News of the day from across the globe, Sept. 1

1 PLO lawsuit: A U.S. appeals court tossed out a $654 million jury verdict against the Palestine Liberation Organization for damages Americans suffered in Palestinian terror attacks.

A jury last year awarded $218 million to Americans affected by Palestinian terror attacks that have killed Americans.

After the jury verdict, the U.S. government said that if the Palestinian Authority were to collapse, there would be a security crisis impacting Israelis, Palestinians and others in the region.

Pope Francis is showing his profound concern for refugees by assuming direct responsibility for refugee issues in a new Vatican department that merges four Vatican offices into one handling peace, the environment and human trafficking issues.

Air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition hit a house in the northern city of Saada on Wednesday, killing at least 16 civilians, Yemen’s rebel-controlled state news agency reported.

The air strikes were part of an ongoing campaign that aims to dislodge Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, from the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and northern regions of the country.

The Saudi-led coalition began launching air strikes in in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government against the Houthis, who overran Sanaa in 2014 and are allied with army units loyal to a former president.