The World Health Organization said on Friday that the ​Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of ‌the Congo has spread to two additional health zones, bringing the total number affected to 63 across seven provinces.

Steelmaker ArcelorMittal said it was shutting ​production at Ukraine’s largest steel plant, underscoring the growing economic toll of Russia’s airstrikes that on Friday killed seven people in Kyiv including a 14-year-old boy ‌and injured 58.

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping turned to ​the Middle East war at their summit on Friday, as Iran pressed Washington to accept a seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and halt regional fighting.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan will hold an urgent, high-level meeting under a joint defence pact ​to discuss ways to support the kingdom amid attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, while Saudi’s top religious authority told troops to be ready to lay down their lives to fight their Iran-aligned enemy.

US President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday for a lavish summit that was heavy on symbolism but light on substance, with no sign of breakthroughs on thorny ​issues such as AI, trade, Taiwan and the war with Iran.

China’s Xi Jinping told President Donald Trump on Thursday that he hoped the US will adhere to the “correct position” of opposing Taiwan independence, and that the Chinese stance on “reunification” is clear-cut.

Iranian airlines were barred from neighbouring countries including the UAE and Oman on Thursday in response to new US sanctions, the first ​big impact of a shift in US policy to target companies in third countries that do business with Iran.

President Donald Trump urged countries to leave the International Criminal Court immediately, calling it “evil” and “a rogue institution,” but only Naoero, a tiny Pacific ​island nation formerly known as Nauru, has followed suit during the UN General Assembly this week.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da ​Silva has maintained a two-percentage-point lead ‌over Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, his main challenger, in a potential runoff ahead of October’s election, a Datafolha ​poll showed on Thursday.

NATO is stepping up intelligence-sharing in response to a wave of sabotage and other incidents apparently linked to ‌Russia but should be “calm and confident” that it can handle any threat posed by Moscow, the alliance’s top commander told Reuters on Thursday.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron dismissed US President Donald Trump’s claims of having ​secured peace in Gaza, saying not a single humanitarian corridor had been reopened in the enclave despite the proclaimed peace.

The US State Department on Wednesday pledged an additional $267 million ​toward fighting the Ebola outbreak in ‌central Africa, as health authorities battle to get the deadly virus under control.