The United Arab Emirates' crown prince received a rare telephone call from Syrian President Bashar Assad in which they discussed strengthening relations and cooperation, Syria's state media reported Wednesday.

The call between Assad and UAE's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed came as some Arab countries are improving relations with Syria, a decade after the country's civil war began.

The judge leading Lebanon's probe into last year's massive port explosion has renewed his summonses of two former ministers for questioning, a judicial official said.

The decision by Judge Tarek Bitar came despite intense criticism from the country's powerful Hizbullah of the direction of the long-running investigation.

A boast by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah that he commands 100,000 fighters came as a surprise to many Lebanese, not least because it was addressed to a domestic audience rather than the group's archenemy Israel.

Experts say the figure, which exceeds the size of Lebanon's army by about 15,000 troops, is an exaggeration. But Nasrallah's brag is likely to further ratchet up anxiety about a return to sectarian fighting in the small country roiled by a series of devastating crises.

He was only a year old when his panicked father picked him up and they fled with his mother from the gunfire rattling their neighborhood. It was the day Lebanon's civil war started 46 years ago. His family's apartment building in Beirut was on the frontline.

Now 47, Bahij Dana did the same thing last week. He evacuated his wife and two of his kids as gun battles raged for hours outside the same building. Civil defense rescuers came to help his father and mother, stuck in the lower floors.

Africa's rare glaciers will disappear in the next two decades because of climate change, a new report warned Tuesday amid sweeping forecasts of pain for the continent that contributes least to global warming but will suffer from it most.

The report from the World Meteorological Organization and other agencies, released ahead of the U.N. climate conference in Scotland that starts Oct. 31, is a grim reminder that Africa's 1.3 billion people remain "extremely vulnerable" as the continent warms more, and at a faster rate, than the global average. And yet Africa's 54 countries are responsible for less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

South Korea set a new goal on Monday for fighting climate change over the next decade, saying it will aim to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 2018 levels by 2030.

The country had faced criticism that its initial plan for a 26.3% reduction was too modest. In promising stronger contributions to curb global warming ahead of a U.N. climate summit in Scotland next month, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said the new target represents the "most enthusiastic" objective the country could possibly set under current circumstances.

The humpback chub, a rare fish found only in the Colorado River basin, has been brought back from the brink of extinction after decades of protection, though work must continue to ensure its survival, federal authorities said Monday in reclassifying the species from endangered to threatened status.

The fish, which gets its name from a fleshy bump behind its head, was first listed as endangered in 1967, its habitat severely disrupted by dam construction. Its numbers also declined with the introduction of predatory, non-native aquatic species.

The Walt Disney Co. is pushing back the release dates of many of its upcoming titles, including the untitled Indiana Jones movie and the Black Panther sequel "Wakanda Forever."

The company has said that the fifth Indiana Jones, a James Mangold-directed and Steven Spielberg-produced installment which sees the return of Harrison Ford as the adventurous archaeologist, will be delayed almost a year and open in theaters in June 2023.

Power shortages are turning out streetlights and shutting down factories in China. The poor in Brazil are choosing between paying for food or electricity. German corn and wheat farmers can't find fertilizer, made using natural gas. And fears are rising that Europe will have to ration electricity if it's a cold winter.

The world is gripped by an energy crunch — a fierce squeeze on some of the key markets for natural gas, oil and other fuels that keep the global economy running and the lights and heat on in homes. Heading into winter, that has meant higher utility bills, more expensive products and growing concern about how energy-consuming Europe and China will recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

A net zero carbon emissions target by 2050 would be a "great positive" for Australia if it can be achieved through technology and not a carbon price, the prime minister said on Tuesday as he pressures government colleagues to commit to more ambitious action ahead of a climate summit.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week agreed to attend next month's climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, but his government colleagues have yet to approve the commitment he wants to net zero.