PANAMA (Dispatches) - Panamanian authorities have reportedly exhumed several bags filled with human remains from a mass grave as the country conducts searches to identify victims of the 1989 U.S. invasion that toppled General Manuel Noriega’s regime. The military operation, dubbed ‘Just Cause’, lasted a month – from December 1989 to January 1990 – and official estimates put the number of deaths at around 300 Panamanian soldiers and civilians. However, human rights groups have pegged the number of Panama’s dead in the thousands. Around 23 of the roughly 27,000 American soldiers involved in the conflict were killed in action. The invasion remains an open wound for many Panamanians, who commemorate the event annually.

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LONDON (Dispatches) - Conservative MP Sir David Amess has died after being stabbed at his constituency surgery in Essex. Police said a 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder after the stabbing at a church in Leigh-on-Sea. They said they recovered a knife and were not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. Sir David, 69, had been an MP since 1983.

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Berlin (Bloomberg) -Finance Minister Olaf Scholz cleared a major hurdle in his bid to succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor, securing a preliminary commitment from his prospective partners to form a three-way coalition government. His Social Democratic party, the Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats on Friday agreed on the basic principles for a ruling alliance. The accord came remarkably quickly by German standards, with joint talks starting just a week ago. The parties will begin formal negotiations to hammer out the details as early as next week.

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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — A wildfire raging through Southern California coastal mountains threatened ranches and rural homes and kept a major highway shut down Wednesday as the fire-scarred state faced a new round of dry winds that raise the risk of infernos. The Alisal Fire covered more than 24 square miles (62 square kilometers) in the Santa Ynez Mountains west of Santa Barbara, and the number of firefighters was nearly doubled to 1,300, with more on the way. Containment remained at 5%.

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LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s military claimed Thursday that Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the leader of terrorist group of Daesh blamed for killing hundreds in the northeast, had died. There was no immediate confirmation from the militants. At a news conference, Nigeria’s chief of defense staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor, told reporters: “I can authoritatively confirm to you that Abu Musab is dead.” He gave no further information and it was not possible to independently corroborate the claim. The announcement came only five months after al-Barnawi and his forces claimed responsibility for killing rival extremist leader Abubakar Shekau.