Getty Images For one whole week, thousands of delegates filed into the cavernous Great Hall of the People in Beijing to attend one of the most important events on the Chinese political calendar.
With Xi Jinping firmly at the helm, the National People's Congress, which concluded on Thursday, is an annual statement on where China is headed - and how it plans to get there.
But absent from the meticulously choreographed proceedings were some
Orla Guerin BBC News, Northern Iraq
Like many exiled Iranian Kurds, Shaho Bloori, 53, hears the call of home from both the living and the dead.
Two of his sisters remain in Iran, and 18 of his relatives lie buried there, killed by the regime. That includes one of his brothers, who he tells us is "forever young" - a protest singer, executed at the age of 21.
Neil Lupin/Redferns via Getty Images A guitar used by David Gilmour on six of Pink Floyd's albums has sold for a record $14.6m (£10.9m), making it the most expensive guitar ever sold, auction house Christie's has said.
Gilmour played the 1969 Fender Stratocaster, nicknamed the 'Black Strat', on all of the British rock band's albums between 19
Natalie Sherman Business reporter
Getty Images A US judge has blocked efforts by the Department of Justice to investigate the Federal Reserve, delivering a victory for Fed chairman Jerome Powell, who had called the probe a pretext to try to pressure the central bank to lower interest rates.
In his ruling, Judge James Boasberg agreed, saying prosecutor Jeanine Pirro had presented "no evidence" to justify her demands for information from the Fed.
Pirro said she would appeal against the decision, saying it was "wrong on its face" and had
The Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix that were scheduled for next month are set to be cancelled as a result of the war in the Middle East.
A formal decision to call off the races has not yet been made but is expected before the end of the weekend.
Freight would need to start being shipped to the Middle East in the coming days. With no sign of the conflict between the US/Israel and Iran coming to a conclusion, holding the races would put personnel at too great a risk.
Neither event
Getty Images The sheriff investigating the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie, mother of US TV presenter Savannah Guthrie, says authorities believe they have a motive, but have not identified a suspect.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told NBC News that "we believe we know why he did this". He said authorities "believe it was targeted", but they were "not 100% sure of that".
Guthrie, 84, has been missing since she was taken from her home in Tucson, Arizona, on 1
James Landale Diplomatic correspondent in Kyiv
EPA The decision by the US to ease some sanctions on Russian oil sales has provoked a chorus of criticism from European leaders.
President Emmanuel Macron of France said there was "no justification" for it. Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany said the decision was "wrong". EU Council President Antonio Costa said it was "very concerning".
Russia is already benefiting from rising oil prices driven by the Middle East war.
Ghoncheh Habibiazad BBC Persian
EPA "I don't even think it was his message," an Iranian woman in her 40s told the BBC after her country's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei gave his first official address in the form of a statement read out on state TV.
Having not seen him since he was named leader, some are now casting doubts on who is running the country.
"I feel like control of
Lucy Williamson Middle East correspondent, Jerusalem
EPA There is a new and concerted effort from Israel's military and political leaders to frame the achievements of the Iran war as having changed the Middle East, even without the regime change in Tehran that Israel's prime minister has focused on.
Benjamin Netanyahu has spent decades preparing for this showdown with Iran; his long political career is anchored in his vow to defend Israel against its Iranian nemesis.
Having seized the chance to wage war directly on the regime, alongside the world'
Helena Humphrey West Bloomfield, Michigan
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said an incident where a vehicle was rammed into a synagogue near Detroit on Thursday was antisemitism and "hate, plain and simple".
The FBI is investigating the incident at the Temple Israel as a "targeted act of violence against the Jewish community", but a motive for the crime remains unclear.
No staff or children at the synagogue and its attached school were hurt. A security guard was