Giotto's Santa Croce frescoes are receiving the final touches of a four-year restoration in Florence, with scaffolding poised to be removed ahead of an official reveal in September.
The shock resignations of two UK defence ministers has thrown British military resources into the spotlight, after they slammed upcoming spending plans for falling short and lacking innovation.
Jude Bellingham says every member of England's World Cup squad must feel "loved" as he admitted things were not right off the pitch at Euro 2024.
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Politics
Iran's foreign minister insisted on Friday that a deal with the United States to end the war in the Middle East had never been closer, after US President Donald Trump furiously accused Tehran of negotiating in bad faith.
June 12, 2026
RECENT NEWS
A US deportation flight headed to the Central African Republic on Friday, lawyers told AFP, carrying nationals from Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey and Georgia.
June 12, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Afghans scrapped protest plans in Herat on Friday as heavily armed security forces were deployed in the city, after an earlier rally against tightening restrictions on women was violently dispersed.
June 12, 2026
Chinese actress Xin Zhilei said she was keen for new experiences and did not want to limit herself, as she helped kick off the Shanghai International Film Festival on Friday.
June 12, 2026
New Zealand's most prolific run-scorer and arguably greatest batsman Kane Williamson announced his immediate retirement from international cricket on Friday in the middle of their series against England.
June 12, 2026
Sports
Cristiano Ronaldo said on Friday that he was feeling "very positive" before flying out of Lisbon with the Portuguese team to their World Cup base camp in Palm Beach, Florida.
June 12, 2026
RECENT NEWS
British artist David Hockney, one of the most influential and defining figures in contemporary art whose paintings captured the world in brilliant colour, has died aged 88, his publicist announced Friday.
George Russell was quickest in opening practice for the Barcelona-Catalunya Formula One Grand Prix on Friday, followed by McLaren's Oscar Piastri two tenths behind.
A decade after fierce battles reduced much of the University of Benghazi to rubble, students at Libya's oldest and largest university are once again looking to the future with optimism.
Mollie O'Callaghan and Meg Harris locked down the women's 100m freestyle slots for the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships at the Australian trials Friday as Sam Short completed an epic freestyle sweep.
June 12, 2026
Things to know
Kenyan families were overwhelmed with grief at a mass Friday for 16 girls killed in a suspected arson attack on their school -- part of a string of pupil protests that have unnerved the country.
June 12, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Iran insisted on Friday on its right to enrich uranium and maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz under any deal with the United States, after President Donald Trump said a draft accord was ready.
Stock markets rallied and oil tumbled Friday on hopes that a deal to end the Middle East war could be imminent.
Pope Leo XIV renewed his support for migrants on Friday in the Canary Islands, saying "all of us are migrants" and urged newcomers to do their part to integrate, on the final day of a weeklong visit to Spain focused on migration issues.
Nearly 100 campaign groups on Friday called on COP31 climate summit co-hosts Turkey and Australia to "lead by example" by addressing their reliance on planet-heating fossil fuels.
June 12, 2026
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- British art 'giant' David Hockney dies aged 88
- South Korea ex-president gets 30 years in jail over North drone incursion
- David Hockney: contemporary master of brilliant, bold colours
- Belgian Van Aert retires injured on Tour de France warm-up race
- 'All of us of are migrants,' pope says in Canary Islands
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