CEBU, Philippines (AP) – Southeast Asian leaders adopted a contingency plan Friday to mitigate the impact of the Iran war on their people and economies but acknowledged it will be difficult to enforce complex steps like establishing a regional fuel reserve to ensure a steady supply.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Three Australian women were refused bail when they appeared in courts on Friday charged with slavery and terrorism offenses after they arrived home from Syria with another 10 others whom police allege are linked to the Islamic State group.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Olivia and Liam for a seventh year in a row topped the list of names for babies born in the United States in 2025. The Social Security Administration annually tracks the names given to girls and boys in each state, with lists dating back to 1880.
VATICAN CITY (AP) – Unlike Pope Francis, who shook things up early on with a flurry of reforms, appointments and new structures, Pope Leo XIV has sought to find his footing and take a longer view of his pontificate. Leo has made some significant decisions so far, and has several challenges looming.
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) – An Islamic State-affiliated group attacked villages in Congo near the border with Uganda, killing at least 40 people and burning and looting homes, a local civil society group said Friday. The attacks were carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces overnight from Wednesday through Thursday afternoon.
BEIRUT (AP) – Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon killed at least five people Friday, while the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group fired rockets on northern Israel without inflicting any casualties.
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) – Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña said Friday that his country deeply values its ties with Taiwan, in a show of solidarity with the island democracy a day after Beijing asked the South American nation to sever diplomatic relations with Taipei.
WASHINGTON (AP) – America’s employers delivered a surprising 115,000 new jobs last month despite an economic shock from the Iran war. Hiring beat the 65,000 jobs forecasters had expected, though it decelerated from the 185,000 jobs created in March. The unemployment rate remained at a low 4.3%, the Labor Department reported Friday.
Libyan Dr. Faysal Alghoula must renew his green card to continue caring for roughly 1,000 patients in southwestern Indiana, but hasn’t been able to since the Trump administration stopped reviewing applications for people from several dozen countries it deemed high-risk.