Unprecedented wildfires forced the evacuation of more than 160,000 people in France and Spain on Saturday, tearing through forests near Madrid and Bordeaux.

A sweeping new round of US tariffs took effect Friday, targeting 60 trading partners and replacing an expiring global duty rolled out earlier this year.

Asian stock markets traded mostly higher on Thursday despite renewed pressure from rising oil prices, as escalating conflict involving Iran pushed Brent crude to $98 per barrel. Investors also continued to monitor corporate earnings and inflation risks linked to higher energy costs.

European Union states on Thursday approved a diluted new round of sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, agreeing to freeze the level of the bloc’s oil price cap after weeks of internal wrangling.

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has claimed nearly 1,000 lives, with health officials warning that the crisis is spreading faster than response teams can contain. Ongoing insecurity, community resistance, and strikes by health workers continue to hamper efforts to control the disease.

Global oil prices surged to their highest level in five weeks on growing concerns that escalating military tensions across the Middle East could disrupt energy supplies. Brent crude rose above $95 per barrel as fighting between the United States and Iran intensified and Yemen's Houthis threatened Saudi shipping.