NATO flexes its muscles and bulks up defenses on its eastern flank to ward off Russia

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — NATO says it’s bulking up its defensive posture on its eastern flank bordering Belarus, Russia and Ukraine with new equipment. The military alliance flexed its muscles Friday to deter potential Russian aggression following an incursion by Russian drones into Polish territory. NATO’s top military officer said a new operation, dubbed Eastern Sentry, will add new equipment from France, Denmark, Germany and the U.K. to the alliance’s air policing and existing air and ground-based defenses. French Rafale fighter jets, Danish F-16s, a frigate and ground-based defense systems have been pledged for the operation which NATO’s supreme commander aims to plug gaps in the defensive line and concentrate forces wherever they’re needed.

Nepal’s president appoints former chief justice as interim premier and first woman leader

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal’s president has appointed former Supreme Court Chief Justice Sushila Karki as interim prime minister, the first woman to head the South Asian country’s government, following massive protests that collapsed the previous administration. Karki, a popular figure when serving as the court’s only female chief justice in 2016 and 2017, was to be sworn in later Friday. The appointment was announced by President Ram Chandra Poudel’s spokesman Kiran Pokhrel. Street demonstrations starting Monday in Kathmandu over a social media ban turned violent, with protesters attacking government buildings and police opening fire. The violence prompted the resignation of the previous prime minister.

Official says gangs killed dozens in small fishing village in Haiti’s latest massacre

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A government official in Haiti says dozens of people have been killed in a fishing village north of the capital in the latest massacre carried out by powerful gangs in the troubled Caribbean country. The local official told Radio Caraïbes on Friday that at least 42 people were killed in Labodrie, including a 4-year-old child and his family. He said the killings began over the weekend and are ongoing. Baptiste said gangs are now trying to attack the nearby town of Arcahaie, with police and a local vigilante group trying to hold them back.

Boat capsizes in Congo, killing at least 86, most of them students

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — A motorized boat capsized in northwestern Congo’s Equateur Province, killing at least 86 people. According to a state media report on Friday, most of the victims in Wednesday’s accident were students. The cause of the accident was not immediately clear, though state media attributed it to “improper loading and night navigation.” Images that appear to be from the scene showed villagers gathered around bodies as they mourned. A local civil society group blamed the accident on the government and claimed the toll was higher.