World News Roundup: Niger's deadliest attacks; Britain's royal showdown and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Britain's royal showdown: queen hosts Meghan-Harry crisis talks

Queen Elizabeth and her heirs will meet Prince Harry on Monday to thrash out a plan for him and his actress wife Meghan after they triggered a family crisis by deciding to step back from royal duties and spend more time in North America. Harry's father and heir to the throne Prince Charles and his elder brother Prince William were to attend the meeting at the queen's rural Sandringham estate in eastern England, a palace source said.

Exclusive: 'Grieving nations' to discuss legal action against Iran over downed airliner - Ukraine

Five nations whose citizens died when an airliner was shot down by Iran last week will meet in London on Thursday to discuss possible legal action, Ukraine's foreign minister told Reuters. Speaking at the sidelines of an official visit to Singapore on Monday, Vadym Prystaiko said the countries would also discuss compensation and the investigation into the incident. All 176 people on board the flight died in the crash on Wednesday, minutes after the plane took off from Tehran airport.

Australian prime minister's approval rating goes up in flames

Public support for Prime Minister Scott Morrison has slumped to its lowest levels amid widespread anger over his government's handling of Australia's bushfire crisis, according to a survey released by Newspoll on Monday. At least 28 people have been killed in the fires that have destroyed 2,000 homes, and razed 11.2 million hectares (27.7 million acres), nearly half the area of the United Kingdom

Former soldier admits in court to killing Slovak journalist

Former soldier Miroslav Marcek admitted on Monday to the killing of a Slovak journalist and his fiancee, a crime that sparked mass protests leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Robert Fico. Marcek told the Special Criminal Court in Pezinok, north of the capital Bratislava, that he accepted guilt, an admission that could reduce his sentence from potential life imprisonment.

UK PM Johnson visits Northern Ireland to meet new executive, Irish PM

Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Northern Ireland on Monday to mark the restoration of the British province's devolved executive after three years and to hold talks with Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar. Parties representing Irish nationalists and pro-British unionists on Saturday ended a three-year standoff that had threatened a key part of the region's 1998 peace settlement by forming a new power-sharing administration.

Iran denies shooting at protesters amid fury over downing of plane

Iran's police said on Monday officers had not fired at protesters demonstrating over Tehran's admission that it shot down a passenger plane, as video on social media recorded gunshots and pools of blood. U.S. President Donald Trump, tweeting on Sunday during a second day of Iranian demonstrations, told the authorities "don't kill your protesters."

Libyan rivals, cajoled by Putin and Erdogan, to hold Moscow peace talks

Libya's warring leaders were due to hold peace talks in Moscow on Monday with Russia and Turkey urging the rivals to sign a binding truce to end a nine-month-old war and pave the way for a settlement that would stabilize the North African country. The Russo-Turkish push, which brings together the Libyan leaders for the first time in almost a year, is the latest attempt to end chaos that has engulfed the oil-producing country since the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

WikiLeaks founder Assange needs time to speak to lawyer, court told

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is not getting the time he needs with his legal team to discuss his fight against extradition to the United States, causing delays to the case, his lawyer told a British court on Monday. After skipping bail in Britain, Assange spent seven years holed up in Ecuador's embassy in London before he was dragged out by police in April last year.

'Oust Uncle': Thailand's jog for dissent signals new breed of activists

Thai office worker Pinyo Tongleun, 33, once participated in "Yellow Shirt" protests against then-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was eventually ousted in a military coup in 2014. But on Sunday, he joined more than 12,000 people in a "Run Against Dictatorship" to express frustration that the coup leader - ex-army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, known by his nickname "Uncle Tu" - is still in power after disputed elections last year.

Niger sacks army chief after deadliest attacks in years

Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou has replaced the head of the army after two of the country's deadliest attacks in living memory killed at least 160 soldiers and prompted a rethink in the battle against jihadist groups, the government said. Ahmed Mohamed led the army for over two years, a period marked by a steep rise in attacks by militants linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda that culminated in a daytime raid on a remote army base on Thursday that killed at least 89 soldiers.

(With inputs from agencies.)