KUWAIT, May 26 (Reuters) - Kuwait has suspended all new visas for Philippine nationals indefinitely, the interior ministry confirmed this week, in an escalation of a row between the oil-rich Gulf state and Manila over worker protections and employer rights.

Philippine nationals make up around 6% of Kuwait's 4.7 million population, government data shows. Kuwaitis make up 32%.

LONDON (AP) — British Airways canceled dozens of flights on Friday due to computer problems, disrupting the plans of thousands of travelers at the start of a busy holiday weekend.

Most of the 42 affected flights were on short-haul routes to and from Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport. Computer issues on Thursday caused planes and crew to be out of position Friday, which was expected to be the busiest day for U.K. air travel since before the coronavirus pandemic.

Other flights were delayed, as some passengers were unable to check in online.

25 May 2023; MEMO: Israel shot down a drone that had crossed over from Lebanon on Thursday, its military said in a statement, Reuters reports.

"A short while ago, IDF (Israel Defence Forces) soldiers identified and downed a drone crossing from Lebanese territory into Israeli territory towards the town of Zar'it," the military said.

SEOUL, May 26 (NNN-YONHAP) – Nine passengers suffered breathing difficulty, as a South Korean aircraft landed with its door being open, it was reported, today.

The entrance door of the plane, which left an airport in the country’s southern resort island of Jeju at around 11:49 a.m. local time (0249 GMT), opened just before landing at the airport in Daegu, about 240 km south-east of Seoul, at 12:45 p.m. (0345 GMT).

The airplane landed on the runway of the Daegu airport with the door being open.

DEBRECEN, Hungary (AP) — Just beyond the pastoral gardens and traditional homes of an eastern Hungarian village, a gigaproject of Chinese industry is taking shape.

25 May 2023; MEMO: The United Arab Emirates and Malaysia announced on Tuesday that they have agreed to launch talks to reach a comprehensive economic partnership agreement.

The Malaysian Ministry of Commerce said in a statement that the agreement will cover the areas of trade in goods and services, as well as investments and economic cooperation.

25 May 2023; MEMO: Kuwait is maintaining a ban it imposed on issuing visas for workers from the Philippines amid an ongoing labour row between the two countries which talks have failed to resolve.

After Filipino authorities alleged failure to comply with a labour agreement it previously reached with Kuwait, the Gulf nation suspended the issuance of all visas for Filipino workers earlier this month.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday announced what he said is the most ambitious and comprehensive undertaking by the U.S. government to fight hate, bias and violence against Jews, outlining more than 100 steps the administration and its partners can take to combat an alarming rise in antisemitism.

May 25 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia's security services knew what they were doing after a top Ukrainian intelligence official said President Vladimir Putin was number one on Kyiv's kill list.

Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukraine's military intelligence service, told Germany's Die Welt newspaper in an interview that Kyiv wanted to assassinate Putin "because he coordinates and decides what happens" in the war and that the Russian leader was aware he topped Ukraine's kill list.

DOHA, May 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said Wednesday that the US showdown over government debt was “unnecessary” for the world economy but a default could be avoided.
 
   Georgieva and the head of Blackstone, one of the world’s biggest investment funds, expressed exasperation to the Qatar Economic Forum over the spending standoff between US President Joe Biden and opposition Republicans with an early June deadline looming.
 

NEW YORK (AP) — Two years ago, signing a bill intended to punish Twitter and other major social media companies, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blasted the platforms as “suppressing ideas” during the COVID-19 pandemic and silencing conservative voices.

What a turnaround.

25 May 2023; MEMO: An Iranian official on Tuesday warned Israel against attacking Tehran's nuclear facilities, noting such a move would lead to a war.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, the Iranian official said: "We do not seek war, but the world must understand we have lines, that there are no red lines when it comes to our response to Israel."