Australia’s bushfires make massive clouds of pollution
Smoke from Australia’s bushfires has blanketed its major cities over the past month, turned the sky over New Zealand bright orange and left sooty deposits on its glaciers and drifted across the Pacific to South America.
Tunisian parliament set to reject new government in Friday vote
Tunisia’s parliament looked poised to reject a proposed new government on Friday after only one party said it would support it in a vote of confidence, meaning a complex coalition-building process may need to start again.
Meghan returns to Canada as British royals seek to solve Harry rift
Meghan, the wife of Prince Harry, has gone back to Canada to be with their son after the couple provoked a rift with Britain’s royal family by unexpectedly announcing they would be stepping back from their roles to spend more time in North America.
Turkey aims to sign deal with Libya over Gaddafi-era compensation
Turkey plans to sign by February a preliminary $2.7 billion compensation deal for work carried out in Libya before the 2011 civil war, a sector official said, seeking to revive stalled Turkish business operations in the conflict-ridden country.
Trump sends North Korea’s Kim birthday greetings
U.S. President Donald Trump sent a happy birthday message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, South Korea’s national security adviser Chung Eui-Yong said on Friday.
Iraq’s top cleric condemns U.S., Iran confrontation on Iraqi soil
Iraq’s top Shi’ite Muslim cleric on Friday condemned mutual U.S. and Iranian attacks on Iraqi soil and warned of deteriorating security in the country and wider region as a result of Washington’s standoff with Tehran.
Fearing nuclear proliferation, Europe scrambles to calm Iran tensions
EU foreign ministers backed away on Friday from any immediate response to Iran’s decision to intensify its enrichment of uranium, instead repeating their call for Tehran to respect the limits of a 2015 nuclear arms control accord.
British woman faces jail for posing as a boy to lure girls into sex
A young British woman who posed as a teenage boy to deceive potentially dozens of young girls into having sexual contact with her will be sentenced on Friday and may face a jail term.
Killings in eastern Congo may amount to crimes against humanity: U.N.
Killings, rapes and other violence committed by an ethnic armed group in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo against a rival group may amount to crimes against humanity and possibly even genocide, the United Nations said on Friday.
Australia urges quarter of a million to flee as winds fan huge bushfires
Australia urged nearly a quarter of a million people to evacuate their homes on Friday and prepared military backup as authorities said the next few hours could be “very, very challenging” even as rain poured down in some parts.
