China on Friday imposed anti-dumping duties on European brandy, most notably cognac produced in France, as trade tensions between Beijing and United States allies continue to rise.

The tariffs, effective on Saturday, will range from 27.7% to 34.9%, China's Commerce Ministry said. They are to be in place for five years and will not be applied retroactively.

Firefighters in Turkey remained locked in a battle to contain flames tearing through forested hillsides in the west of the country on Friday, while similar wildfires in neighboring Greece were largely brought under control.

Wildfires that broke out in at least five locations across Turkey's Aegean coastal province of İzmir -- fueled by soaring temperatures, strong winds, and low humidity -- have killed two people, forced the evacuation of tens of thousands and damaged some 200 homes.

A gas station exploded early on Friday in southeastern Rome, injuring at least 20 people, including eight police officers and a firefighter, local authorities and rescuers said.

The explosion was heard across the Italian capital shortly after 8 a.m., sending up a huge cloud of dark smoke and fire visible from several areas of the city.

Israeli airstrikes killed 15 Palestinians in Gaza early on Friday, while a hospital said another 20 people died in shootings while waiting for aid.

Meanwhile, the U.N. human rights office says it has recorded 613 killings in Gaza near humanitarian convoys and as Palestinians try to reach aid at distribution points run by an Israeli-backed American organization since it first began operations in late May.

Russia on Thursday became the first country to formally recognize the Taliban's government in Afghanistan since it seized power in 2021, after Moscow removed the group from its list of outlawed organizations.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it had received credentials from Afghanistan's newly appointed Ambassador Gul Hassan Hassan. The official recognition of the Afghan government will foster "productive bilateral cooperation," the ministry said in a statement.

House Republicans propelled President Donald Trump's big multitrillion-dollar tax breaks and spending cuts bill to final passage Thursday in Congress, overcoming multiple setbacks to approve his signature second-term policy package before a Fourth of July deadline.

The tight roll call, 218-214, came at a potentially high political cost, with two Republicans joining all Democrats opposed. GOP leaders worked overnight and the president himself leaned on a handful of skeptics to drop their opposition. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York delayed voting for more than eight hours by seizing control of the floor with a record-breaking speech against the bill.

Hezbollah members and supporters held a funeral Thursday in Beirut's southern suburbs for the former bodyguard and head of security of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the group's longtime leader.

Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli strike in south Beirut last year, while his former bodyguard Abou Ali Khalil was killed in Iran during last month's Israel-Iran war, along with his son Mahdi.

Firefighters on Thursday discovered the body of an elderly man after extinguishing a wildfire near a village in western Turkey, while crews elsewhere continued to battle another blaze that closed a highway and forced some residents to be evacuated from their homes.

The 81-year-old-man died from smoke inhalation in a village near the town of Odemis, Suleyman Elban, the governor for Izmir province, said. His death marks the first fatality in a series of wildfires across the country that have forced thousands to flee.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin said they will speak by phone Thursday, their sixth publicly disclosed chat since Trump returned to the White House this year.

Trump said in a social media post the call will take place at 10 a.m. EDT. Neither leader offered any immediate details on the topic.

The Western Balkans faces a severe drought after a heatwave hit the region, disrupting daily life and creating issues with agriculture and power.

Temperatures on Thursday in central Albania reached 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and meteorologists warned there would be scarce rain until September. Rivers are almost dry due to a lack of rainfall during winter and spring.