LONDON (AP) — Hundreds of protesters have turned out in central London and blocked off the capital’s main bridges to demand the government take climate change seriously.

A group called “Extinction Rebellion” encouraged sit-ins on the bridges Saturday as part of a coordinated week of action across the country.

Metropolitan Police said emergency vehicles were hampered from getting across London because of the “blockade” of five bridges. The force said it had asked all protesters to congregate at Westminster Bridge where officers can facilitate lawful protest.

TEL AVIV, November 18. /TASS/. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday took the office of the country’s defense minister.

In a televised address after taking the office of defense minister, Netanyahu said stressed that the country’s security is beyond politics or personal interests.

18 Nov 2018; DW: A powerful cyclone has battered India's southeast coast, killing more than 30 people and forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes. Officials are scrambling to get food and water to people sheltering in relief camps.

The death toll from Cyclone Gaja rose to 33 on Sunday, authorities in India said, as emergency services rushed to deliver vital supplies to people sheltering in more than 400 state-run camps.

TEHRAN, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Iran and Iraq are in talks to finalize a currency swap agreement in a bid to boost trade ties between the two neighboring countries, a trade official was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency on Sunday.

Iraq is a lucrative market for Iranian goods, and Iranian exports to the Arab country have increased by 30 percent over the past seven months, Yahya Ale-Eshaq, chairman of Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce said.

In the mentioned period, goods worth about 6 billion U.S. dollars have been exported from Iran to Iraq, Ale-Eshaq said.

RIYADH, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia expects tourism revenues to exceed 56.2 billion U.S dollars by year end, Saudi Press Agency reported Sunday.

According to a report by Tourism Information and Research Center of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, the tourism has grown at a much faster rate than the wider economy in recent years, after a series of government measures to boost the sector.

Chandigarh, Nov 17 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has courted a controversy over his remarks on rape incidents, with the Congress condemning the statement, saying the state government's "anti-women mindset" was exposed.

At a function in Kalka town of Panchkula district on Friday, Khattar said, "The incidents of rape have not increased... Rapes used to take place in the past and even today as well. (Only) the concern (over such incidents) has increased.

New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) A two-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped and raped by a man, who then left her near the railway tracks of Old Delhi Railway Station, police said on Sunday.

The accused, a 24-year-old drug addict, was arrested Sunday morning, they said.

The girl was allegedly kidnapped by the accused on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday while she was sleeping with her mother on a footpath in a north Delhi area, a senior police officer.

Amritsar, Nov 18 (PTI) Three persons were killed and 20 injured in a grenade attack on a religious congregation here on city outskirts on Sunday, an incident which the police are treating as a terrorist act .

The incident took place inside the Nirankari Bhavan at Adliwal village near Amritsar's Rajasansi, police said.

A religious congregation of the Nirankaris was being conducted inside the Bhavan at the time of the incident. The Sant Nirankari Mission is a spiritual organisation and the Bhavan here lies close to the international airport.

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — The state commission investigating the Florida high school massacre began discussions Friday on what recommendations it will make regarding student safety, mental health and steps to prevent future school shootings.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. official said. The Saudi government has denied the claim.

The conclusion will bolster efforts in Congress to further punish the close U.S. ally for the killing. The Trump administration this week sanctioned 17 Saudi officials for their alleged role in the killing, but lawmakers have called on the administration to curtail arms sales to Saudi Arabia or take other harsher punitive measures.

16 Nov 2018; AFP: The White House agreed Friday to allow CNN reporter Jim Acosta back in after a judge ruled that the star journalist was improperly banned following a testy exchange at a press conference with President Donald Trump.

Trump spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said "in response to the court, we will temporarily reinstate the reporter's hard pass."

17 Nov 2018; AFP: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party denied Friday that he had decided to call a snap election, as he battled to keep the government afloat after his defence minister quit over a Gaza ceasefire.

Netanyahu's ruling coalition was left with a single seat majority in parliament after the walkout on Wednesday by Avigdor Lieberman and his hawkish Yisrael Beitenu party.