UN chief warns situation in Mideast could spiral beyond control

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Friday that the situation in the Middle East could spiral beyond anyone's control.

Speaking at a daily briefing, spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric said Guterres calls for an immediate halt to the fighting and a return to diplomatic negotiations.

"All the unlawful attacks in the Middle East and beyond are causing tremendous suffering and harm to civilians throughout the region. These attacks pose a grave risk to the global economy, particularly to the most vulnerable people. The situation could spiral beyond anyone's control, the secretary general says. He adds that it is time to stop the fighting and get to serious diplomatic negotiations, as the stakes could not be higher," said Dujarric.

UN chief warns situation in Mideast could spiral beyond control

The U.S. dollar weakened in late trading on Friday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, dropped 0.34 percent to 98.982 at 15:00 (2000 GMT).

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1606 dollars from 1.1583 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound added to 1.34 dollars from 1.3328 U.S. dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 157.74 Japanese yen, lower than 157.77 Japanese yen in the previous session. The U.S. dollar decreased to 0.777 Swiss francs from 0.7827 Swiss francs, and it declined to 1.3596 Canadian dollars from 1.3697 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar dropped to 9.1855 Swedish Kronor from 9.2657 Swedish Kronor.

U.S. dollar ticks down