WORLD

Sydney, Australia | AFP | Thousands of holidaymakers and locals were forced to flee to beaches in fire-ravaged southeast Australia Tuesday, as blazes ripped through popular tourist areas leaving no escape by land. Four thousand people were trapped on the foreshore of the town of Mallacoota and many others sought …

Beijing, China | AFP | A Chinese court on Monday sentenced the doctor who claimed to be behind the world’s first gene-edited babies to three years in prison for illegal medical practice, state media reported. He Jiankui, who shocked the scientific community last year by announcing the birth of twins …

Kramatorsk, Ukraine | AFP |  Ukrainian authorities and pro-Russian separatists in the war-torn east of the country are expected Sunday to swap dozens of prisoners in a frontline operation that stirred controversy in Kiev. As part of the swap, Kiev is expected to hand over to separatists several riot policemen suspected …

Washington, United States | AFP |  Multiple people were stabbed at a Jewish place of worship in upstate New York late Saturday night, a public affairs group said. “At 9:50 this eve, a call came in about a mass stabbing… It’s the house of a Hasidic Rabbi. 5 patients with …

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | AFP |  A black rhino believed to be the oldest in the world has died in Tanzania at the age of 57, according to authorities in Ngorongoro where the animal was living. The female rhino, named Fausta, died of what is believed to be natural …

Pasadena, United States | AFP | NASA’s Mars 2020 rover will head off for the Red Planet next year. But like Voyager, Galileo and Cassini before it, the mission’s epic journey began in a “clean room” in California. One of two ultra-sterile labs used for spacecraft assembly at the Jet Propulsion …

Paris, France | AFP | France, it sometimes seems, is either in the throes of a major strike or facing the looming shadow of one. Workers in the country go on strike more than most nations in Europe. The current open-ended stoppages, which began on December 5, have halted most public …

Washington, United States | AFP |  A Navy SEAL platoon leader controversially pardoned of war crimes by US President Donald Trump was described as “toxic” and “freaking evil” by veterans who served with him in Iraq, The New York Times reported Friday. Video testimony provided to war crimes investigators and published by the newspaper …

  Paris, France | AFP | At least 15 natural disasters linked to climate change this year caused damage of over $1 billion and seven of them cost at least $10 billion, British charity Christian Aid said Friday. This year is set to be the second hottest year in history and …

Podgorica, Montenegro | AFP |  More than a dozen Montenegrin opposition MPs were detained in parliament on Friday after they violently protested a controversial law on religious freedom, which was passed after the group was taken away. The law has raised tensions in recent weeks between the government and a pro-Serb …