World news in brief
Koala found hiding in Christmas tree
An unexpected guest surprised an Australian family when they returned home on Wednesday evening – a somewhat bewildered koala in the branches of their plastic Christmas tree. Amanda McCormick and her family arrived back at their house in Adelaide to find their dog sniffing around the tree, and ornaments strewn across the floor, before they saw the marsupial sitting halfway up the tree.
The animal had apparently let itself into their house and located the closest approximation of its natural habitat. The family decided to name her Daphne, before taking some videos and calling Adelaide and Hills Koala Rescue. She was released in nearby bushland.
France could close almost 80 mosques
A total of 76 mosques accused of separatism could be closed in France as part of an attempt to tackle religious extremism. The country’s interior minister, Gerald Darmanin, promised on Wednesday to introduce what he called a massive and unprecedented raft of measures to combat terrorism, including the potential closure of almost 80 mosques.
In a tweet posted yesterday, Mr Darmanin said: “76 mosques are now suspected of separatism. In the coming days, checks will be carried out on these places of worship. If ever these doubts are confirmed, I will ask for their closure.” The interior minister also confirmed that 66 undocumented migrants suspected of radicalisation had been expelled from France.
US to withdraw embassy staff from Iraq
The Trump administration is withdrawing dozens of its diplomats from the US embassy in Baghdad, as tensions rise throughout the region. The withdrawal of diplomats was described to the Washington Post by a US State Department official as a “de-risking”, ahead of the anniversary of the killing of senior Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani by a US drone strike in Baghdad, Iraq, on 3 January this year.
The official, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said the withdrawal would continue after the anniversary date. Donald Trump’s presidency ends on 20 January. The State Department did not provide an official confirmation of the staff reduction in Baghdad, but told the Post that ensuring the safety of US employees was its highest priority.
Earlier this year, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo threatened to withdraw all US staff from Baghdad, after Iranian militias fired multiple rockets at American diplomatic locations in Iraq.
UN highlights humanitarian threat to Yemen
The United Nations made an 11th-hour appeal to the Trump administration this week about the potential for humanitarian disaster in Yemen before an expected decision to name Houthi rebels there as a terrorist organisation and as US officials made preparations to potentially halt a $700mi (£522.3m) aid programme for the country.
In a meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday, David Beasley, executive director of the UN World Food Program, expressed concerns about the potential impact of a decision to designate the Iranianbacked rebel group as a foreign terrorist organisation, which individuals familiar with the matter say Mr Pompeo could finalise as early as this week.
In recent weeks, officials from the UN and aid groups have issued increasingly urgent warnings about the potential designation, saying it could worsen already-dire conditions in Yemen by reducing the amount of lifesaving aid and commercial imports moving into the country.
Ivy becoming widespread in European forests
The climbing plant Ivy is flourishing across throughout Europe’s deciduous forests, according to a study led by Dr Mike Perring at the University of Ghent. The creeping plant, known as Hedera (meaning to grasp, in Latin), are spreading like never before, the long-term study has revealed.
Examination of almost 2,000 plots to assess nearly 1,000 species, including lianas – the wider family to which ivy belongs – revealed the proportional occurrence of ivy has grown by an average of 14 per cent per site. The ivy boom is believed to be due, in part, to greater rates of warming driven by climate change, as well as increased shade, and also because of some woodlands’ historical management methods.