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Officials from countries threatened with hefty tariffs warn of harm to the economies, inflation spike and damage to job markets

washington — The U.S. ratings agency Moody's downgraded its outlook for Hungary's government debt Friday citing "institutional and governance weaknesses" and concerns its antagonistic relationship with the EU could have financial consequences. Hungary is a recipient of substantial amounts of funding from the European Union, which are conditional on meeting certain criteria, including adherence to the rule of law. The country's nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orban, has clashed with...

Clashes between police and protesters also erupted late Friday in the Black Sea port of Batumi

'The US and the West made Kyiv authorities attack Russia's territory with their own long-range strike weapons,' North Korea's Kim Jong Un is quoted as saying

A Voice of America team visited Rocinha, Brazil's most populated favela, in an attempt to show visitors from around the world a different side of the famous hillside neighborhood, which is openly controlled by an armed group. See the full story here.   

Japanese fashion retailer Uniqlo’s founder, Tadashi Yanai, told the BBC in an exclusive interview that the company "does not use Xinjiang cotton," which is produced through forced labor. The statement quickly sparked a backlash among Chinese netizens on Friday, many of whom pledged to boycott the brand, following a similar movement against companies like H&M in 2021. See the full story here.   

Vietnam has extradited Vasil Veremeychik, a former anti-Alexander Lukashenko activist who later became a soldier in Ukraine's Kastus Kalinouski Regiment. The regiment is made up of Belarusian military volunteers fighting on Ukraine's side. Veremeychik was detained in Vietnam, where he had traveled, after Lithuania denied his asylum request because of his service in the Belarusian armed forces.  See the full story here. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Kazakhstan on Wednesday to discuss strengthening energy and industrial ties. Ahead of his visit, Astana announced plans to reduce oil exports via Russia by more than 80% and enhance protection of key infrastructure. Many experts view this as a response to the Kremlin’s recent hypersonic missile strike on Ukraine.  See the full story here.

A Beijing court sentenced veteran Chinese state media journalist Dong Yuyu to seven years in prison for espionage on Friday. In a statement, Dong’s family called the verdict "a grave injustice, not only to Yuyu and his family but also to every free-thinking Chinese journalist and every ordinary Chinese committed to fostering friendly engagement with the world." They said that sentencing Yuyu to seven years in prison without evidence reveals "the bankruptcy of China’s justice system." See...

The Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims on Thursday urged the International Civil Aviation Organization to formally condemn the "killing of 176 innocent passengers and crew members aboard the Ukrainian passenger plane" by the Islamic Republic of Iran. See the full story here.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said Friday that the United States is "deeply concerned about Iran’s announcement that it is choosing the path of continued escalation as opposed to cooperation with the IAEA," or International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran’s production and accumulation of uranium enriched to 60% has no credible civilian justification, the spokesperson added. See the full story here.

Insurgents have breached Syria’s second-largest city, Aleppo, and were clashing with government forces on the city's western edge on Friday. It was the first time the city has been attacked by opposition forces since 2016, when they were ousted from Aleppo’s eastern neighborhoods. We talk with Ibrahim Al-Assil, a political scientist and Middle East scholar. He is a Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.

Russia struck Dnipro, Ukraine, with an experimental Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile on November 21. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the day after that the missile could not be intercepted. The claim is likely false. Leonid Martynyuk explains.

Sentences underscore Moscow’s intolerance of any dissenting voices

A look at the best news photos from around the world.

Statement raises tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program

'With a clear understanding that Ukraine's membership in NATO is inevitable, Russia will lose one of its main arguments for continuing this unjustified war,' the foreign minister wrote.

At least eight people were confirmed dead at the scene