• Iran Reopens Strait of Hormuz
  • Middle East Wars: The Latest Updates
  • Israel 'Prohibited' From Further Strikes on Lebanon
  • Starmer Rejects Calls to Resign
  • A Fragile Calm in Lebanon as Truce Holds
Dow Jumps 870 Points as Oil Prices Fall Sharply

NEW YORK (AP) - Oil prices dropped back to where they were in the early days of the Iran war. The S&P 500 leaped 1.2% Friday. The Dow Jones leaped 870 points, or 1.8%, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.5%. Oil prices fell 9%.

Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Latest Updates

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Australia’s most decorated living veteran, Ben Roberts-Smith, walked free on bail from a Sydney prison on Friday, 10 days after he was charged with war crimes in the killings of five people while serving in Afghanistan.

India Parliament blocks Modi's bid to redraw voting boundaries

NEW DELHI (AP) – A bill to reserve a third of seats for women lawmakers failed to pass in the lower house of India’s Parliament on Friday, along with a separate, linked proposal to expand the national legislature by redrawing voting boundaries.

ChatGPT maker OpenAI shifts its focus to business users

The same ChatGPT chatbot that gave OpenAI’s chief financial officer Sarah Friar a tilapia recipe for a recent Sunday night dinner at home is also now doing her most mundane tasks at work like summarizing her emails and Slack messages.

Air New Zealand adding bunk beds for economy travelers

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – Sleep on a long-haul flight in economy class has always been a fantasy for many travelers. Air New Zealand will soon offer a solution that involves climbing into a triple-tier bunk bed wearing special socks.

New York loses $74 million for not revoking 33,000 illegal trucker licenses

New York will lose more than $73.5 million in federal money because the Transportation Department said Thursday that state has refused to revoke nearly 33,000 questionable commercial driver’s licenses for immigrants since an audit uncovered problems last year.

Iran reopens Strait of Hormuz, but blockade on Iranian ships and ports remain

BEIRUT (AP) – Iran said Friday it fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels, but President Donald Trump said the American blockade on Iranian ships and ports “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with the U.S., including on its nuclear program.

Starmer rejects calls to resign over Mandelson appointment

LONDON (AP) – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday resisted demands he resign over revelations that his scandal-tainted pick for U.K. ambassador to Washington was appointed despite failing security checks.

A fragile calm in Lebanon as a US-brokered truce holds

BEIRUT (AP) – A fragile calm settled over parts of Lebanon on Friday as a 10-day ceasefire brokered by the United States took hold between Israel and Hezbollah, prompting thousands of displaced families to begin the journey home – even under uncertainty.

NEW YORK (AP) – For decades, presidents avoided even the appearance of profiting from their office. Harry Truman refused to lend his name to any business, even in retirement. Richard Nixon so feared a brother might profit off their ties, he had his phone tapped.