
Finland's transportation minister Sanna Marin was selected by her Social Democratic party on Sunday to become the country's youngest prime minister ever, taking over after the resignation of Antti Rinne. The 34-year-old Marin, whose party is the largest in a five-member governing coalition, will be the world's youngest serving prime minister when she takes office in the coming days.

Almost 1,000 tourists were stranded in New Zealand's South Island on Monday after wild storms cut highways, washed away bridges and flooded the rugged landscape. Meteorologists said up to 400mm of rain was dumped on the South Island over 24 hours by a severe weather system that unleashed gale-force winds and 230,000 lightning strikes.

Several people were injured at White Island in New Zealand when a volcano began erupting there on Monday, the region's mayor said. The eruption began about 2.30 pm local time on the island, about 50km from the east coast of North Island, authorities said, throwing smoke and debris into the air.

Thousands of firefighters were fortifying containment lines on Monday as temperatures were forecast to soar, increasing the danger of a fresh wave of bushfires across Australia's east coast. More than 100 fires remain ablaze in the region, and authorities warned conditions would worsen on Tuesday, when temperatures were predicted to top 40 degrees Celsius.

A cruise ship that is operated by Carnival-owned P&O Cruises, based in the UK is back in Tenerife after having suffered a loss of propulsion and remained adrift until towed to port.

The Falkland Islands commemorates on Sunday 8th December the great Battle of the Falklands, 105 years ago, which ended with a resounding victory for the Royal Navy over the Kaiser's fleet.

President David Granger is optimistic that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will dispense a ruling in Guyana’s favor in the border case with Venezuela. The Guyanese president expressed these sentiments while appearing on the popular radio program, Hot Seat.

Lima and Washington are in the final stages of talks on a deal to promote American investments in Peru as part of a U.S. initiative to counter Chinese influence in the region, Peruvian diplomatic sources said.

The British Royal Navy’s next-generation offshore patrol vessel HMS Forth is on its way for deployment to the Falkland Islands, after a brief call in Gibraltar. The long-term deployment of HMS Forth will see the ship act as the guardian of the Falkland Islands and Britain’s South Atlantic territories.

A strike that crippled public transport and closed schools across France entered a second day on Friday, with trade unions saying they planned to keep going until President Emmanuel Macron backs down from a planned reform of pensions.