Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric says security forces must keep peace
Iraq’s top Shi’ite Muslim cleric urged security forces on Friday to avoid using excessive force to quell weeks of anti-government unrest as authorities grapple with the country’s biggest crisis in years.
Weary residents of Pakistani capital endure another round of protests
Patience is wearing thin among some residents of the Pakistani capital enduring another round of anti-government protests, with tens of thousands of opposition supporters showing no sign of giving up despite the onset of winter rain.
Residents told to leave homes as downpours bring floods across northern England
Britain issued more than 100 flood warnings on Friday, with residents in parts of northern England advised to evacuate their homes amid concern that lives were in danger, after deluges brought a month’s rainfall in less than 24 hours.
Trapped and helpless: How families are fighting Delhi’s pollution horror
When a toxic smog darkened the skies over the Indian capital last weekend and air pollution peaked to its highest levels this year, Nabeela Moinuddin and Fareeda, living on opposite sides of the economic divide, were panic-stricken for their families.
Rescue operation for trapped miners under way in eastern Germany: MDR
Firefighters in a town just outside the German city of Halle began rescuing miners after an explosion on Friday, public broadcaster MDR said on Twitter https://twitter.com/MDRAktuell/status/1192749248011481088.
Mauritius starts counting votes after parliamentary election
Mauritius electoral authorities began counting votes on Friday after a parliamentary election dominated by calls for a fairer distribution of wealth on the prosperous Indian Ocean island.
Magnitude 5.9 quake off Apia, Samoa, no reports of damage
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck around 250 km (150 miles) south-southwest of Apia, Samoa, on Friday, but local workers said there had so far been little impact.
Troop withdrawals in eastern Ukraine to start on Saturday: OSCE
Troop withdrawals in a village in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine will begin on Saturday at 1000 GMT, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said in a statement.
Iran downs a drone over southern port city of Mahshahr: report
Iranian media reported on Friday that Iran had shot down a drone over its southern port city of Mahshahr, without providing further details.
North Korean defectors decry South’s expulsion of two fishermen
South Korea’s expulsion of two North Korean fishermen set a bad precedent that has spread fears in the North Korean defector community and could lend legitimacy to its widely criticized judicial system, defectors and activists said on Friday.
