French troops are starting to withdraw from Niger

COTONOU, Benin (AP) — French troops have started leaving Niger more than two months after mutinous soldiers toppled the African country’s democratically elected president, the military said Wednesday. More than 100 troops left in two flights from the capital Niamey on Tuesday in the first of what will be several rounds of departures between now and the end of the year, said French military spokesman, Col. Pierre Gaudilliere. All are returning to France, he said.

Chinese Australian journalist detained for 3 years in China returns to Australia

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A Chinese Australian journalist who was convicted on murky espionage charges and detained in China for three years has returned to Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Wednesday. Cheng Lei, 48, worked for the international department of China’s state broadcaster CCTV. She has reunited with her two children in Melbourne, Albanese said. Her return comes ahead of Albanese’s planned visit to Beijing this year on a date yet to be announced. He will become the first Australian prime minister to visit the Chinese capital in seven years.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg fined again for a climate protest in Sweden

STOCKHOLM (AP) — A Swedish court on Wednesday fined climate activist Greta Thunberg once again for disobeying police during an environmental protest in July in southern Sweden. The Malmo District Court ordered her to pay a 2,250 kroner ($206) fine. Thunberg, who already had been fined for a similar offense, took part in a July 24 environmental protest at an oil terminal in Malmo, where activists temporarily blocked access to the facility by sitting down and were removed by police.

Former Slovak president convicted of tax fraud

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — A court in Slovakia found Wednesday former President Andrej Kiska guilty of tax fraud and gave him a two-year suspended sentence. The county court in the city of Poprad also handed him a fine of 15,000 euros (about $16,000). The verdict is not final and his legal team said he planned to appeal it. Kiska, 60, had pleaded not guilty. The case dates back to 2014 when Kiska was running for president. At the time, he was a successful businessman-turned-philanthropist and a political newcomer.