A man accused of killing five people in a rampage in Denver is believed to have written fictional books self-published online that named some of his real-life victims and described similar attacks.

The writings are part of the investigation into what led Lyndon James McLeod to carry out the shootings, which took place in less than an hour Monday at several locations around the metro area, Denver police spokesman Doug Schepman said Wednesday.

The body of Archbishop Desmond Tutu was carried Thursday into a historic cathedral where he once railed against white rule, to allow South Africans to bid farewell before the weekend funeral.

One small bouquet was placed on top of a simple pine coffin carried by six Anglican priests, AFP journalists reported.

North Korea on Thursday urged its 1.2 million troops to unite behind leader Kim Jong Un and defend him with their lives, as the country celebrated the 10th anniversary of Kim's ascension to supreme commander of the military.

The anniversary comes as North Korea is holding a key multi-day political conference in which officials are expected to discuss how to address difficulties brought by the pandemic and long-dormant diplomacy with the United States.

A fire damaged the front doors and exterior of Australia's Old Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday.

The cause of the fire wasn't immediately clear, although a group of protesters championing Indigenous rights had been gathering outside the building.

A thaw-out is coming for frozen Seattle and Portland, Oregon, but not before another round of snow that could compound problems for a region more accustomed to winter rain than arctic blasts.

More snow and rain fell on California on Wednesday, causing travel disruptions on mountain routes and raising the risk of debris flows from wildfire burn scars.

Iran said Thursday it launched a rocket with a satellite carrier bearing three devices into space, though it's unclear if any of the objects entered orbit around the Earth.

The state TV report, as well as others by semiofficial news agencies, did not say when the launch was conducted nor what devices the carrier brought with it. However, the launch comes amid ongoing negotiations in Vienna over Iran's tattered nuclear deal. Previous launches have drawn rebukes from the United States.

Israel's Environment Minister said Thursday a clandestine oil deal that would have turned a scuba divers' paradise into a waypoint for Emirati oil headed for Western markets has effectively been blocked.

Tamar Zandberg told Israeli Army Radio that following a Justice Ministry opinion that her office had the authority to limit the activities of the Israeli government-owned corporation signed onto the deal, "the agreement cannot be realized."

United States navy vessels seized 385 kilograms (849 pounds) of heroin in the Arabian Sea worth some $4 million, in a major bust by the international maritime operation in the region, officials said Thursday.

The USS Tempest and USS Typhoon seized the drugs hidden aboard a stateless fishing vessel plying Mideast waters, the international task force said in a statement. The seizure took place on Monday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told U.S. counterpart Joe Biden on Thursday he is "convinced" that "effective dialogue" between Moscow and Washington is possible, hours ahead of telephone talks as tensions rise over Ukraine.

Putin and Biden will hold their second telephone call in less than a month at 2030 GMT in the latest effort to defuse tensions surrounding Moscow's military build-up on the border with Ukraine.

Greece's health minister said Wednesday that music will be banned at all commercial venues for New Year's celebrations as part of new restrictions announced in response to a surge in COVID-19 infections fueled by the omicron variant.