The cost of petrol rose more than 20 percent in Vietnam on Friday after the government announced an overnight hike amid fears of oil and gas shortages caused by the Middle East war.

Myanmar's parliament will start the process to elect a new president on March 30, officials said on Friday, a vote many analysts expect will be won by the head of the junta that seized power in a coup in 2021.

Protesters heckled and booed Prime Minister Anthony ​Albanese on Friday during a visit to Australia's largest mosque for Idul Fitri prayers, voicing anger over his stance on ally Israel's offensive in Gaza.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sailed smoothly past a potential clash with Donald Trump over Iran on Thursday, though the US president whipped up a bit of a storm about Pearl Harbor.

The heat has been toppling records this week and was set to continue into the weekend across western cities and expanding eastward.

The US and Israeli attack on Iran triggered the biggest spike in oil prices since the turmoil following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, as Gulf producers reduce output after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Ambassadors from all of the Security Council's members, including Washington's rivals Russia and China, lined up to meet with Trump, representing the US as it takes over the monthly rotating presidency of the Security Council.

Some Iranian sources have said that they have had little real help from Moscow in the biggest crisis for Iran since the United States-backed Shah was toppled in the 1979 revolution.

The three countries said that together with other unnamed partners they were exploring setting up a new mechanism by 2027 which would speed up investment and boost demand for defense kit, a statement from Britain said on Tuesday.

Britain's media and privacy regulators on Thursday demanded that major social media platforms do more to keep children off their services, warning that companies were failing to enforce their own minimum age rules.

French President Emmanuel Macron will convene a call with leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) on Wednesday to discuss the Iran crisis and rising energy prices, the French president's office said.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to "obliterate" Iran's power plants if Tehran does not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, a dramatic escalation barely a day after he talked about "winding down" the war.

The Standard Gauge Railway, built from 2013 to 2019, connects the Kenyan port of Mombasa to its capital Nairobi, and on to the lake town of Naivasha, but China refused further lending before it could be extended to Uganda as planned.

Israel launched a fresh wave of attacks on Iran on Friday, a day after President Donald Trump told it not to repeat its strikes on Iranian natural gas infrastructure, which sharply escalated the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Six major international powers said Thursday they were ready "to contribute to" ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, though three stressed that any initiative would take place post-ceasefire.