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DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- Two U.S. Navy warships operating in the Mideast have been affected by the coronavirus, authorities said Friday, with one already at port in Bahrain and another heading to port now. A dozen troops aboard the USS San Diego, an amphibious transport dock, tested positive for COVID-19, said Cmdr. Source

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA -- Michael Somare, a pivotal figure in Papua New Guinea's independence and the South Pacific island nation's first prime minister, has died. He was 84. Somare was Papua New Guinea's longest-serving leader after it became independent of Australia in 1975. Source

TOKYO -- A forest fire in a sparsely populated area 75 kilometers north of Tokyo continued to rage for a fifth day on Friday, as local officials were set to ask dozens more households to evacuate hillside villages. Source

B.C.'s Provincial Health Officer is diplomatically standing her ground amid fierce RCMP union criticism of comments she made on police reform. In a Thursday news conference, Dr. Bonnie Henry says she "was taken aback by the misinterpretation" of a presentation to a special B.C. Source

AMSTERDAM -- The Dutch parliament on Thursday passed a non-binding motion saying the treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority in China amounts to genocide, the first such move by a European country. Activists and U.N. Source

WASHINGTON -- Stacey Abrams, whose voting rights work helped make Georgia into a swing state, exhorted Congress on Thursday to reject "outright lies" that have historically restricted access to the ballot as Democrats began their push for a sweeping overhaul of election and ethics laws. Source

The United States launched airstrikes in Syria on Thursday, targeting facilities near the Iraqi border used by Iranian-backed militia groups. The Pentagon said the strikes were retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a U.S. Source

The United States launched airstrikes in Syria on Thursday, targeting facilities near the Iraqi border used by Iranian-backed militia groups. The Pentagon said the strikes were retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a U.S. Source

OTTAWA -- The Canadian Judicial Council says a Quebec judge has resigned after the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear his appeal. Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner says Michel Girouard's decision to step down from the Quebec Superior Court "narrowly avoids his removal from office by Parliament. Source

Mobster Peter Gotti, the brother of notorious Gambino crime boss John Gotti, has died while serving a federal prison sentence, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press Thursday. Gotti, 81, died of natural causes while incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina, said the person, who could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. Source