World News at a Glance

Tear Gas Lingering, France’s President to Address the Nation

With the smell of tear gas and smoke lingering in Paris and other cities after a fourth weekend of protests, France’s president planned an address Monday to respond to the anger among many middle-class and working-poor citizens frustrated over their declining economic means. The televised speech by President Emmanuel Macron, announced by the Elysee Palace on Sunday, will be his first substantive public answer to the Yellow Vest movement that has transfixed France. Macron has been conferring with advisers and ministers and will meet with a wider group Monday to discuss proposals aimed at addressing some of the movement’s demands.

As Brexit Vote Nears, May Asks a Polarized Nation to Allow Compromise

The weight of 2 1/2 years of struggle was visible on Prime Minister Theresa May’s face when she appealed to her colleagues to let go of their polarized beliefs and support her plan to leave the EU in a vote Tuesday. “Life depends on compromise,” she said. For 2 1/2 years as May negotiated Britain’s departure from the EU, she was secretive about her intentions. Early on, she reassured the hard-line faction of her party that she was on their side. By the time she revealed her true plan, she had few reserves of trust or loyalty to draw upon.

With Brexit Vote Looming, Britons on Both Sides Rally in London

Protesters from Britain’s right and left took to the streets Sunday, offering starkly different visions of the country’s future as the government scrambled to salvage its unpopular plan for exiting the EU. In a march led by anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson, thousands waved the Union Jack and chanted, “We want Britain out.” Many waved signs accusing Prime Minister Theresa May of treachery, and one man carried a 10-foot noose, telling a reporter, “That’s what the traitor May deserves.” One way or another, the marchers promised, the Conservative Party would be punished for not fully severing ties with the EU.

Afghanistan Suspends 5 Soccer Officials in Sex Abuse Scandal

Five officials with Afghanistan’s soccer federation have been suspended indefinitely after allegations surfaced that some officials had sexually abused female players, Afghan officials said Sunday. Jamshid Rasuli, spokesman for the attorney general’s office, said the suspensions were ordered to prevent “violation of the investigative process.” Those suspended included the Afghanistan Football Federation president, Keramuddin Keram, three other administrative officials and a coach. The suspensions came less than a week after the country’s president, Ashraf Ghani, ordered an investigation into accusations that Keram, other federation officials and coaches had physically and sexually abused and raped players on the national women’s team.

Battered ISIS Keeps Grip on Last Piece of Territory for Over a Year

The Islamic State group has been stripped of nearly all the territory it ruled in Iraq and Syria and has been pummeled by nearly 30,000 airstrikes. But the extremist group has managed to retain a small pocket of land on the Syria-Iraq border for more than a year. The militants have on occasion struck back with some of their former vigor from their toehold, around the Syrian town of Hajin in Deir el-Zour province. In the last week of November, they staged a breakout from the Hajin pocket, attacking the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces in the Syrian town of Gharanij.

Police in Australia Offer Million-Dollar Reward in Gay Man’s 1988 Death

Almost 30 years after a gay mathematician from the United States was forced off a Sydney cliff in a hate crime, police Sunday announced a reward of 1 million Australian dollars for information leading to the perpetrators. The mathematician, Scott Johnson, was a 27-year-old doctoral student at the Australian National University in Canberra when he died Dec. 8, 1988. He had moved to Australia to be with his partner. His body was found at the bottom of a cliff. His death was initially ruled a suicide but was declared a hate crime by a coroner last year.

Government in Belgium Loses Majority Over UN Migration Pact

The Belgian government has lost its majority in Parliament after its biggest coalition partner, the right-wing Flemish party, left in opposition to the planned signing this month of an international agreement on migration. Prime Minister Charles Michel, in announcing the end of his majority government during a news conference Saturday, said, “One party, the N-VA, calls into question our common decision to join the UN migration pact, taken earlier this year in July." Michel said he would try to lead the remaining minority government to “ensure stability.” On Sunday, he formalized the resignation of the N-VA ministers from his government.

Police to Auction Off an Inmate’s Designer Sneakers

A Briton sentenced to six years in jail for a weapons charge after firing a gun at a Jaguar will lose more than his freedom. Police in Gloucestershire, in southwestern England, plan to auction off some of his most precious possessions: designer sneakers. The luxury footwear collection — 55 pairs with brand names like Christian Louboutin, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Jimmy Choo — is estimated to be worth around 18,500 pounds ($23,500), Gloucestershire police said in a statement Saturday. In stripping Isaiah Hanson-Frost, 22, of his designer shoes, Gloucestershire police appear to want to teach would-be criminals a lesson.