World News at a Glance

Pompeo Told To Cancel Visit To North Korea

President Donald Trump on Friday abruptly called off a trip to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his newly appointed special envoy, citing a lack of progress in nuclear disarmament talks and acknowledging for the first time that his diplomatic overture to the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, had run into trouble. Trump said the negotiations had been hindered by a lack of support from China, which he blamed on its bitter trade dispute with the United States. High-level talks with Pyongyang would not resume, he said, until the United States and China resolved those issues.

In Australia, Back-Room Revolt Installs Morrison as Prime Minister

The back-room bloodletting that has come to typify Australia’s turbulent politics claimed one conservative prime minister and anointed another Friday, in the sixth change to the country’s leadership in 11 years. Members of the governing Liberal Party forced out Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull — the fourth time an Australian leader has been undone by his own party since 2010. The new prime minister, Scott Morrison, an erstwhile ally of Turnbull, was a compromise candidate who initially distanced himself from those who led the insurgency. In his first news conference after the vote, Morrison pledged to end the infighting and “heal the party.”

Trump Administration Cuts More Than $200 Million in Aid for Palestinians

The Trump administration announced Friday that it would not spend the more than $200 million set aside for Palestinian aid in the West Bank and Gaza, the latest in a series of measures that have infuriated the Palestinians. The cancellation follows a similar decision against spending $230 million reserved by Congress to help stabilize areas in Syria devastated by the country’s 7-year-old war. And it comes as the administration considers canceling nearly $3 billion in foreign aid projects worldwide. A State Department official said the administration expects to redirect the funds intended for Palestinians to higher-priority projects elsewhere. Those projects were not identified.

U.N. Says Saudi-led Airstrike Killed at Least 22 Yemeni Children

The United Nations said Friday that a Saudi-led airstrike had killed at least 22 children and four women in Yemen as they fled a fighting zone — the second mass killing of Yemeni civilians by Saudi Arabia and its military partners in two weeks. Mark Lowcock, the top U.N. relief official, asserted without qualification that the Saudi-led coalition warring with Yemen’s Houthi rebels was responsible for the attack, which happened Thursday near the Red Sea port of Al Hudaydah. He said an additional airstrike in the area had killed four more children. The Saudi coalition and the Houthis accused each other of the attack.

Malaysia Charges Financier With Aiding Theft of Billions

Fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low, a prime suspect in the theft of billions of dollars from a government investment fund, was charged Friday with eight counts of laundering money, much of it reportedly used to purchase a $250 million yacht. Malaysian police issued arrest warrants for Low and his father, Low Hock Peng, who was charged with one count of money laundering. The warrants are a first step in seeking the pair’s extradition. Their location is unknown but there has been recent speculation in the news media that the younger Low is in China.

Ex-South Korean Leader Gets 25 Years in Prison

Park Geun-hye, South Korea’s impeached and ousted president, was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison, as an appeals court convicted her of collecting more bribes than previously believed from Samsung, the country’s largest business conglomerate. In a lower-court ruling in April, Park, 66, was sentenced to 24 years in prison and ordered to pay 18 billion won ($16 million) in fines. But on Friday, the appeals court in Seoul added a year to her prison term and increased her fine to 20 billion won. Her trial does not end until the Supreme Court rules on the case.

Zimbabwe Court Upholds Results of Presidential Election

The Zimbabwe Constitutional Court on Friday rejected a call from the country’s top opposition party to throw out the results of the presidential election last month, clearing the way for the governing ZANU-PF party’s candidate, Emmerson Mnangagwa, to be sworn in within 48 hours. Chief Justice Luke Malaba, calling the allegations “bold and unsubstantiated,” said the opposition had failed to prove that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission had engaged in fraud, and in particular noted that the opposition had elected not to check the votes in the ballot boxes. The elections July 30 were the first to be held after the ouster of Robert Mugabe.

Kalashnikov’s Nod to the Tesla, Electric but Hardly Electrifying, Draws Russian Jeers

What do you get when a staid Russian weapons manufacturer designs a “concept” electric car and a futuristic robot? Apparently, you get a car based on a Soviet-era design and an ungainly monster more than 13 feet tall. The Kalashnikov Concern of rifle fame introduced the two potential products to a round of laughs and jeers in Moscow this week, touting them as proof that Russia is capable of producing innovative goods. The electric car will compete with the market leader, Tesla, boasted a company spokeswoman, while the robot prototype was supposedly designed to undertake both combat and engineering tasks.