Stocks rose in morning trading on Wall Street Friday, keeping the market on track for its third weekly gain in the last four.

The S&P 500 was up 0.6% and sitting just below its record. The benchmark index is on track to recover most of its losses from a slide last week.

Firefighters and local authorities remained on high alert Friday after France's largest wildfire in decades was contained in the south of the country, amid forecasts of very high temperatures which could reignite the blaze.

Over three days, the fire spread across more than 160 square kilometers (62 square miles) in the Aude wine region and claimed one life, forcing hundreds of residents to flee their homes.

At least 10 people died and 33 were missing after flash foods in Yuzhong County in China's northwestern Gansu province, Chinese state media reported Friday.

Heavy rains since Thursday had triggered flash floods and at least one landslide in mountainous areas near the city of Lanzhou, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembélé and England forward Chloe Kelly are among the contenders to win the men's and women's Ballon d'Or award.

The 30 men's and 30 women's nominees were revealed Thursday by France Football magazine, with the winners to be announced at a ceremony in Paris on Sept. 22.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would meet with Vladimir Putin even if the Russian leader will not meet with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, in comments that suggested Washington and Moscow could soon hold a summit.

Trump's comments followed a statement from Putin earlier in the day that he hoped to meet with Trump next week, possibly in the United Arab Emirates. But the White House was still working through the details of any potential meetings, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Millions of Americans saving for retirement through 401(k) accounts could have the option of putting their money in higher-risk private equity and cryptocurrency investments, according to an executive order signed Thursday by President Donald Trump that could give those financial players long-sought access to a pool of funds worth trillions.

There is no immediate change in how people invest part of their work earnings. Federal agencies would need to rewrite rules and regulations to allow the expanded choices, and that would take months or more to complete. But once done, employers could offer a broader array of mutual funds and investments to workers, according to the White House. New plans could invest in alternative assets, particularly private equity, cryptocurrencies and real estate.

Japanese warships docked in New Zealand 's capital Friday for the first time in almost 90 years amid efforts by Tokyo to deepen its strategic ties in the South Pacific Ocean.

Two destroyers with more than 500 crew on board sailed into Wellington harbor accompanied by the New Zealand navy ship HMNZS Canterbury. The JS Ise and destroyer JS Suzunami were on an Indo-Pacific deployment and arrived from Sydney, where Japan's military took part this month in war games involving New Zealand, Australia and other countries.

Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield expressed little hope for a diplomatic solution to the war with Russia, as U.S. President Donald Trump's Friday deadline for the Kremlin to stop the killing arrived and he eyed a possible summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the conflict.

Trump's efforts to pressure Putin have so far delivered no progress. Russia's bigger army is slowly advancing deeper into Ukraine at great cost in troops and armor while it relentlessly bombards Ukrainian cities. Russia and Ukraine are far apart on their terms for peace.

Mediators from Egypt and Qatar are working on a new framework which will include the release of all hostages — dead and alive — in one go in return for an end of the war in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the strip, according to two Arab officials who spoke to The Associated Press anonymously due to the sensitivity of the discussions. One is involved directly in the deliberations and the second was briefed on the efforts.

The efforts have the backing of major Arab Gulf monarchies, the officials said, as they are concerned about further regional destabilization if Israel’s government proceeds with a full reoccupation of Gaza, two decades after Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the strip.

Germany will not authorize any exports of military equipment that could be used in Gaza "until further notice," Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced Friday, in a strikingly quick response by one of Israel's strongest international backers to a decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Cabinet to take over Gaza City.

The move by Germany, which has previously stopped short of tougher lines against Israel's government taken by some of its European Union allies, appeared likely to further isolate Israel in the wake of the controversial military takeover plan that has been decried by the United Nations and supporters of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.