Fire engulfs major tower in Dubai
A fire erupted early Friday morning in Dubai in one of the world’s tallest residential buildings, enveloping a side of the 86story Torch Tower and spouting burning debris to the streets below.
The fire broke out around 1 a.m. in the 1,100foot skyscraper in the northern end of the densely populated Marina district, and the flames stretched dozens of floors. Firefighters from four fire stations were deployed and helped all the residents evacuate, the Dubai Media Office said on Twitter. No one appeared to be injured.
The fire was brought under control around 3:30 a.m., the authorities said.
Netanyahu investigation
Israeli police acknowledged publicly for the first time that a criminal investigation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu involves suspicion of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
The disclosure was made in a court-issued gag order prohibiting news media from reporting details of negotiations with a former Netanyahu aide to testify against him. A photograph of the document was sent by police in a message to reporters’ mobile phones.
Japan reshuffles cabinet
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan appointed a new cabinet Thursday, hoping to breathe new life into his conservative government, whose support has plunged after scandals and missteps.
Mr. Abe turned to a group of moderates and experienced policymakers in the reshuffle, suggesting a change in policy focus toward bread-and-butter issues like the economy and away from more politically contentious ones.
Al-Qaida hostage freed
South African tourist Stephen Malcolm McGown, who was abducted nearly six years ago in Timbuktu, Mali, by the North African branch of al-Qaida, has been freed, officials said Thursday.
Mr. McGown, 42, was the lastof the “Timbuktu Three,” who were abducted in late 2011, to be released.
Mr. McGown’s freedom cameat a price: 3.5 million euros (about $4.2 million), accordingto a retired European intelligence official.
Asylum seeker taken
German authorities were stunned when a Vietnamese former oil executive, who allegedly looted a fortune from a state-run company and was seeking asylum in Germany, was spirited back to Vietnam by Vietnamese agents.
Calling it a state-run abduction, German officials are now demanding that 51-year-old Trinh Xuan Thanh be returned to complete his bid for asylum.
Also in the world ...
Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter, commander of Libya’s self-styled national armyin the country’s east, orderedhis forces to confront vessels entering the country’s territorial waters without permission, after Italy began a naval mission to help stem a popular migration route at the behest of the U.N.-backed governmentin the west. ... Marcus Hutchins, a young British researcher credited with derailing a global cyber attackin May, was arrested for allegedly creating distributing malicious software designed to collect bank-account passwords, U.S. authorities said Thursday. ... In Australia, twomen were charged with terrorism offenses on Thursday in connection withan alleged plot to bringdown an airplane.