Briefly

AUSTRALIA

PM apologizes for family vacation

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday apologized for taking a family vacation in Hawaii as deadly bushfires raged across several states, destroying homes and claiming the lives of two volunteer firefighters. Morrison cut short the vacation amid public anger at his absence from Australia at a time of national crisis. He arrived home on Saturday and on Sunday morning spoke to reporters while visiting the headquarters of the Rural Fire Service in Sydney.

FRANCE

Travelers face rail strike disruption

Strikes disrupting services in France brought frustration for travellers thronging Paris stations at the start of the festive season, as rail workers protested over pension reform. Two weeks of nationwide industrial action against a planned overhaul of the pension system have disrupted railways and roads, shut some schools and brought more than half a million people onto the streets. Unions have called for stoppages to continue over the holiday period.

DPRK

Top leader discusses military capability

Kim Jong-un, the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, presided over a meeting of top military officials in an effort to enhance the country's military capability, the Korean Central News Agency reported on Sunday. The meeting "discussed and decided organizational and structural measures and important issues for decisive improvement of the overall national defense".