SKOPJE, Macedonia – A senior United States official is urging Macedonia and Greece to seize the moment to resolve a decades-long dispute over the Balkan country's name that has prevented it from joining NATO. Assistant Secretary of State for European…
ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey's state-run news agency says a court has sentenced a man to life in prison for fatally stabbing a Syrian activist and her U.S.-born journalist daughter. The bodies of 60-year-old Arouba Barakat and 23-year-old Halla Barakat were…
TEHRAN, Iran – Tehran's city council has voted to name a street in the Iranian capital after a liberal prime minister who was overthrown in a U.S.-backed coup in 1953. The CIA-backed overthrow of Mohammad Mossadegh cemented the power of…
ZAGREB, Croatia – A landslide caused by melting snow has destroyed several houses in central Croatia, sending people fleeing from their homes in panic. The landslide in the town of Hrvatska Kostajnica happened Tuesday as Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic was…
The military-grade nerve agent that investigators believe was used to poison a former Russian spy and his adult daughter was identified as Novichock, a hard-to-detect Soviet-engineered killer that's nearly 8 times more potent than VX. Sergei Skripal, 66, and his…
BUDAPEST, Hungary – Organizers of a "Peace March" supporting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban say they expect as many as 200,000 people to attend the event, set to take place three weeks before Hungary's April 8 national election. Leaders of…
KATHMANDU, Nepal – Nepal's president, Bidhya Devi Bhandari, has been elected to a second term in voting by national and provincial lawmakers. The Election Commission said Bhandari received a large majority of the votes in Tuesday's balloting. Bhandari, who was…
GENEVA – A 34-year-old youth soccer coach has gone on trial for the brutal killing of four people that shocked Switzerland in late 2015. Thomas N., whose surname wasn't released due to privacy rules, is charged with murder in the…
LONDON – Britain has given Moscow until midnight Tuesday to explain how a Russian-made nerve agent came to poison a former spy in Britain. If no explanation is given, Prime Minister Theresa May says Russia will be hit by "extensive"…
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia – The Latest on the slaying of an investigative journalist and his fiancee in Slovakia (all times local): 2:10 p.m. Slovak authorities have again detained an Italian businessman suspected in the slayings of an investigative journalist and his…
LONDON – Britain's Treasury chief Philip Hammond is claiming "light at the end of the tunnel" for the British economy as the country's debt levels start to come down a decade on from the global financial crisis. In an address…
THESSALONIKI, Greece – Greek police say they have found in a border river the body of a man believed to have been a migrant trying to enter the country illegally from neighboring Turkey. A police statement says the body was…
WARSAW, Poland – Polish prosecutors say a man has been arrested after he stabbed and injured a couple during their wedding ceremony. The 23-year-old man attacked the couple with a knife as they were about to make their marriage vows…
MADRID – The European Court of Human Rights has sided with two Spaniards who set fire in public to a photograph of Spain's king and queen, saying their protest amounted to freedom of expression. The Strasbourg, France-based court ruled Tuesday…
PARIS – France's minister for overseas territories has announced an emergency plan to improve security on the French island of Mayotte following weeks of street protests. Annick Girardin on Monday and Tuesday visited the tiny Indian Ocean island, where protesters…
VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has received an unlikely anniversary gift from his predecessor. Retired Pope Benedict XVI has publicly dismissed as "foolish prejudice" those who say Francis has no theological heft and represents a rupture from his own papacy.…
JOHANNESBURG – The Nelson Mandela Foundation is preparing events and other initiatives this year to mark the centenary of the birth of the anti-apartheid leader who became South African's first black president. Sello Hatang, chief executive of the non-profit foundation,…
JOHANNESBURG – South Africa has declared that the drought afflicting Cape Town and other parts of the country is a national disaster. The government announcement on Tuesday allows officials to more easily direct resources to drought relief and long-term recovery…
MUMBAI, India – Hillary Clinton told an audience in India that the United States did not "deserve" Donald Trump's presidency and these are "perilous times." The 2016 Democratic presidential candidate spoke over the weekend at a conference in Mumbai. Clinton…
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – Ethiopia's state-affiliated broadcaster says that a bus plunged into a ditch, killing 38 people in Ethiopia's northern Amhara region. Fana Broadcasting Corporation reported on Tuesday that the bus veered off the road and went into the…
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan's top court has indicted a minister in a contempt case for critical speeches he made after the court disqualified former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for concealing assets. Danyal Aziz, a ruling Pakistan Muslim League party leader and…
SALISBURY, England – For Amber McAuley, life in Salisbury — known as the gateway to Stonehenge — has become surreal ever since the town became the scene of a spy drama worthy of John le Carre. The 20-year-old student became…
ATHENS, Greece – Some say the legendary exploits of Alexander the Great are needed to cure Greek soccer of its violence and disorder. Others are hoping for a Herculean effort to fix the problem. Short of that, however, Greek soccer…
MANILA, Philippines – An official says two militants, one Filipino and the other Malaysian, who survived the crushing of a siege of a southern Philippine city last year are among the leading candidates to succeed a slain Islamic State group…
BANGKOK – Myanmar's government has rejected two reports presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council that concluded it committed extreme human rights violations, probably amounting to crimes under international law, in its repression of several minority groups. Government spokesman Zaw…
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia – Slovakia's three-party coalition government will face a parliamentary no-confidence vote next week amid the political turmoil set off by the slayings of an investigative journalist and his fiancee. The vote requested by the opposition has been set…
FRANKFURT, Germany – Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller says the automaker had "an excellent year" in 2017 and is committed to addressing concerns about diesel pollution. Mueller cited the company's efforts to reduce diesel emissions and recover from its 2015 diesel…
BAGHDAD – Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says he is reopening airports in Iraq's Kurdish region to international flights after federal authority was restored at the hubs. Al-Abadi's announcement on Tuesday comes some six months after the airports were initially…
PATNA, India – Police in eastern India say at least nine paramilitary soldiers have been killed by a land mine placed by Maoist rebels who are active in the area. Police officer D.M. Awasthi says the soldiers were traveling between…
CAIRO – Egyptian authorities have published a list of telephone numbers for citizens to use to bring attention to any media reports they perceive as undermining the country's security or hurting public interest. The publication of the numbers — listed…
JABALIYA, Gaza Strip – The Latest on explosion striking Palestinian PM convoy in Gaza (all times local): 11:50 a.m. The Hamas militant group has condemned the Gaza explosion that targeted the convoy of visiting Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah. In a…
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have each extended a concession to an offshore oil field they share to a Japanese consortium despite a diplomatic crisis between the two of them tearing at the region.…
ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey's parliament has approved changes to Turkey's electoral laws that critics say are aimed at helping President Recep Tayyip Erdogan consolidate power and could lead to election fraud. The changes were approved Tuesday after an all-night session…
BERLIN – A German federal court has rejected a customer's demand for her bank to include the feminine form of words such as "account holder" on official forms. The Federal Court of Justice ruled Tuesday that plaintiff Marlies Kraemer hadn't…
VIENNA – Vienna police say a man tried to drag a police guard out of his car outside the Austrian parliament building and was arrested. Police said the incident took place shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday. The 26-year-old suspect, who…
JABALIYA, Gaza Strip – An explosion has struck the convoy of the Palestinian prime minister during a rare visit to Gaza, sparking fears of an assassination attempt. Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah was unharmed Tuesday but his Palestinian Authority quickly…
SANAA, Yemen – Yemeni security officials say at least three people have been killed when a car bomb went off outside a supply post belonging to a security force backed by the United Arab Emirates in the southern port city…
BERLIN – A record 171 days after Germany's election, Angela Merkel is set to pledge for the fourth time to dedicate her efforts to Germans' well-being and "protect them from harm." Merkel has 12 often-turbulent years as chancellor behind her.…
BEIRUT – The Latest on developments in Syria (all times local): 10:15 a.m. Turkey's military says its troops and Turkish-backed Syrian opposition fighters have begun a siege of the Syrian Kurdish-held northern town of Afrin. The military said in a…
BALI, Indonesia – Bali's annual Day of Silence is so sacred that even reaching for a smartphone to send a tweet or upload a selfie to social media could cause offense. This year it will be nearly impossible to do…
JAKARTA, Indonesia – Southeast Asian ride hailing app Grab is expanding into financial services in partnership with a Japanese credit card company, hoping to offer credit to millions of people without bank accounts. Grab, founded by Malaysian businessman Anthony Tan,…
TEHRAN, Iran – Iranian lawmakers have begun a hearing on the labor minister's alleged mismanagement of unemployment and other government enterprises. The hearing could lead to the impeachment of Ali Rabiei if there is a majority vote in parliament against…
ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey's state-run news agency says a passenger bus has burst into flames after hitting a truck, killing at least 13 people. Anadolu Agency says the accident occurred Tuesday on a highway in the central Turkish province of…
BEIRUT – The largest rebel group in the besieged suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus has vowed not to leave the area and to continue fighting advancing government forces. The Army of Islam was responding to some local reports that…
BEIRUT – After seven years of war in Syria, the United Nations has one thing to say: Stop the war on children. The numbers speak for themselves. Of Syria's estimated 10 million children, 8.6 million are now in dire need…
FILE: U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis made an unannounced visit to Kabul on Tuesday. (Reuters) U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who made an unannounced visit to Kabul on Tuesday, told reporters that he believes victory is still possible and "we…
KABUL, Afghanistan – U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has arrived in the Afghan capital to take stock of the war, with emphasis on prospects for drawing at least some Taliban fighters into reconciling with the Afghan government. The visit, which…
KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan official says at least five Afghan police forces have been killed after insurgents attacked their checkpoint in western Farah province. Fared Bakhtawer, head of the provincial council in Farah, said Tuesday that Insurgents took five…
BEIJING – Chinese President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign stands to gain a major boost as the ceremonial legislature moves to establish a powerful new agency with authority over vast numbers of workers in the public sector. The National People's Congress…
CAPILLA DEL SENOR, Argentina – Riding a polo horse on Argentina's Pampas grasslands, Martin Folan swings a mallet in a wide arc and hit the ball with a loud clink, slotting it between two posts to cheers of "Goal!" Not…
