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News

Iran Launches 30 Drone, 10 Missile Attacks Per Week on Ships in Hormuz

Iran has been launching dozens of drones and missiles at commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz each week, largely out of the public eye, though it has often failed to strike its targets, confidential data shared with The New York Times by a Western security official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters shows. Since the beginning of August, Iran has launched about 30 drone attacks and 10 anti-ship missile attacks per week against commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to the data shared with The Times by the official.

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Business

Copper Crawls Higher on Softer Dollar and Supply Issues

Copper prices edged higher on Friday, supported by a weaker dollar and supply issues, but gains were modest due to worries about high oil prices hitting demand. Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.5% to $14,319 a metric ton in official open-outcry trading. That marked a decline of 2% since the end of last week.

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Sports

Sabalenka Makes Dominant Start in China Open Title Bid

Aryna Sabalenka sent down 11 aces as she dismissed Renata Zarazua 6-1, 6-3 to launch her China Open title charge on Friday in Beijing. The world number two from Belarus next faces Czech player Nikola Bartunkova in the round of 32. Sabalenka groaned over a smattering of unforced errors during the 62-minute match but had the clear edge over Mexico's Zarazua, ranked 94th, breaking to win on the second time of asking. "I was just trying to stay focused on myself. Tried to stay aggressive on my serve, on the return as well," the 28-year-old said, according to AFP.

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Sports

Man City Launch Appeal Against Explosive Financial Ruling

Manchester City confirmed Friday they had launched an appeal against a damning judgement that found the club guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules. An independent commission delivered its findings on the club earlier this week and City had until Friday to appeal. The Premier League leaders announced shortly before midday (1000 GMT) they had done so. No sanction has yet been decided upon but City could face substantial points deductions, a fine or even expulsion from the top division.

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News

Russian Strikes Snarl Traffic on 3 Kyiv Bridges in New Disruption Tactic

Russian aerial attacks forced the partial closure Friday of three bridges over the Dnipro River in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital’s mayor said, in Moscow’s latest effort to disrupt life in the city. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s top diplomat said officials have received separate proposals for a partial truce with Russia from the United States, India, Turkey and Egypt. The proposals envision halting attacks on energy infrastructure, which have caused fuel shortages in Russia and power outages in Ukraine, and on Black Sea shipping needed to get vital grain exports to world markets.

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News

NKorean Leader's Sister Calls Seoul 'Despicable' after DMZ Apology Demand

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korea's leader, called South Korea "despicable" Friday after Seoul demanded an apology over a demilitarized zone blast that wounded three of its soldiers. Pyongyang this week denied being behind a landmine blast that caused severe injuries to three soldiers last month inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the heavily mined buffer dividing the two Koreas since their 1953 armistice. South Korea's military demanded an official apology this week, calling the incident "a clear violation of the Armistice Agreement".

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Technology

OpenAI Says 3 Staffers Fired for Mishandling 'Sensitive' Info

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI said Thursday that it has fired three researchers for allegedly mishandling "sensitive information" and violating company policies, including work that involved an external organization that evaluates artificial intelligence models. The San Francisco-based AI lab did not confirm their identities, but at least two of the employees worked on safety and alignment, according to the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. "We have parted ways with three individuals," OpenAI told AFP in a statement.

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News

FBI Arrests Energy Department Employee on Charge of Trying to Support Houthis

A Department of Energy electrical engineer has been arrested on charges of providing support to the Iranian-backed Houthi militias, including by buying materials for homemade explosives and drones and traveling to Yemen, the Justice Department said Thursday. Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy, 51, of Richland, Washington, was arrested Thursday and is due to make his first court appearance Friday. Court records do not list an attorney available to speak on his behalf, The Associated Press reported.

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News

Taiz Repels Simultaneous Houthi Attacks in Fiercest Fighting in Years

Yemen’s Taiz province has witnessed its fiercest fighting in years as the Iran-backed Houthis launched simultaneous attacks on several fronts, opening a new battlefront in Samea district, while government forces intensified ground and airstrikes against Houthi positions and reinforcements across several provinces. Government forces announced 468 strikes targeting Houthi fighters and equipment on the eastern fronts, in Al-Bayda and in Al-Mansoura in western Taiz’s Al-Wazi’iyah district, claiming hundreds of casualties and the destruction of military hardware.

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Business

Saudi Arabia Heads Into 2027 With Strong Recovery, More Diverse Growth Drivers

Saudi Arabia enters 2027 with a markedly different fiscal outlook, forecasting a strong economic recovery after a contraction linked to lower oil production, while its expanding non-oil economy increasingly cushions the impact of oil-related shocks. The preliminary budget statement projects real GDP growth of 12.8 percent in 2027, following an expected contraction of 3.6 percent in 2026, alongside a budget deficit estimated at 3.6 percent of GDP.

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Sports

Netherlands Coach Xavi Says he Was at Fault for Poor 1st Half in Greece

Netherlands coach Xavi Hernandez said he was to blame for his side’s poor first-half performance in Thursday’s Nations League game against Greece after they trailed 2-0 before fighting back to draw. The result maintained the former World Cup winner’s unbeaten start to his tenure in charge of the Dutch national team, but it proved a close-run contest with Tijjani Reijnders equalizing a minute from the end at Stadio Toumbas.

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News

Taiwan Receives Its First US-made F-16V Fighter Jets

Taiwan received on Friday its first F-16V fighter jets made by the United States, as the island democracy upgrades its military capabilities to deter a potential Chinese attack. The warplanes are part of an $8 billion deal for 66 F-16Vs approved during US President Donald Trump's first term and scheduled for delivery this year, said AFP. The arrival of the aircraft comes as Taiwan awaits Washington's approval of a separate $14 billion arms package that Trump paused after Chinese objections.

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Sports

Verstappen Sets Pace in Opening Practice in Sepang

Red Bull's Max Verstappen topped Friday's opening Formula One practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, clocking the fastest time as the four-times world champion eyes his first victory of the season. The Dutchman lapped the 5.543-km circuit in 1 minute, 37.520 seconds, with Mercedes driver George Russell trailing by 0.383 seconds at the Sepang International Circuit, which is hosting the Bahrain race due to the conflict in the Middle East.

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News

South Korea's Lee Threatens Action against Ukraine over transfer of North Koreans

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Friday threatened unspecified measures against Ukraine unless Kyiv acknowledged a confidentiality agreement that Seoul says covered the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers and issued an apology. "If the refusal to acknowledge the facts and issue a public apology continues, we will take additional measures," Lee said in a post on X.

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Sports

Not-so-brave New World: Virtual Taekwondo Makes Asian Games Debut

Taekwondo dates back more than 2,000 years, but on Friday at the Asian Games the Korean martial art stepped into a not-so-brave future where nobody gets hurt: virtual taekwondo. At a gymnasium about a 90-minute drive from the main Games host city of Nagoya, a modest number of spectators watched with a mix of fascination and bewilderment. Taekwondo officials have billed it as "real-world martial arts meets cutting-edge virtual technology". Competitors wear a VR headset and motion tracking technology allows their movements to control their in-game avatars.

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Politics

Lula, Bolsonaro Both Snub Final Debate before Brazil Election

Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro on Thursday bowed out of the final debate ahead of elections pitting him against leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who also declined to attend. The leftist incumbent opted to appear on a popular podcast with millions of YouTube subscribers instead, while his right-wing rival accused the electoral court of "censorship" to justify his withdrawal, AFP said.

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News

Anglo-Iranian Man Held over UK Airbase Incident

A man with dual UK-Iranian citizenship was arrested Thursday over a mysterious "major incident" at an airbase in southwest England as Israel said it had warned London about an attack. The sixth arrest came after British Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the BBC there were "strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend at RAF Fairford", a base used by the US military in its war against Iran.

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