The 10 most important things in the world right now
Hello! Here's everything you need to know on Friday.
1. US President Donald Trump has reportedly asked Heather Nauert, the State Department spokeswoman, to replace Nikki Haley as the UN ambassador. Haley abruptly resigned in October and is set to leave by the end of the year.
2. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats will vote for a new party leader. The frontrunners are Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Merkel's protege, and Friedrich Merz, a Merkel rival.
3. Ukraine is urging the west to increase sanctions against Russia. Kiev has accused Moscow of sowing "instability and insecurity" amid heightened tensions near Crimea.
4. France is closing down the Eiffel Tower in preparation for more clashes between protesters and police. "Yellow vest" anti-government protests have raged in the capital for weeks and are expected to continue.
5. Ridesharing service Lyft officially filed paperwork for an IPO. It's the first major ride-hailing company to officially launch its initial public offering, beating its much larger competitor Uber.
6. India is beefing up its navy to counter China's increasingly powerful fleet. The world's two most populous countries have a long history of conflict.
7. 81 migrant children have been forcibly separated from their parents since June. President Trump issued an executive order that stopped the practice, but it appears to continue.
8. Denmark's government announced it intends to isolate dozens of "unwanted" migrants on a remote island. The island was once used to house contagious animals for research, and held stables and a crematorium for dead animals.
9. Australia passed laws allowing police to spy on encrypted messages. Tech giants, like Apple, Facebook and Amazon, have criticized the move and say it sets a terrifying precedent for global security.
10. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are plunging again. Cryptocurrencies haven't been spared from the selloff in global markets this week.
And finally ...