party, United Russia, is poised to keep its grip on power alongside other parties aligned with President Vladimir Putin, as the only party that criticised the war was removed from the ballot.
Politics
Early voting begins in US midterms that could see Republicans lose control of Congress
In-person early voting for the US midterm elections begins Friday, six weeks ahead of the final November 3 vote, which will determine whether Republicans will maintain their majority in the US House and Senate. Some of the main issues American voters are deciding on are how to navigate the cost-of-living crisis, the war in Iran and President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement campaign.
Politics
Far-right politician Éric Zemmour joins 2027 French presidential race
French far-right politician Éric Zemmour said on Friday that he would run in next year's presidential election, joining far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who was runner-up to President Emmanuel Macron in the last two elections. Zemmour is campaigning on a crackdown on immigration, including a plan to expel unemployed foreigners even if they are legal residents.
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World
Police move hundreds of migrants still in Ceuta off beaches in Spanish enclave
Spanish police in Ceuta on Friday morning started moving hundreds of migrants from the beaches of the Spanish enclave to a new tented area. Several thousand migrants remain in Ceuta after tens of thousands of people crossed the border with Morocco in late July.
Politics
Russia votes in wartime election set to secure the Kremlin's power
Voting got underway on Friday in a tightly controlled three-day parliamentary election in Russia which President Vladimir Putin has framed as a barometer of support for Russia's war in Ukraine. It is the first parliamentary election since Russia launched its full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022, and most anti-war candidates have been excluded from the ballot.
World
Kremlin: Reasons to be optimistic about ceasefire deal
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that there were reasons for "cautious optimism" regarding a proposed ceasefire deal between Ukraine and Russia, following talks between a U.S. envoy and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Speaking to reporters in a telephone news briefing, Peskov referenced comments from Putin on Thursday in which he expressed qualified support for a U.S. ceasefire proposal to halt Russia's war with Ukraine for 30 days but said some questions needed to be answered. Peskov said that while much remains to be done, Putin "expressed solidarity with [U.S. Preside
World
US envoy says Hamas misrepresented release of hostage
U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said a Hamas statement issued Friday announcing it had agreed to release an American-Israeli soldier was, in reality, a condition of a "bridge" ceasefire proposal offered by U.S. officials earlier this week. Early Friday, the U.S.-designated terrorist group Hamas issued a statement saying it had agreed to release Edan Alexander, believed to be the last living American hostage held in Gaza, as well as the bodies of four other hostages after receiving a proposal from mediators to resume negotiations on the second phase of a Gaza ceasefire deal.
Politics
Senate averts government shutdown, overcomes Democratic opposition
The U.S. Senate passed a stopgap spending bill Friday evening, averting a partial government shutdown and overcoming Democratic opposition to the measure. The bill passed 54-46 after clearing a more difficult procedural hurdle to stop debate on the measure, which required at least 60 votes. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed the bill earlier this week to meet a March 14 deadline to keep the government running. Senate Democrats had fractured over whether to support the short-term continuing resolution (CR) that would fund the government for the next six months, reduce tot
Politics
2 judges rule mass firings of agency employees to be illegal
Federal judges in two separate cases ruled this week that recent mass firings of employees as part of President Donald Trump’s push to cut the size of the federal workforce were illegal and ordered thousands of probationary employees to be reinstated — at least for now. The Trump administration pushed back, filing appeals in both cases. "This injunction is entirely unconstitutional," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday. "You cannot have a low-level district court judge filing an injunction to usurp the executive authority of the president of the United States," she added.
Politics
Trump vows accountability for those who pursued him in court cases
U.S. President Donald Trump promised to seek accountability for those who pursued legal cases against him when he was out of office, speaking Friday at the Justice Department. "Our predecessors turned this Department of Justice into the Department of Injustice. But I stand before you today to declare that those days are over, and they are never going to come back. They're never coming back," Trump said. During his years out of office, the department twice indicted Trump on charges that he illegally stored classified documents at his Florida estate and that he worked to overturn the results of
World
Forecasters warn of tornadoes in US in coming days
U.S. weather forecasters warned of the threat of tornados in multiple states this weekend following at least five twisters in the state of Missouri on Friday. Friday's storms left some 100,000 buildings without power as severe weather continued into the night. The tornado risk was expected to continue into the weekend in a slew of states including Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. Accuweather predicted the storm risk to peak from Saturday afternoon to Saturday night. The National Weather Service warned of heavy thunderstorms from the Midwest to the Mississippi Valley, bringing with them the
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Politics
US Appeals court allows DEI crackdown
A U.S. federal appeals court Friday lifted a block on the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government, pausing a lower court ruling blocking enforcement of a series of presidential executive orders halting support of DEI initiatives. The three-judge panel on the Fourth Circuit of Appeals, in Richmond, Virginia, found that the directives by President Donald Trump were likely constitutional, disagreeing with a ruling in February by a federal judge in Maryland. The judges are allowing the Trump administration to implement the policy while
World
Starbucks hit with $50 million fine for spilled drink injury
A California jury Friday imposed a $50 million fine on Starbucks in the case of a delivery driver burned by a scalding cup of hot tea at a company location in Los Angeles. Michael Garcia was picking up three drinks in 2020 but one, he claimed, was "negligently" unsecured and spilled in his lap. He claimed that he consequently "suffered severe burns, disfigurement, and debilitating nerve damage to his genitals" and he was taken to an emergency room by paramedics. "Michael Garcia’s life has been forever changed," his attorney, Nick Rowley, said. "No amount of money can undo the permanent catastr
Science
NASA, SpaceX launch crew to space station to retrieve stuck astronauts
The replacement crew for the International Space Station was launched late Friday, paving the way for the return home of Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, two NASA astronauts stuck on the space station for nine months. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 7:03 p.m. from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying Crew-10 members: NASA’s Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan’s Takuya Onishi and Russia’s Kirill Peskov. The crew is part of a routine six-month rotation. Crew-10 and the Dragon spacecraft are expected to reach the space station around 11:30 p.m. Saturday. Returning to Earth a