Thousands of homes and businesses across northern France and southern England were without power Friday morning and residents faced widespread travel delays after a storm swept in off the Atlantic, bringing high winds, rain and snow to the region.
The low-pressure system, named Storm Goretti, pummeled the Isles of Scilly overnight with wind gusts up to 99 mph (159 kph) recorded in the archipelago off the southwestern tip of England. Local government officials reported blocked roads, unstable buildings and power outages that left some people without water.
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Israeli strikes across Gaza have killed at least 13 people, according to health officials, as U.S. President Donald Trump was expected to announce his Board of Peace to oversee the fragile ceasefire.
Health officials and family members said at least one child was among the dead in northern Gaza following several strikes there as well as east of Gaza City. All 13 people were killed on Thursday.
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A consortium comprising TotalEnergies, QatarEnergy and Italy’s Eni on Friday signed with Lebanonj an agreement for gas exploration in Block 8 off the Lebanese coast. The ceremony took place this morning at the Grand Serail.
The agreement was signed on the Lebanese side by Minister of Energy and Water Joe Saddi.
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Iranian protesters shouted and marched through the streets into Friday morning after a call by the country's exiled crown prince for demonstrations, despite Iran's theocracy cutting off the nation from the internet and international telephone calls.
Short online videos shared by activists purported to show protesters chanting against Iran's government around bonfires as debris littered the streets in the capital, Tehran, and other areas. Iranian state media broke its silence Friday over the protests, alleging "terrorist agents" of the U.S. and Israel set fires and sparked violence. It also said there were "casualties," without elaborating.
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Russia said Friday it has used the new Oreshnik ballistic missile along with other weapons in a massive strike on Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials said four people were killed and at least 22 wounded in the capital overnight. Russia didn't say where Oreshnik hit, but Russian media and military bloggers said it targeted a huge underground natural gas storage facility in Ukraine's western Lviv region.
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A Lebanese pop star turned Islamic militant told a military court Thursday that he is innocent and did not take part in battles against the Lebanese army or fund a radical cleric, judicial officials said.
Fadel Shaker handed himself over to the country's military intelligence service in early October, 12 years after going on the run and hiding in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh near the port city of Sidon.
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Lebanon's moves to remove weapons from all non-state groups and assert full state control are as important as financial reforms if the economy is to recover after years of crisis, the economy minister said Thursday.
"You need economic reforms, but you also need security and political reforms," Amer Bisat told The Associated Press after a cabinet session in which the Lebanese military reported progress on a plan to disarm Hezbollah and non-state groups and expand deployment in southern Lebanon.
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Saudi Arabia alleged Thursday that the United Arab Emirates smuggled a separatist leader in Yemen wanted for treason out of the country and flew him to Abu Dhabi.
The UAE had no immediate reaction to the claim, which further escalates tensions between the neighboring nations on the Arabian Peninsula as their partnership in the yearslong war in Yemen breaks down.
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President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday sought to assert its control over Venezuelan oil, seizing a pair of sanctioned tankers transporting petroleum and announcing plans to relax some sanctions so the U.S. can oversee the sale of Venezuela's petroleum worldwide.
Trump's administration intends to control the distribution of Venezuela's oil products globally following its ouster of President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid. Besides the United States enforcing an existing oil embargo, the Energy Department says the "only oil transported in and out of Venezuela" will be through approved channels consistent with U.S. law and national security interests.
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The Senate is expected to vote on a resolution Thursday that would limit President Donald Trump's ability to conduct further attacks against Venezuela, setting up a test for his expanding ambitions in the Western Hemisphere.
The war powers resolution would require Trump to get congressional approval before striking Venezuela again, and it comes after the U.S. military seized the president of the South American country, Nicolás Maduro, in a surprise nighttime raid and as Trump's administration is seeking to control Venezuela's oil resources and its government.
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