Albania agreed to host Afghan refugees while they are being vetted for visas for the US. Although some in the country feel that Albania has a duty to help its NATO ally, others feel Albania is struggling enough as it is.

Hecker had only been in the ambassadorial role for a few days. The 54-year-old previously worked as a foreign policy adviser to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

North Korea escapee Hiroko Saito says she and 97,000 others were deceived into relocating to the North in the 1960s with promises of "paradise on Earth." Instead, she suffered starvation, repression and loss.

Emmanuel Macron and Joe Biden have agreed that "open consultations" could have prevented the diplomatic row between Paris and Washington over a nuclear submarine deal.

Bamako has summoned the former colonial power's ambassador after Emmanuel Macron again blasted the junta for deflecting from what he sees as its own lack of governance. From the second coup in one year to Paris's decision to draw down part of the 5,000 troops it has stationed in the fight against a jihadist insurgency, the escalating war of words went into overdrive two weeks ago when Mali's prime minister accused France of abandoning his country.

France says it is sending its ambassador back to Australia to help "redefine the terms'' of the bilateral relationship after Canberra ditched a multibillion-dollar submarine contract.

Water shortages and volcanic ash are making life tough for banana farmers on the island of La Palma, where life has been heavily disrupted since the La Cumbre Vieja volcano began erupting in September.

Images show partially submerged houses, evacuated residents, and a flooded airport in Nepal where 31 people were reported dead after days of heavy rains across the country. Swelling rivers flooded homes in several districts, damaging roads and bridges and reportedly destroying crops. Landslides are a regular danger in the Himalayan region, but experts say they are becoming more common as rains become increasingly erratic and glaciers melt.

The US president has voiced his concern over China's missile capabilities as his nominee to be the next ambassador to the country said "we certainly cannot trust the Chinese" over the issue of Taiwan.

A boat crew casts a net into the seemingly clean waters off Japan's Izu peninsula, but not to catch fish -- they are scooping up microplastics to learn more about the pollution's impact on marine life.

The two countries have feuded intensely over fishing rights since the UK's decision to leave the EU. The move comes after France seized a British boat in French waters.

The Lebanese ambassador has been asked to leave Saudi territory within 48 hours. The move comes after Lebanon's information minister criticized the Saudi-led war against Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.