Malala gets to meet Queen Elizabeth II

1: Feds challenge trial in Katrina shootings

NEWORLEANS— The Justice Department is appealing a judge’s decision to order a new trial for five former New Orleans police officers convicted of civil rights violations stemming from deadly shootings on a bridge after Hurricane Katrina.

Prosecutors filed a notice of appeal late Thursday, asking the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review last month’s decision by U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt.

Engelhardt threw out the former officers’ convictions, concluding the case had been tainted by “grotesque prosecutorial misconduct.” The judge said at least three government attorneys posted anonymous comments on a New Orleans newspaper’s website, creating a “carnival atmosphere” that perverted justice in the case.

2:

LONDON — Malala Yousafzai skipped school for the day but she had a pretty good excuse: She was meeting Queen Elizabeth II.

The16-year-old advocate for girls’ education and survivor of a Taliban assassination attempt gave the 87year-old queen a copy of her book, “I Am Malala,” and spoke Friday with her about the importance of educa- tion.

Malala said she wouldn’t ordinarily miss a school day but had made an exception. The pair also chatted about Malala’s homeland, Pakistan’s Swat Valley, which the queen visited decades ago.

Malala was one of the guests invited to the reception on youth and education at Buckingham Palace in London.

3: Gunmen kill police officer in Sinai

EL-ARISH, Egypt — Suspected militants killed an Egyptian police of- ficer Friday in the Sinai Peninsula, as Islamists held scattered protests around the country, calling for the reinstatement of the ousted president.

Gunmen opened fire at the police officer as he walked near his home in the city of el-Arish, an Egyptian security official said on condition of anonymity.

Militants have stepped up their attacks against security forces in the restive northern Sinai, prompting the army to launch an operation to quell violent incidents there.

4: Raging wildfires destroy homes, kill 1

SYDNEY — Nearly 100 wildfires raged across Australia’s most populous state Friday, killing one person, destroying dozens of houses and forcing hundreds of evacuations as the nation’s annual fire season got off to an unusually early start.

Milder conditions were helping firefighters after unseasonably hot temperatures and strong winds Thursday fanned flames across the parched landscape and threatened towns surrounding Sydney.