World News Roundup: U.S. imposes more sanctions on Iran post missile attack in Iraq; Meghan returns to Canada and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

U.S. imposes more sanctions on Iran after missile attacks in Iraq

The United States imposed more sanctions on Iran on Friday in retaliation for its missile attack on U.S. forces in Iraq this week and vowed to tighten the economic screws if Tehran continued "terrorist" acts or pursued a nuclear bomb. The targets of the sanctions included Iran's manufacturing, mining and textile sectors, as well as senior Iranian officials who Washington said, were involved in the Jan. 8 attacks on military bases housing U.S. troops.

Meghan returns to Canada as British royals seek to solve Harry rift

Meghan, the wife of Prince Harry, has gone back to Canada to be with their son after the couple provoked a rift with Britain's royal family by unexpectedly announcing they would be stepping back from their roles to spend more time in North America. Queen Elizabeth and other senior British royals were trying to calm the crisis by thrashing out a plan for Harry and Meghan after the couple blindsided the family by going public with their announcement without consultation.

Explainer: Reading 'black boxes' of Ukrainian jet that crashed in Iran

Iran is examining 'black boxes' from a Ukrainian jet that crashed on Wednesday in a fireball shortly after taking off from Tehran, sparking an international hunt for clues amid Western claims that the jet had been brought down accidentally by Iranian missiles. WHAT ARE BLACK BOXES?

U.N. renews Syria cross-border aid operation but halves crossings, length of time

The U.N. Security Council on Friday renewed a six-year-long cross-border operation delivering aid to millions of Syrian civilians but the number of crossings and length of authorization were halved to avoid a Russian veto. The 15-member council allowed cross-border aid deliveries to continue from two places in Turkey but dropped crossing points from Iraq and Jordan. It also only renewed the operation for six months instead of a year.

Washington turns down Iraqi call to remove troops

Washington on Friday spurned an Iraqi request to prepare to pull out its troops, amid heightened U.S.-Iranian tensions after the U.S. killing of an Iranian commander in Baghdad and said it was exploring a possible expansion of NATO's presence there. Seeking to tighten pressure on its foe, the United States meanwhile imposed more sanctions on Iran, responding to an attack on U.S. troops in Iraq launched by Tehran in retaliation for the death of General Qassem Soleimani.

U.S. rebuffs Britain's extradition request for diplomat's wife after fatal crash

The United States on Friday rejected a formal request from Britain for the extradition of a U.S. diplomat's wife who left the country last year after a road collision that killed 19-year-old Briton, Harry Dunn. British prosecutors are seeking the extradition of Anne Sacoolas over the crash last August in which Dunn was killed while riding his motorbike.

Member of Kenya's Akasha organization sentenced to 23 years in prison in U.S

A U.S. judge on Friday sentenced Ibrahim Akasha, once a member of Kenya's Akasha drug trafficking organization, to 23 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to trafficking heroin and methamphetamine and other crimes. The sentence, imposed by U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in Manhattan federal court, was a victory for prosecutors, who had argued that Akasha had been a top lieutenant to his brother Baktash Akasha, the Akasha organization's former leader, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison last August.

No more 'teary eyes' from Trudeau: Iranian-Canadians demand action on crash

Friends and families of some of the 63 Canadians killed in a Ukrainian plane crash in Iran are calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take a tougher stance after Ottawa accused Iran of having downed the plane, albeit probably by mistake. But while Trudeau faces pressure at home to respond strongly, he has few options, especially after Canada broke off diplomatic relations with Tehran in 2012. Iran has said it will allow Canadian, U.S. and other international officials to participate in the investigation into Wednesday's crash.

Australia urges quarter of a million to flee as winds fan huge bushfires

Australia urged nearly a quarter of a million people to evacuate their homes on Friday and prepared military backup as authorities said the next few hours could be "very, very challenging" even as rain poured down in some parts. Defense personnel stood ready to move to bushfire grounds if conditions became extreme, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters, as soaring temperatures and erratic winds create dangerous conditions.

Iran to probe black boxes after missile blamed for plane crash

Tehran said on Friday it wanted to download black box recordings itself from a Ukrainian airliner crash that killed all 176 people aboard, amid Western suspicions the plane was brought down by an Iranian missile, probably by mistake. The crash has heightened international pressure on Iran after months of friction with the United States and tit-for-tat military strikes. Washington killed an Iranian general last week in Iraq, prompting Tehran to fire at U.S. targets.