Oil prices were little changed on Friday after rising in the previous session as concerns drone attacks on northern Iraqi oil fields will cut supply vied with worries of potential demand declines amid uncertainty in U.

From the Middle East, we verified footage of the deadly fire in Kut, Iraq, which is now known to have killed at least 61 people, and the aftermath of recent clashes in Syria which also appear to have claimed many lives. BBC Verify uses open-source intelligence, satellite imagery, fact-checking and data analysis to help report complex stories

Iraq approved a plan for its semi-autonomous Kurdish region to transfer oil to Baghdad, a step toward resuming exports that have been halted for more than two years.

Iraq coach Graham Arnold is confident he can lead the country to a first World Cup in 40 years after his team were drawn to face Saudi Arabia and Indonesia in the next phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 tournament in North America.