The leaders of Japan and South Korea spoke by phone on Friday, saying they would look to deepen ties in the face of regional security threats, despite badly strained bilateral relations.

Although they share a key ally in the U.S. and common concerns over facing China, ties between Tokyo and Seoul have suffered over the legacy of Japan's World War II atrocities and disagreements over compensation for wartime Korean laborers during the Japanese occupation.

British police say a man has been arrested after a stabbing in eastern England on Friday. Multiple media reports say the victim is a Conservative lawmaker attacked during a meeting with constituents.

The Essex Police force said officers were called to reports of a stabbing in Leigh-on-Sea just after noon Friday. It said "a man was arrested and a knife recovered.

Israel is quietly advancing controversial settlement projects in and around Jerusalem without making major announcements that could anger the Biden administration. Critics say the latest moves, while incremental, pave the way for rapid growth once the political climate changes.

On Wednesday, as Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met with U.S. officials in Washington, a local planning committee in Jerusalem approved the expropriation of public land for the especially controversial Givat Hamatos settlement, which would largely cut the city off from Palestinian communities in the southern West Bank.

Three German parties announced Friday that they aim to open formal coalition talks, moving a big step closer to a new government that would send outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right bloc into opposition. The prospective partners said they have a major opportunity to modernize Europe's biggest economy and combat climate change.

The center-left Social Democrats, the environmentalist Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats, all of whom made gains in Germany's Sept. 26 election, decided they were ready to plunge into full-fledged coalition negotiations after about a week of exploratory talks. That step still requires approval by a congress on Sunday of the Greens and by the Free Democrats' leadership on Monday.

Thousands of protesters in Bangladesh's capital Friday clashed with police, as security forces used tear gas and batons against demonstrators angry over what they perceived as an image insulting Islam that had gone viral over social media.

Police said that the street protests began after the main Friday prayers at the Baitul Mukarram mosque in the center of Dhaka.

Protests erupted in Italy as one of the most stringent anti-coronavirus measures in Europe went into effect Friday, requiring all workers, from magistrates to maids, to show a health pass to get into their place of employment.

Police were out in force, schools planned to end classes early and embassies issued warnings of possible violence amid concerns that the anti-vaccination demonstrations could turn violent, as they did in Rome last weekend.

A forthcoming flight to space by a Japanese billionaire will allow the public to have a closer look at life on board the orbiting outpost, the president of Space Adventures, a company that organized the flight, said Friday.

Yusaku Maezawa is set to rocket to space on Dec. 8 on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft together with producer Yozo Hirano who will film his mission and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin.

As kids growing up in different states, Shoba Narayan and Michael Maliakel shared a love of one favorite film — "Aladdin." Both are of Indian descent, and in the animated movie, they saw people who looked like them.

That shared love has gone full-circle this month as Narayan and Maliakel lead the Broadway company of the musical "Aladdin" out of the pandemic, playing Princess Jasmine and the hero from the title, respectively.

Gary Paulsen, the acclaimed and prolific children's author who often drew upon his rural affinities and wide-ranging adventures for tales that included "Hatchet," "Brian's Winter" and "Dogsong," has died at age 82.

Random House Children's Books announced that Paulsen died "suddenly" Wednesday but did not immediately provide further details. Literary agent Jennifer Flannery told The Associated Press that he died at his home in New Mexico, where he lived with his third wife, Ruth Wright Paulsen, an artist who illustrated some of his work.

Six years after her last album, Adele has revealed that her new project, "30," will be released on Nov. 19.

An initial single, "Easy on Me," is coming out on Friday.