Morning briefing: 8 stories from around the world

Police officers investigate the area where a Japanese pop star, Mayu Tomita, was stabbed by a man in Koganei in Tokyo. Photo / AP

1 Abandoned baby

A university student has found a baby abandoned on the front veranda of a share house in Brisbane. Long Nguyen called police after finding the 3-month-old girl alone at the Herston property on Sunday. The child wasn't hurt and is undergoing hospital checks with a woman, 41, who was found near Brisbane's international airport later that day. Queensland police could not confirm reports she had a toddler with her at the time, and that the woman's husband had reported her missing. Child protection authorities have been called in to deal with the case.

2 Fallujah bombarded

Iraqi government forces are battling Isis (Islamic State) militants near Fallujah, bombarding central districts at the outset of an offensive to retake the longtime jihadist stronghold on the western approaches to the capital Baghdad. Some of the first direct clashes occurred in the area of al-Hayakil on Fallujah's southern outskirts, a resident said. Iraqi troops also approached the northern suburb of Garma, the top municipal official there said. Air strikes and mortars targeted neighbourhoods inside the city. Seven civilians and two militants were killed, while 21 civilians and two militants were wounded, a source at Fallujah's medical centre said.

3 Husband out of hospital

Melbourne vet Dr Robert Gropel has reportedly been released from hospital in Kathmandu and will now focus on retrieving the body of his wife Dr Marisa Strydom from Mount Everest. Strydom's mother Maritha Strydom said Robert had been reunited with his parents Heinz and Patricia in Nepal after they'd flown out of Melbourne 24 hours earlier. Gropel suffered high altitude pulmonary oedema during the fatal expedition but was released from hospital, according to the Nine Network. He'd previously been evacuated off the world's highest mountain by helicopter. Maritha Strydom says there's "a glimmer of hope" that her daughter's body can be retrieved from 8000 metres up Mt Everest.

4 School evacuations

Media outlets across the United States, from New England to Wisconsin and California, as well as in the United Kingdom are reporting school evacuations because of threats. Authorities in Colorado and New Hampshire say the threats led to the evacuation of some schools. Other schools that got what were described as automated threats remained in session. In New Hampshire, police say at least four schools were evacuated. Recent previous threats made against multiple districts including Los Angeles and New York City have turned out to be hoaxes.

5 Plane tracked for one minute before crash

The contents of the black box from the EgyptAir jet that crashed last week will be analysed in Egypt if it is found intact, air accident investigator Hani Galal says. He told Egyptian private broadcaster CBC that the recorder will be sent abroad for analysis if it is found in a damaged state. Egyptian officials were able to track the plane for one minute before it crashed but were unable to communicate with the crew, the head of Egypt's National Navigation Services Company told the same channel. Egyptian officials did not see the plane swerve, Ehab Mohieeldin added, contradicting comments made by the Greek Defence Minister.

6 Trump North Korean move 'propaganda'

US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's proposal to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is a "kind of propaganda or advertisement" in the election race, a senior North Korean official says. Trump, in an interview with Reuters in New York last week, said he is willing to talk to the North Korean leader to try to stop Pyongyang's nuclear programme, proposing a major shift in US policy toward the isolated nation. "It is up to the decision of my Supreme Leader whether he decides to meet or not, but I think his (Trump's) idea or talk is nonsense," So Se Pyong, North Korea's Ambassador to the United Nations, said on return from Pyongyang after attending the first ruling party congress in 36 years. "It's for utilisation of the presidential election, that's all. A kind of a propaganda or advertisement," he added.

7 Oliver 'helps' Kadyrov cat search

The cat belonging to Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader notorious for iron-fisted rule and a bombastically extravagant lifestyle, is missing and now British-born US comedian John Oliver has joined the search. In the latest episode of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, the host appealed to his millions of viewers to put #FindKadyrovsCat and Kadyrov's Twitter and Instagram handles to use. "Kadyrov being upset about his lost cat is not good," Oliver said. "This is a man whose security forces have been accused of kidnappings and torture." The Toyger, a novelty breed with tiger-like orange and black markings, vanished from Kadyrov's residence nearly two weeks ago, and the former rebel warlord said he has grown increasingly concerned. "We've completely lost our cat. He looked like a little tiger cub. Guests always said he looked very, very like a tiger," Kadyrov wrote in an anxious Instagram post after the cat vanished.

8 Singer in coma after stabbing

A part-time Japanese pop singer is in a coma after being stabbed about 20 times by a fan near a concert site, police said. They said a suspect has been arrested and admitted that he intended to kill 20-year-old Mayu Tomita. Japanese news reports said the suspect, Tomohiro Iwazaki, was angry because the singer had returned a gift that he had given her. Tomita, who is also a college student, had reported to police that she was being harassed by Iwazaki on social media. Police said Tomita was stabbed with a knife about 20 times in the attack in western Tokyo.

- agencies