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Happiness turns to horror after a fatal explosion at a Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. 

(Photos: AP)

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Early looks at Washington Post and New York Times front pages for Wednesday after Pres. Trump fires FBI Director Comey.

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Police in London say they have foiled a second active terror plot in 24 hours, after arresting six people in raids across the British capital and southeast England.

A woman shot by police in the latest counterterrorism investigation remains in a serious but stable condition. The investigation is ongoing but the threat is "contained," London's Metropolitan Police said Friday.

Police said the operation late Thursday night was not related to an earlier arrest near the British parliament, where officers detained a man armed with knives on suspicion of planning a terror attack, in what Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu described as "an extraordinary day" in London.

See Also:

Daily Mail: Armed police shoot woman in burka in London terror raid

BBC News: Willesden shooting: Police foil 'active terror plot'

Metro:  Police reveal they stopped ‘active plot’ in North London terror raid

NBC News: London Terror: 'Active Plot' Foiled in UK Police Raid

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Syrian and rebel officials blamed Israel for several explosions on Thursday morning at warehouses near the Damascus airport that the Israeli news media said were housing weapons bound for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Israel, which has carried out attacks on precision missiles and other forms of advanced weaponry in the past, did not directly confirm or deny the attack, in keeping with its policy.

See Also:

ABC News: Syrian media: Israel attacked installation near Damascus

Yahoo News (AFP): Syria accuses Israel of strike near Damascus airport

Aljazeera: 'Israeli strikes' hit arms depot in Damascus

Reuters: Large blast and fire at Damascus airport: Syrian Observatory

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The US military has started installing a controversial missile defence system at a site in South Korea, amid high tensions over neighbouring North Korea's nuclear and missile ambitions.

The Thaad system is designed to protect against threats from North Korea.

See Also:

NBC News: US's THAAD Missile Defense System Installed In South Korea As Tensions Rise

Yonhap News (Korea): (4th LD) THAAD equipment installation underway amid residents' protests

Fox News: US sets up missile defense in S. Korea as North shows power

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"Employees of Syria's Scientific Studies and Research Center have been put on a U.S. blacklist," NPR's Michele Kelemen reports, "which means any assets they might have in the U.S. will be frozen and Americans are barred from doing any business with them."

In a statement, the Treasury Department called the spate of sanctions one of the largest the Office of Foreign Assets Control has ever imposed.

The department says in a statement that the SSRC is "responsible for developing and producing non-conventional weapons and the means to deliver them."

See Also:

Washington Post: Trump administration sanctions 271 in Syrian chemical attack

New York Times:  US Imposes Sanctions on Syrian Government Workers After Sarin Attack

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[New York Times]

In France’s most consequential election in recent history, voters on Sunday chose Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen to go to a runoff to determine the next president, official returns showed. One is a political novice, the other a far-right firebrand — both outsiders, but with starkly different visions for the country.

It is the first time in the nearly 59-year history of France’s Fifth Republic that both of the final candidates are from outside the traditional left-right party structure. Together, they drew less than half the total votes cast in a highly fractured election.

France24: French Presidential Election 2017

See Also:

AFP:  Macron, Le Pen vie to embody change in presidential run-off

France24:  Macron faces Le Pen for French presidency as mainstream parties bow out early

BBC News:  French election: Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen to fight for presidency

BBC News:  French elections: Euro and shares jump after vote

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Police officers shot at Champs Elysees in Paris

An attacker opened fire on police in Paris’ iconic Champs-Elysees shopping district Thursday night, killing one officer and wounding another before police shot and killed him.

Paris police spokeswoman Johanna Primevert told The Associated Press that the attacker targeted officers guarding the area near the Franklin Roosevelt subway station at the center of the avenue popular with tourists. She said he appeared to be acting alone.

Police and soldiers sealed off the area, ordering tourists back into their hotels and blocking people from approaching the scene. The Paris prosecutor’s office said counterterrorism investigators are involved in the probe.

French Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said on BFM television that a man came out of a car and opened fire on a police vehicle. He said officers were “deliberately” targeted. (AP)

(Photos: Christian Hartmann/Reuters, Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images, Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images, Benoit Tessier/Reuters, Christian Hartmann/Reuters)

See more from Paris on Yahoo News.

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[AFP]

One police officer was killed and two others wounded Thursday in a shooting on Paris's famed Champs Elysees, just days ahead of France's presidential election, police said.

France's interior ministry said the gunman was killed after opening fire on the officers at around 9:00 pm (1900 GMT) on the boulevard. Anti-terror prosecutors have opened an investigation.

"The attacker arrived by car and got out. He opened fire on a police car with an automatic weapon, killing one of the police officers and trying to attack others while running," a police source told AFP, asking not be named.

(read more...)

See Also:

BBC News:  Policeman and suspected gunman shot dead in Paris gun battle

Independent: Paris shooting: Police officer dead and two wounded in suspected terror attack

CNN: French police officer, gunman killed on Champs-Elysees

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[Reuters]

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday ruled there was insufficient evidence to order Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's removal from office over corruption allegations levelled by the opposition, but it ordered further investigations.

Two of five judges on the court bench recommended Sharif should step down, saying he was dishonest "to the nation as well as to the parliament", but they were out voted.

Presenting its 549-page judgment amid tight security in the capital Islamabad, the court ordered a joint investigation team be formed to look into allegations around three of Sharif's four children using offshore companies to buy properties in London.

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See Also:

New York Times: Pakistan Court Keeps Nawaz Sharif in Power but Orders Inquiry of Family

Los Angeles Times: Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif avoids ouster as court delays decision in corruption case 

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Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets to protest for and against the government of Pres. Nicolás Maduro, as the country marked the 207th anniversary of the revolution that led to its independence from Spain.

Clashes between protesters and security forces erupted in Venezuela during marches taking place Wednesday in at least 12 cities across the country. http://nbcnews.to/2pgLpW6

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[Bloomberg]

Protesters thronged the main avenues of Caracas and other Venezuelan cities, braving bullets, tear gas and militant supporters of President Nicolas Maduro in the biggest show of opposition to his rule in months.

The miles-long Caracas demonstration was called “the mother of all marches” by organizers, who rallied demonstrators from 26 points in Caracas. Opponents also took to the streets of cities including Barquisimeto, Porlamar and Maracaibo, where they were met by national guard and local police. At least two protesters were shot dead in the capital and the western city of San Cristobal.

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See Also:

Washington Post: Venezuelans are still demonstrating. What happens next for the dictatorship of President Nicolás Maduro?

teleSUR (English): Venezuelan Opposition Announces Plans for More Street Actions

BBC News:  Venezuela crisis: Three killed at anti-government protests

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[NBC News]

The Trump administration is weighing whether to effectively break the terms of a landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said late Tuesday.

Tillerson notified Congress that despite finding that Iran is in compliance with the agreement, the White House is looking at whether the U.S. should break with the deal because of Iran's continued support of terrorism.

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See Also:

CNN: Tillerson: Iran complying with nuclear deal, but still sponsoring terrorism

Reuters: US says Iran complies with nuke deal but orders review on lifting sanctions

Fox News: Iran nuclear deal: Trump administration says Tehran complying with agreement

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[Washington Post]

Syrian state TV says the military is destroying a tunnel network that linked rebel-controlled towns which are being evacuated as part of a population transfer.

Government media said the area between Madaya and Zabadani came under military control Wednesday after gunmen and opposition activists were evacuated.

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Wikipedia:2017 Aleppo suicide car bombing

BBC: Syria war: Evacuations resume after deadly bombing

ABC News: Syria resumes reciprocal evacuations after deadly bombing

Yahoo News (AFP): Syria evacuations resume after deadly bombing