The UK government's launching a $2 billion fund for less prosperous towns after Brexit.
The cash is being aimed at towns in areas that voted for Britain to leave the European Union.
Critics say the government is trying to bribe some opposition Labour MPs to vote for its Brexit deal.
Prime Minister Theresa May says there will be a "meaningful vote" on her deal in the House of Commons by March 12.
UK Communities Secretary James Brokenshire says the funding is not a Brexit bribe:
Congo Ebola outbreak kills more than 5,000
The death toll from the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has surpassed 5,000, government data showed on Friday, as authorities had yet to find a way to control the country's deadliest Ebola epidemic on record.
Saudi Arabia intercepts and destroys drone in Mecca region
Saudi Arabia's air defences intercepted and destroyed a drone from the Houthis targeting the Mecca region on Friday morning.
Six feared dead in helicopter crash in Indian Himalayan state, media report
Six people were feared dead in a helicopter crash in the Indian Himalayan state of Uttarakhand on Friday, television channels reported, adding that bad weather was suspected to be the cause.
Residents leave Russian-occupied Oleshky under truce brokered by Melania Trump
Starving and exhausted residents of a Russian-held town in southern Ukraine were evacuated by bus on Friday as part of a joint relief operation by the opposing sides, the first of its kind in four years and eight months of war.
The UAE has confirmed that the oil spill from the tanker GEM No. 2 has been contained, as authorities continue environmental remediation efforts along affected coastlines.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has reviewed plans and implementation stages of the AED 500 million Arab Reading Challenge Endowment project, which will be developed by Sobha Realty in Dubai.
The UAE's Military Attorney-General has ordered the referral of a number of defendants to the Military Criminal Court over allegations of abusing official authority to unlawfully obtain exemptions from national and reserve service.
