North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho is making a rare and surprise visit to Sweden amid speculation that Stockholm might be the location of the planned summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Sweden is…
ANKARA, Turkey – Funerals have been held for nine of the 11 women killed when a private Turkish jet crashed in Iran while flying a bride-to-be and her friends back to Istanbul from a bachelorette party in the United Arab…
UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Security Council is demanding an immediate end to fighting in South Sudan and threatening to consider an arms embargo and sanctions to prevent parties from violating a December cease-fire agreement. A U.S.-drafted resolution, adopted unanimously…
BUCHAREST, Romania – Romania's prime minister has sent greetings to his country's ethnic Hungarians as they commemorated the 1848 revolution against Habsburg rule and demand more autonomy. Premier Viorica Dancila said Thursday that: "Romania promotes the European notion 'unity in…
Members of Roman historical society "Gruppo Storico Romano" talk before taking part in a re-enactment of the "Ides of March", known also as the date on which Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, in downtown Rome. (REUTERS/Tony Gentile) It's…
BOGOTA, Colombia – Police in Colombia have arrested a Cuban man suspected of plotting to kill American diplomats in the name of the Islamic State. Police in Spain said Thursday they had been monitoring the online activities of the suspect,…
THESSALONIKI, Greece – Greek police say they have arrested 11 people on suspicion of running a smuggling ring transporting hundreds of refugees and migrants from the Greek-Turkish land border to the cities of Athens and Thessaloniki over the past year.…
MOSCOW – The Latest on the Russian presidential election taking place on Sunday, March 18 (all times local): 5:15 p.m. A Russian election monitoring group says government authorities forced the closure of a center created to collect complaints of violations…
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia – Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and his government have resigned as a way out of the political crisis triggered by the slayings of an investigative journalist and his fiancee. President Andrej Kiska has accepted the resignation and…
Saudi Arabia arrests: Anti-corruption or power grab? Dozens of princes, senior military officers, businessmen and top officials have been detained in Saudi Arabia in an anti-corruption probe. Some analysts say it's a consolidation of power by Crown Prince Mohammed bin…
BEIJING – An independent think tank says China's military is ramping up its security presence in Tajikistan with troop deployments amid fears that militants based in nearby Afghanistan could strike at western China. The International Crisis Group said in a…
WARSAW, Poland – Polish prosecutors say American authorities are moving ahead with their request to extradite a 99-year-old Minnesota man to be tried on allegations he was involved in a World War II massacre of civilians. Polish authorities issued an…
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia – Slovenia's president has proposed a snap parliamentary election in May after the prime minister unexpectedly resigned. The election would normally be due in June, but President Borut Pahor said after meeting outgoing Prime Minister Miro Cerar on…
MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin's legacy depends not only on being re-elected Sunday — but also on ensuring that today's first-time voters stay loyal to his vision. Polls show that nationwide, young people are among Putin's most ardent supporters.…
BERLIN – German prosecutors have indicted a 20-year-old Syrian migrant for plotting a bombing in which they say he hoped to kill at least 200 people. Federal prosecutors said Thursday the suspect, identified only as Yamen A. in line with…
MADRID – The Latest on issues surrounding Catalan leaders' bid for independence (all times local): 2:35 p.m. Spanish prosecutors say they have asked the government and Interpol to assess whether Carles Puigdemont, the fugitive ex-president of Spain's restive Catalonia region,…
TEHRAN, Iran – The mayor of Iran's capital Tehran has resigned after hardliners criticized him for attending a ceremony in which primary school girls danced. The Thursday report by Iranian media said Mohammad Ali Najafi submitted his resignation to Tehran's…
The leaders of the United States, Germany and France have joined together with the United Kingdom in accusing Russia of being behind the nerve agent attack on an ex-Russian spy. In a joint statement Thursday, President Donald Trump, President Emmanual…
JAKARTA, Indonesia – Critics say a new Indonesian law can protect legislators from investigations by the powerful anti-graft commission, triggering anger at what many regard as a grave setback for the world's third largest democracy. The Law on Representative Assemblies,…
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman warns that his country will arm themselves with nuclear weapons if Iran develop a bomb. (AP) Saudi Arabia will build a nuclear bomb "as soon as possible" if regional rival Iran succeeds in developing…
BEIJING – Members of the Uighur Muslim ethnic group are protesting a sweeping Chinese surveillance and security campaign that has sent thousands of people into detention and political indoctrination centers. Overseas Uighur activists said Thursday they plan demonstrations in 14…
LAHORE, Pakistan – Pakistani lawmakers in a provincial assembly have voted in favor of a ban on dance parties at schools and other educational institutions, saying they promote Western culture. Shaikh Ijaz, a lawmaker from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League…
ROME – The Latest on the U.N. donor conference for Palestinian refugees (all times local): 1:45 p.m. The United Nations says a donor conference has produced nearly $100 million in new pledges to fund the U.N. relief agency for Palestinian…
SIEM REAP, Cambodia – A land mine exploded accidently during clearance training at a military base in western Cambodia on Thursday, killing two people, including an Australian trainer, and injuring three others, police said. National police said the explosion occurred…
BUDAPEST, Hungary – A massive march is underway in Budapest in support of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his government, three weeks ahead of parliamentary elections. Tens of thousands of people are marching across Margit Bridge on the Danube…
CAIRO – Egypt has ordered the release of two freelance journalists who were arrested while preparing a report on a historic tramway in Alexandria. The defense lawyer for May al-Sabbagh and Ahmed Moustafa, arrested on Feb. 28, says prosecutors ordered…
Smoke rises from a building in the city of Homs, Syria, in this file photo from March 2013. (Reuters) Hundreds of civilians streamed out of a town in Syria's besieged, opposition-held enclave of eastern Ghouta on Thursday, crossing on foot…
MOSCOW – A former military pilot who became a national icon in Ukraine after spending two years in a Russian prison has accused Ukraine's parliament speaker of being associated with snipers who fired on the crowds during the country's 2014…
LISBON, Portugal – Spanish and Portuguese police have intercepted about 2.5 metric tons (2.76 tons) of cocaine in a cross-border operation. A Portuguese police statement says the operation also led to the arrest of nine men and one woman of…
BERLIN – Muslim groups in Germany are asking for greater solidarity from officials and the general public over a series of attacks against mosques. Several recent attacks on Turkish-backed mosques in Germany have been blamed on Kurdish groups angered by…
MILAN – Italian police have arrested a 24-year man found in possession of explosive materials after the FBI flagged him as a possible extremist. Police in the central Italian city of Viterbo said Thursday that they searched the man's house…
LONDON – Police say a door from a London high-rise that went up in flames, killing 71 people, has failed an expert fire safety test. The Metropolitan Police force said Thursday that an undamaged door from Grenfell Tower withstood flames…
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Israel says it struck four militant positions in the Gaza Strip after fighters there planted two explosive devices near the border. Military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said the two bombs were planted on the…
PARIS – Thousands of retired workers are taking to the streets across France to protest against a new hike in a tax taken from their pensions. Protests are planned in several cities around the country Thursday over the 1.7 percent…
LAHORE, Pakistan – Hundreds of Pakistani mourners have attended the funerals of nine people — five police officers and four civilians — killed when a Taliban suicide bomber struck a police checkpoint on the outskirts of the eastern city of…
A reporter in a blue blazer rolled her eyes at another journalist wearing red during a news briefing in China on Tuesday -- and video of the exchange quickly went viral. Wearing blue was Liang Xiangyi, a Shangai-based reporter with…
JOHANNESBURG – A financial scandal is threatening to unseat Africa's only female head of state, the president of the Indian Ocean nation of Mauritius. President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, whose role is mostly ceremonial, faces allegations that she used a credit card…
ISLAMABAD – A Pakistani court has charged the country's deputy interior minister with insulting judges and set a hearing date for his testimony later this month. The official, Talal Chaudhry, pleaded not guilty during an appearance before the court on…
CAIRO – With less than two weeks before elections, Egypt's president says he's prepared to personally join security forces battling Islamic militants in the Sinai Peninsula. The outcome of the March 26-28 election is a foregone conclusion, with general-turned-president Abdel-Fattah…
MADRID – Police in Barcelona have searched the seat of the Catalan regional government as part of a widening probe on the funding of last year's banned Catalan referendum on independence from Spain. A Civil Guard spokesman said agents also…
ROME – The United Nations chief is warning that a U.S.-induced half-billion-dollar funding shortfall for the U.N. relief agency for Palestinians risks cutting critical services that could "push the suffering in disastrous and unpredictable directions." Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addressed an…
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan's foreign ministry says it has called its top diplomat in India back home for consultations after allegations of harassment of Pakistani diplomatic staff in New Delhi. Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal says the decision was taken after Pakistani…
DHAKA, Bangladesh – Bangladesh is mourning those who died in the crash of a plane from Dkaha as it was landing in Kathmandu, Nepal. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ordered national flags be flown at half-staff at all government…
DAKAR, Senegal – Authorities in Senegal say at least eight people were killed when a military helicopter crashed into a field of mangroves. Army spokesman Col. Abdoul Ndiaye confirmed the death toll Thursday. There was no immediate reason given for…
SIEM REAP, Cambodia – A Cambodian court has started the trial of a British man who was among a group of foreigners arrested for allegedly posting photos on social media of sexually suggestive dancing. Daniel Jones, who has been charged…
KATHMANDU, Nepal – Officials in Nepal say they are struggling to identify many of the 22 survivors of a deadly plane crash, with many badly burned, in critical condition and unable to speak. Police spokesman Manoj Neupane says extensive burns,…
BEIRUT – The Latest on developments in Syria as it marks seven years of war this week (all times local): 10:35 a.m. Syrian activists and monitoring groups say government and Russian forces are blanketing the besieged rebel-held eastern Ghouta region…
STOCKHOLM – North Korea's foreign minister is visiting Sweden, a move that can be seen as a first step toward the Scandinavian country hosting a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The Swedish…
BANGKOK – Thailand's slow move from military to civilian governance has attracted dozens of new political parties to register in barely two weeks, including one by an internet-famous billionaire who says he embraces democracy and wants to challenge the country's…
NIZHNY TAGIL, Russia – Vladimir Putin walks briskly to a group of factory workers, who ask him for a water treatment facility, new equipment to reduce toxic emissions and a sports arena for their children in this Ural mountains city.…
