TOKYO (AP) – A video taken by tiny drones sent into one of three damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant showed a gaping hole in the thick-walled steel container of the core, with lumps of likely melted fuel debris hanging from it, in a first sighting of a pressure vessel bottom since the meltdown 15 years ago.
NEW YORK (AP) - Another climb for oil prices shook stock markets on Friday, as hopes collapsed for a possible cut to interest rates this year by the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 fell 1.5% to close its fourth straight losing week, its longest such streak in a year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 443 points, or 1%, and the Nasdaq composite tumbled 2%.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sought to reaffirm her alliance with President Donald Trump on Thursday after the president this week seemed to complain that Japan was among the nations that did not join his call to help protect the Strait of Hormuz. Takaichi met with Trump at the White House.
LONDON (AP) – Iran’s attack this week on Qatar’s natural gas export facility threatens to disrupt not just world energy markets but also global technology supply chains because the helium it produces is crucial for a range of advanced industries.
SYDNEY (AP) – A Women’s Asian Cup soccer tournament that started with little fanfare three weeks ago but eventually received worldwide attention due to the appearance of an Iranian team affected by the Middle East war, ends Saturday when Australia plays Japan in the final. For most of the tournament, the Iranian team held the international focus.
CAIRO (AP) – Iran targeted a joint U.K.-U.S. base in the Indian Ocean, and Iran’s main nuclear enrichment site was struck again, as the war in the Middle East entered its fourth week. Iran’s attack on the Diego Garcia air base – about 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) away – suggested Tehran has missiles that can go farther than it had previously acknowledged.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – In their latest joint public appearance, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his teenage daughter rode a tank together, state media photos showed Friday, days after they watched rocket launches and fired pistols.
Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:
NEW DELHI (AP) – Countries in Asia are scrambling to conserve energy and protect consumers as the war on Iran and attacks on gas fields and oil refineries disrupt critical supplies, rattling markets and driving up prices. The crisis is hitting Asia hardest because of its heavy reliance on imported energy, much of which is shipped through the Strait of Hormuz,