Two of the club’s former presidents, Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell and the former refereeing chief Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira are facing the same charge. SPANISH PROSECUTORS on Friday charged Barcelona with corruption over payments the club made to a former refereeing chief’s company. Two of the club’s former …

The interests of several countries, not just Russia, are driving the hostilities, the pontiff said Russia is not the only “empire” whose interests are driving the conflict in Ukraine, Pope Francis said in an interview with Swiss television RSI, set to be released on Sunday. Excerpts from the interview were …

Iraq and Oman welcomed on Friday the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran to re-establish diplomatic ties. The countries earlier on Friday said they would also open embassies and exchange ambassadors within a period of two months, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. Iraq hailed “turning a new page” …

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was charged on Friday with abuse of power and money laundering over projects launched under his premiership, accusations that he said were politically motivated. The charges come just three months after Muhyiddin lost a closely fought and divisive general election to Anwar Ibrahim, and …

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has warned of a growing humanitarian catastrophe in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where fighting between government forces and armed groups has caused hundreds of thousands of people to flee. UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh said on Friday the violence had prompted …

A fire broke out Friday at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House, leading to the evacuation of workers as firefighters responded to the call, according to the US Secret Service. D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services said at 8 a.m. on Twitter that a defective cooling …

An international team of scientists has discovered an enzyme that converts air into energy, using the low amounts of hydrogen in the atmosphere to create an electrical current. Their breakthrough, published in the journal Nature, opens the way to create devices that literally make energy from thin air. The research …

Australia and India made significant progress in consolidating defense and security ties during talks the leaders of the two countries held Friday in New Delhi. “Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi and I discussed an increasingly uncertain global security environment and committed to strengthening the Australia-India defense and security partnership to address …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday formally set May 14 as the date for parliamentary and presidential elections — a month earlier than scheduled despite February’s devastating earthquakes. “Our nation will go to the polls to elect its president and parliamentarians on May 14,” Mr Erdogan said in a …

European bank shares tumbled on Friday in the wake of a dramatic sell-off in U.S. lenders as concern spread that the sector will be vulnerable to the rising cost of money. Europe’s STOXX banking index fell more than 4%, set for its biggest one-day slide since early June, with declines …

A gunman killed at least seven people at a Jehovah’s Witness center, according to German media Hamburg police say they may have found the body of the gunman behind a mass shooting at a Jehovah’s Witness hall on Thursday which claimed the lives of several people. Police did not provide …

Britain’s King Charles named his younger brother Prince Edward as the new Duke of Edinburgh on Friday, handing him the title last held by their father Prince Philip, Buckingham Palace said in a statement. Edward, 59 on Friday, becomes the latest member of the royal family to be granted a …

Iran and Saudi Arabia have reached an agreement in the Chinese capital of Beijing to restore their diplomatic relations and re-open embassies and missions, seven years after they were broken off over several issues. The agreement was struck on Friday after several days of intensive negotiations between Secretary of Iran’s …

A young Palestinian man has died after he was shot by an Israeli settler east of the northwestern occupied West Bank city of Qalqiliya, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Health officials identified the victim as 21-year-old Abdul-Karim Badie Sheikh, a resident of Sanniriya town, noting that he was …

The historic third term came with unanimous support from Chinese lawmakers Xi Jinping was re-elected as the President of China on Friday, securing an unprecedented third five-year term in power. Last year, Xi was also re-confirmed in the key position of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader. His candidacy was endorsed …