World News Roundup: US withholding aid for Lebanon; new protests in Hong Kong and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Exclusive: U.S. withholding $105 million in security aid for Lebanon - sources

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is withholding $105 million in security aid for Lebanon, two U.S. officials said on Thursday, two days after the resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri. The State Department told Congress on Thursday that the White House budget office and National Security Council had decided to withhold the foreign military assistance, the two officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Hong Kong protesters plan huge march after gatecrashing Halloween

Hong Kong protesters planned flash mob demonstrations in shopping malls on Friday after a night of clashes in a central bar district as prominent pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong called for 100,000 people to take to the streets on Saturday. Black-clad anti-government protesters, wearing now banned face masks, mingled with fancy-dress Halloween revelers in the narrow, sloping streets of Lan Kwai Fong on Thursday, the first time the district had been targeted.

North Korea says it conducted successful test of multiple rocket launchers

North Korean state news agency KCNA said on Friday another test of super-large multiple rocket launchers a day earlier had been a success, but the test drew protests from neighboring Japan and South Korea. KCNA said the latest test of the "super-large multiple rocket launchers", following two tests of the same weapon in August and September overseen by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, indicated the progress of Pyongyang's weapons development while talks with the United States remain in limbo.

Iraqis pour into streets for biggest protest day since Saddam

Thousands of Iraqis thronged central Baghdad on Friday demanding the root-and-branch downfall of the political elite, in what was expected to become the biggest day of mass anti-government demonstrations since the fall of Saddam Hussein. Protests in which 250 people have died over the past month have accelerated dramatically in recent days, drawing huge crowds from across Iraq's sectarian and ethnic divides to reject the political parties in power since 2003.

Turkey hands over 18 Syrian soldiers after Russian coordination

Turkey has handed over 18 men believed to be Syrian government soldiers who were seized in northeast Syria near the Turkish border earlier this week, the Turkish Defense Ministry said late on Thursday. The ministry did not say who they were handed over to, but said it came about "as a result of the coordination with the authorities of the Russian Federation".

Hand yourselves in, UK police tell Northern Irish brothers wanted over 39 truck deaths

British police, investigating deaths of 39 people found dead in the back of a truck near London last week, made a direct appeal on Friday to two brothers from Northern Ireland to hand themselves in to detectives. Police say Ronan Hughes and his brother Christopher are crucial to their inquiries into the discovery of the bodies of 31 men and eight women in the container on an industrial estate in Grays, to the east of the British capital.

Trump may read summary of Ukraine call in 'fireside chat': interview

"READ THE TRANSCRIPT!" U.S. President Donald Trump exhorts regularly on Twitter, referring to a telephone call with Ukraine's president that led to an impeachment inquiry. Now he is threatening to do just that - on live television. Trump told the Washington Examiner he would not cooperate with congressional impeachment proceedings and might read out loud a transcript of a July 25 call in which Trump asks President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate a domestic political rival.

Brexit Party's Farage set to fight every seat in poll battle against PM Johnson

Nigel Farage warned Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday that his Brexit Party would contest every seat in Britain in a Dec. 12 election unless he ditched his EU divorce deal and agreed to an electoral alliance of Brexit-supporting parties. The first Christmas election in Britain since 1923 is highly unpredictable so an electoral alliance on either side of the Brexit schism could be a game changer after four years of political crisis that has shocked both allies and investors.

No Israeli government involvement in alleged NSO-WhatsApp hack: minister

The Israeli government on Friday denied any involvement in an alleged cyber- hack by Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group. Distancing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government from the alleged attempts to send malware to the mobile devices of a number of Whatsapp users, Israeli security cabinet minister Zeev Elkin said that if anyone had done anything "forbidden" they could expect to find themselves in court.

North Korea, emboldened by Trump peril and Chinese allies, tries harder line

Successful sanctions evasion, economic lifelines from China and U.S. President Donald Trump's impeachment woes may be among the factors that have emboldened North Korea in nuclear negotiations, analysts and officials say. Both Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continue to play up the personal rapport they say they developed during three face-to-face meetings. But North Korea has said in recent days that it is losing patience, giving the United States until the end of the year to change its negotiating stance.1