Dems nominate pelosi as speaker again to lead into Biden era Somalia worries that a U. S. withdrawal will be disastrous. Asylum- seeker who lost his son on trek to Greece is charged in his death. Boris Johnson lays out U. K. plan for a “green industrial r

WASHINGTON » House Democrats nominated Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday to be the speaker who guides them again next year as Joe Biden becomes president, and she quickly seemed to suggest these would be her final two years in the leadership post.

The California Democrat, the first woman to be speaker, was nominated by acclamation as the party’s lawmakers used a pandemicinduced virtual meeting to pick their leaders. Pelosi already has served six years in the job, but the next two loom as her toughest.

After unexpectedly losing at least 10 incumbents in this month’s elections, Democrats will have about a 222- 213 majority, the tightest margin in two decades. That prospect has demoralized many Democrats and ignited blame- trading between moderates and progressives over why they fared so poorly on Election Day.

NAIROBI, KENYA » The U. S.- trained Somali commando force Danab is usually deployed to counter the al- Qaeda- linked group alShabab: liberating areas it controls, ending its attacks on government offices and beachside restaurants, and targeting senior al- Shabab operatives.

But with President Donald Trump expected to withdraw American troops from Somalia, the highly specialized Somali force will be left in limbo, jeopardizing whatever security gains it helped achieve in recent years, officials and observers said. The U. S. military presence has focused heavily on training, equipping and supporting the elite

850- soldier Somali unit.

“The United States troops and the Danab unit they have trained are the ones who have taken a critical lead in disrupting terrorism activities,” said Hussein Sheikh- Ali, chairman of the Hiraal Institute research group and a former national security adviser to the Somali president.

ATHENS » Greek authorities have charged an Afghan man in the death of his 6- year- old son as the pair tried to reach the country by sea, a move that rights groups say sets a worrying precedent in criminalizing migrants and is part of a strategy to dissuade them from attempting to travel to the country.

The man, Ayoubi Nadir, a 25year- old Afghan asylum- seeker, has been charged with endangering the life of a child and is accused of abandoning his son after the boat bringing them and 22 other people to Greece capsized this month.

Accounts from Greek authorities and the man’s lawyer said the boat capsized near the island of Samos just after midnight

Nov. 8. The boy’s body was found washed up on the shore that day.

LONDON » Five years after deciding to phase out the use of coal, Britain took steps on Wednesday to address some of the country’s largest remaining sources of greenhouse gas emissions, announcing plans to end the sale of new gas and diesel cars within a decade and change the way people heat their homes.

The plans are expected to be a centerpiece of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s effort to put pressure on other countries to reduce their emissions in the run- up to major climate negotiations Britain will host next year. And they were an early signal to President- elect Joe Biden that Britain and the United States might find common cause despite the looming tumult of Brexit.

Climate activists cast the announcement as Britain’s most ambitious step to protect the planet since it decided to end the use of coal, but questions remained about parts of the plan.

It relies on technologies — such as the use of hydrogen to heat homes — that some analysts caution have been oversold.