The general who led a coup in Niger defended the takeover on state television Friday and asked for support from the nation and international partners, as concerns grew that the political crisis could set back the country's fight against jihadists and increase Russia's influence in West Africa.

Various factions of Niger's military have reportedly wrangled for control since members of the presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum, who was elected two years ago in Niger's first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since independence from France. As Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani spoke, state TV identified him as the leader of the group of soldiers who said they staged the coup, and his appearance seemed to be an effort to show he was in charge.

Dangerous heat is forecast to "engulf" much of the eastern half of the United States as extreme temperatures spread from the Midwest into the Northeast and mid-Atlantic where some residents will see their hottest temperatures of the year, according to the National Weather Service.

Althouth much of the country does not cool much on normal summer nights, night temperatures are forecast to stay hotter than usual, prompting excessive heat warnings from the Plains to the East Coast.

U.S. President Joe Biden has dispatched his national security adviser Jake Sullivan to Saudi Arabia for talks with the kingdom's de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the White House pushes for a normalization of relations between the country and Israel.

The White House in a brief statement said that Sullivan arrived in Jeddah on Thursday for talks with the crown prince, who is often referred to by his initial MbS, and other Saudi officials. The wide-ranging talks covered initiatives to "advance a common vision for a more peaceful, secure, prosperous, and stable Middle East," and efforts to find a permanent end to the years-long conflict between the Saudis and Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen, according to the White House.

Former President Donald Trump faced new charges Thursday in a case accusing him of illegally possessing classified documents, with prosecutors alleging that he asked a staffer to delete camera footage at his Florida estate in an effort to obstruct a federal investigation into the records.

The new indictment includes extra charges of obstruction and willful retention of national defense information, adding fresh detail to a criminal case issued last month against Trump and a close aide.

An impasse at the United Nations over a border crossing with Syria's last rebel-held enclave is putting 4.1 million Syrian there in danger, the president of the International Rescue Committee warned this week.

David Miliband's comments came more than two weeks after the U.N. Security Council failed to renew the mandate for the Bab al-Hawa border crossing between Syria and Turkey, which secures aid for Syrians in the enclave.

Millions of Shiite Muslims in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and around the world on Friday commemorated Ashoura, a remembrance of the 7th-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Hussein, that gave birth to their faith.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban cut mobile phone services in key cities holding commemorations for fear of militants targeting Shiites, whom Sunni extremists consider heretics. Security forces in neighboring Pakistan as well stood on high alert as the commemorations there have seen attacks in the past.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shared center stage with senior delegates from Russia and China as he rolled out his most powerful nuclear-capable missiles in a military parade in the capital, Pyongyang, marking a major war anniversary with a show of defiance against the United States and deepening ties with Moscow as tensions on the peninsula are at their highest point in years.

State media said Friday Kim attended Thursday evening's parade with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chinese ruling party official Li Hongzhong from a balcony looking over a brightly illuminated Kim Il Sung Square, named after Kim's grandfather, the founder of North Korea.

A motorcycle planted with explosives has detonated in a Damascus suburb near a Shiite Muslim shrine, killing at least six people and wounding dozens a day before the solemn holy day of Ashoura, state media reported, citing the interior ministry.

Syrian Health Minister Hassan al-Ghabash said in a statement that 26 people wounded in the blast in the Sayida Zeinab neighborhood were being treated at several hospitals. Twenty others were treated on site or discharged, he said.

The European Central Bank raised interest rates for the ninth straight time in its yearlong campaign to stamp out painfully high inflation, coming as worries about recession fuel speculation that Thursday's hike could be its last.

ECB President Christine Lagarde had all but promised the quarter-percentage point increase and left the door open to future hikes, saying data would determine one decision to the next.

Elon Musk may want to send "tweet" back to the birds, but the ubiquitous term for posting on the site he now calls X is here to stay — at least for now.

For one, the word is still plastered all over the site formerly known as Twitter. Write a post, you still need to press a blue button that says "tweet" to publish it. To repost it, you still tap "retweet."