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German government to subsidize industry's energy prices in bid to revitalize economy

Germany's governing coalition agreed to subsidize energy prices for heavy industry over the next three years as it tries to breathe new life into a stubbornly slow economy that is weighing on Europe's performance.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he and other coalition leaders agreed Thursday evening to introduce an electricity price of about 5 euro cents (6 U.S. cents) per kilowatt hour starting Jan. 1, through 2028, to "support companies that use a lot of electricity and face international competition."

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UN human rights body holds special session on Sudan after hundreds killed in Darfur

The U.N.'s top human rights body was holding a one-day special session Friday to highlight hundreds of killings at a hospital in Sudan's Darfur region and other atrocities committed last month by paramilitary forces fighting the army.

The Human Rights Council was also debating a draft resolution calling on an existing team of independent experts to carry out an urgent inquiry into the killings and other rights violations in the city of el-Fasher by the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary.

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More than 150 Palestinians held on plane for 12 hours in South Africa

South African authorities faced heavy criticism Friday after they held more than 150 Palestinians, including a woman who is nine months pregnant, on a plane for around 12 hours due to complications with their travel documents.

A pastor who was allowed to meet with the passengers while they were still stuck on the plane said it was extremely hot and that children were screaming and crying.

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Protesters block main entrance to COP30 climate talks in Brazil

About 100 protesters blocked the main entrance to the United Nations climate conference on the edge of the Brazilian Amazon Friday morning.

Brazilian military personnel kept demonstrators from entering the site during negotiations at the COP30 meetings in Belem, but there appeared to be no physical altercations with the protesters.

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Bad Bunny wins album of the year at the 2025 Latin Grammys

It should come as a shock to no one: The 2026 Latin Grammy Awards were all about Bad Bunny. The Puerto Rican superstar won album of the year for his landmark release "Debí Tirar Más Fotos." After thanking his family and all those who worked on the album, he ended his speech with "Puerto Rico, I love you, thank you."

Those are powerful words honoring a record that doubles as a love letter for his island.

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Landslides in Indonesia's Java island leave 2 dead and 21 missing

Landslides triggered by torrential rains in Indonesia 's Java island killed two people and left 21 others missing, officials said Friday. Rescuers are still searching for the 21 reported missing.

Several days of heavy rainfall in the region caused the landslides that hit dozens of houses in three villages in Indonesia's Central Java province on Thursday evening, officials said in a statement.

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China's stranded astronauts returning from space

Three Chinese astronauts stranded at their nation's space station after their spacecraft was apparently hit by space debris departed for home Friday using the craft that had brought a replacement crew, China's space agency said.

Their capsule was expected to land in a remote part of northwest China's Inner Mongolia region later the same day.

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US proposal at UN for Gaza force faces concerns from Russia, China and Arabs

A U.S. proposal to provide a United Nations mandate for an international stabilization force in Gaza is facing opposition from Russia, China and some Arab countries, which have expressed unease about a yet-to-be established board that would temporarily govern the territory and the lack of any transitional role for the Palestinian Authority.

The Chinese and the Russians — two veto-wielding members of the U.N. Security Council — have called for the "Board of Peace" under President Donald Trump's ceasefire plan to be removed from the resolution entirely, according to four U.N. diplomats briefed on the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations.

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Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv kills 4

Russia unleashed a major missile and drone barrage on Kyiv early Friday, killing four people, starting fires and scattering debris as the sound of explosions boomed across the city, Ukrainian authorities said. A pregnant woman was among at least 34 people injured.

Emergency crews responded to multiple strikes during the night, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration. Russia used at least 430 drones and 18 missiles in the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

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Syria reopens embassy in London after more than a decade

Syria's foreign minister officially reopened the country's embassy in London on Thursday after more than a decade-long closure, the latest step in Syria's reintegration into the international community after the ouster of former President Bashar Assad.

The visit by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani to the United Kingdom came after a historic visit to Washington by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, the first by a president from Syria since the country's independence in 1946.

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