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South African election results renew debate over identity-based voting
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Post-election pressures complicate US and Israeli decisions on Iran
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South African voters report smoother local election but declining IEC trust
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UN members approve talks on treaty protocol against environmental crime
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Dolly Parton museum and Nashville hotel open after singer’s death
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Family-run West Sussex beach café prepares for first winter season
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George and Amal Clooney attend New York political-comedy reading
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CT scans reveal health and burial clues from Egypt’s Braided Lady mummy
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British buyers pay substantial premiums for period-home appearance
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Oxford faces complaints over lecturer’s classroom attire
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Thomas Markle released to house arrest after child-abuse-image charge
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Kyren Wilson and John Higgins reach International Championship snooker final
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Dawn of War 4 developers chose Adeptus Mechanicus for tactical variety
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New Zealand and Tonga meet for place in Rugby League World Cup final
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Italy face unbeaten South Africa in Turin Nations Championship match
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Reports of unsafe AI-toy responses renew calls for child-safety rules
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ChatGPT interactive interface feature tested across six custom tools
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Juneau food network combines difficult supply routes with deep sharing traditions
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Freshways milk-price cut deepens pressure on UK dairy farms
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India climbs green-transition ranking after first emissions decline in 25 years
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Labour and National remain virtually tied as New Zealand vote count advances
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Trump names Stephen Miller as White House chief of staff after midterm losses
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The Good Daughter adapts Karin Slaughter thriller with Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy
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Restored Albanian tower houses anchor new rural tourism trail
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Heavy-lift drone evacuates wounded Ukrainian soldier from frontline kill zone
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Sonia Gandhi reflects on family tragedy and reluctant political career
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Morrison says West Brom recovered after pressure from successive derby losses
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Pope Leo begins three-country South American tour in Uruguay
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Britain considers 2027 state visit for Ukraine’s Zelensky
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Khawaja says entire Australia camp knew of 2018 ball-tampering plan
US stocks add to weekly gains amid trade deal optimism
Wall Street stocks rose again Friday, adding to weekly gains fueled by deescalation of the China-US trade war and hopes for additional international trade deals.
Equity markets have enjoyed one of their best weeks since US President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff bazooka last month caused indices to slump.
FHN Financial's Chris Low also pointed to a "growing sense of relief" over benign US inflation data that has helped counter worries that Trump's tariffs will dramatically reignite pricing pressure.
The United States and China on Monday announced they would slash their tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days to allow for talks, but considerable levies remain in place.
Investors are now awaiting signals from the US president on progress in trade talks, as countries seek deals to avoid his steeper levies, as well as more information about their economic impact.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose for the fifth straight session, adding 0.7 percent.
Investors largely shrugged off weaker consumer sentiment data from the University of Michigan that reflect consumers' "somber" economic outlook and expectations of higher inflation.
FHN Financial's Low also cited worries about the fate of Trump's budget legislation in Washington.
Oil prices rebounded after tumbling Thursday on the possibility a breakthrough in Iran nuclear talks, fueled by Trump saying progress had been made on a deal.
The uptick rode resurgent concern on India-Pakistan tensions.
The dollar rose against major rival currencies as investors weigh whether the US Federal Reserve will still cut interest rates this year following mixed inflation data.
Shares in Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, known for its blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss treatments Ozempic and Wegovy, dropped more than three percent after it announced the departure of its chief executive, before cutting losses.
Novo Nordisk's share price has fallen by more than half since June 2024 as it faces more competition.
E-commerce titan Alibaba shed over six percent in Hong Kong after reporting a disappointing rise in first-quarter revenue amid sluggish consumer spending in China.
Take-Two Interactive fell 2.4 percent after announcing $3.55 billion in one-time costs connected to the delay of the launch of its new "Grand Theft Auto" video game. The game developer recently pushed back the timeframe on the unveiling to May 2026.
- Key figures at around 2030 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 0.8 percent at 42,654.74 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.7 percent at 5,958.38 (close)
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 19,211.10 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 8,684.56 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.4 percent at 7,886.69 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.3 percent at 23,767.43 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 37,753.72 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.5 percent at 23,345.05 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,367.46 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1154 from $1.1187 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3278 from $1.3305
Dollar/yen: UP at 145.92 yen from 145.67 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.97 from 84.08 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.4 percent at $65.41 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.4 percent at $62.49 per barrel
burs-jmb/mlm
A.Ammann--VB