The United States issued a 30-day waiver for countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea, in what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said was a step to stabilize global energy markets roiled by the Iran war.

Japan will inform the U.S. next week that it intends to join the “Golden Dome” missile defense initiative and expects that Washington may seek its help with missile production due to the Middle East war and other conflicts, two sources said.

Poland will use a European Union programme to fund defence despite a presidential veto of the scheme, the prime minister said on Friday, as he condemned the head of state for what the government has labelled a betrayal of the national interest.

Trikafta, a ‘miracle’ cystic fibrosis drug, has the potential to radically improve lung function and life expectancy for patients living with the condition. However, it remains inaccessible for patients in South Africa’s public health system, pushing doctors like paediatric pulmonologist Marco Zampoli at Red Cross Children’s Hospital to come up with creative ways to help those in need.

U.S. President Trump told G7 leaders in a virtual meeting on Wednesday that Iran is “about to surrender,” Axios reported on Friday citing three officials from G7 countries briefed on the contents of the call.

For a third day in a row, members of the SANDF have continued operations in Gauteng, this time conducting door-to-door operations in Rietvallei targeting illegal miners.