LONDON (Reuters) - London underground drivers will stage eight days of strike action between the end of November and late February in a dispute over plans for new working arrangements, Britain’s RMT union said on Friday. The eight 24-hour strikes are planned for November 26, December 17, December 19, January 4, January 6, February 17, February 23 and February 25, the RMT said. The union said plans for new working arrangements would worsen conditions for drivers, requiring them to drive trains for longer. The plans could also pave the way for hundreds of job cuts, the union warned. London’s extensive underground railway, known as “the Tube,” is used by between 3 million to 4 million passengers per day

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BERLIN (AP) - Germany’s top military commander expressed concern over the rise in sexual misconduct cases within the armed forces, news magazine Der Spiegel reported Friday. Inspector General Carsten Breuer described the situation as “unacceptable” in an official order issued to the armed forces in September, according to the magazine. Reports of sexual misconduct, ranging from inappropriate remarks to rape within military barracks, have reportedly increased in recent months. The number of reported incidents rose from 402 in 2023 to 469 in 2025. According to information obtained by Der Spiegel, the total for 2026 is expected to be significantly higher.

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MOMBASA, Kenya (AFP) - The leader of a Kenyan doomsday cult linked to the deaths of more than 400 people was sentenced on Friday to 200 years in prison for the murders of 191 people. The High Court in Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa issued the sentence for Pastor Paul Mackenzie. He was convicted of murdering 190 children and one adult after he ordered his followers to starve themselves to death in order to meet Jesus. Justice Diana Kavedza said that Mackenzie, leader of the Good News International Church, bore the “primary criminal culpability” for relocating his followers to a remote location and ordering them to fast to death.

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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Trade unions and political activists rallied in Sri Lanka’s capital on Friday against anti-terrorism and anti-crime bills, saying they would give sweeping powers to law enforcement authorities and could lead to abuses. The bills — the protection of the state from terrorism and prevention of organized crimes — were submitted to Parliament, which has scheduled a debate and vote in the coming weeks. Human Rights Watch said that the proposed counterterrorism law is too broad in scope and provide inadequate judicial oversight, sweeping powers of search and arrest for the armed forces, and executive authority to curtail freedom of speech and movement.

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GENEVA (AFP) - Nearly 90 million forcibly displaced people worldwide face severe climate-related hazards, including droughts, floods and extreme heat, the UN refugee agency warned on Friday. In its latest report, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said nearly three in four forcibly displaced people globally live in countries facing high to extreme exposure to climate-related hazards. The agency called for “urgent action” to protect refugees and other displaced people from worsening climate impacts ahead of the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey. “Refugees face a double injustice. Forced to flee conflicts they did not cause, they are now on the frontlines of a climate crisis they have contributed least to,” said Anton Leis Garcia, UNHCR’s assistant high commissioner for operations. Leis Garcia said climate change was not a “distant threat” for millions of people but was already undermining their livelihoods.