LAHORE, Pakistan – One of the most frightening things about Pakistan's blasphemy law is that the simplest act can spiral into charges that can bring the death penalty. In the case of Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman, it started when…
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – The United States is sounding the alarm that the Chinese money flooding Africa comes with major strings attached. The warnings carry distinct neocolonial undertones. The U.S. says with Beijing's astonishing investments in ports, roads and railways…
BANGKOK – A community leader in Myanmar's Kachin State says the bodies of two civilians last seen in the custody of soldiers have been found in a shallow grave. Community leader Naw Mai says the ethnic Kachin men lived in…
SEOUL, South Korea – South Korean President Moon Jae-in says a planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will be a "historical milestone" that will put the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula "really…
CARACAS, Venezuela – A trust linked to Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA has filed a lawsuit against major international energy trading firms for their alleged role funneling bribes to corrupt company officials in exchange for rigged oil purchase contracts. The…
FAJARDO, Puerto Rico – As crews re-string electric lines and clear debris from Hurricane Maria, a small group of Puerto Rican and international conservationists is working on rebuilding natural wonders destroyed by the strongest storm to hit the island in…
SHAH ALAM, Malaysia – Malaysia's opposition coalition has pledged to axe an unpopular good and services tax and reopen investigations into a multibillion-dollar financial scandal linked to Prime Minister Najib Razak if it wins the next elections. The Hope Alliance,…
UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. envoy for Afghanistan is urging the Taliban to respond to the government's offer of negotiations and start direct talks "to put an end to the suffering of the Afghan people." Tadamichi Yamamoto told the Security…
CARACAS, Venezuela – A lawsuit has been filed in Florida against Glencore, Lukoil and other international energy companies for their alleged role funneling bribes to corrupt Venezuelan officials in exchange for rigged oil purchase contracts involving state-run PDVSA. The lawsuit…
An officer blocks a street when police is on the hunt for an attacker after several people have been injured in a knife attack on the streets of Vienna, Austria, Wednesday, March 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak) Authorities in Austria…
As U.S. and South Korean intelligence teams investigate the sincerity of Kim Jong Un's newfound willingness to engage in a denuclearization dialogue, they are also tracking reports the North Korean dictator is dealing with a variety of health issues. While…
MEXICO CITY – Toy-maker Mattel is in a dispute with some distant relatives of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo over the rights to a Frida Barbie doll released as part of its Inspiring Women series. Kahlo's great-niece Mara de Anda Romeo…
LIMA, Peru – Opposition lawmakers in Peru are renewing their effort to oust embattled President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski over his ties to the Brazilian construction giant implicated in Latin America's biggest corruption scandal. Legislators introduced a measure Thursday calling for…
DUBLIN – An Irish government plan to address population growth isn't an outline for "nation-destruction" that will bring in 1 million immigrants from Muslim countries, as claimed by several false stories circulating online. The plan to address growth doesn't specify…
PARIS – A third woman has filed a rape complaint against prominent Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan, jailed since last month on preliminary rape charges in France following two other women's allegations. The Paris prosecutor's office said Thursday it was studying…
LONDON – The leader of the Anglican church says Saudi Arabia's crown prince is committed to the flourishing of different faiths in his strict Sunni Muslim kingdom. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Thursday in…
British police announced Thursday that 21 people were being treated after a former Russian spy and his daughter were poisoned with a nerve agent. Kier Pritchard, the acting chief constable of Wiltshire Police, said a "total of 21 people are…
UNITED NATIONS – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has opened an exhibition on Jerusalem to reinforce Israel's claim to the historic city as the Jewish people's "eternal capital" — and rebuke over 125 countries that support Palestinian claims to east…
ATHENS, Greece – Greek police have arrested six Pakistani men accused of a string of violent knifepoint robberies in parkland around the ancient Acropolis Hill in Athens, one of the country's top tourist attractions. The suspects were detained on Tuesday…
JERUSALEM – Israel's Supreme Court has ordered a woman accused of sex crimes in Australia to be kept in police custody in a medical facility while it considers moving her to house arrest. Australia wants 54-year-old Malka Leifer extradited for…
The Danish inventor accused of killing journalist Kim Wall during a trip on his private submarine shared details of her "grim" death at the start of the murder trial on Thursday, as a prosecutor told the court the lead suspect…
BERN, Switzerland – Authorities say that Switzerland and Qatar will increase cooperation in criminal investigations. Switzerland's federal justice department says that "these efforts are also in the interests of a clean Swiss financial center." The federal office said Thursday that…
LONDON – European Council President Donald Tusk has warned that there can't be progress toward a post-Brexit trade deal until the issue of the Irish border is resolved. Tusk says that until Britain presents a plan to keep the all-but-invisible…
THESSALONIKI, Greece – Greek police have arrested an 80-year-old driver who entered a highway the wrong way in the dark and drove briskly for 40 kilometers (25 miles), even knocking aside a patrol car that tried to stop him. Police…
ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey's state-run news agency says a court has convicted a musician-turned-newspaper columnist of "knowingly and willingly" aiding the network led by U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and sentenced him to three years in prison. Singer Atilla Tas,…
LONDON – Whoever attacked a former Russian spy with a rare nerve agent is guilty of a "brazen and reckless act," and Britain's government will act on it without hesitation when it becomes clear who is responsible, the minister in…
LONDON – London commuters have testified that they were left with singed hair and burns after a fireball tore through a subway carriage last year. Teenage Iraqi asylum-seeker Ahmed Hassan is accused of planting a bomb on the London Underground…
As U.S. and South Korean intelligence teams investigate the sincerity of Kim Jong Un's newfound willingness to engage in a denuclearization dialogue, they are also tracking reports the North Korean dictator is dealing with a variety of health issues. While…
JERUSALEM – Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews are blocking the main entrance to Jerusalem to protest the arrest of members of their community for refusing to register for the military draft. Israel has compulsory military service for most Jewish men, but…
THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The commissioner general of the Belgian Federal Police has been appointed as the new executive director of European Union law enforcement agency Europol. Catherine De Bolle was appointed Thursday, which is International Women's Day, by the…
A man suspected of swallowing drugs had his charges dropped after he did not go to the bathroom for 47 days while in custody. (iStock) British prosecutors have dropped drug charges against a suspect who refused to use the toilet…
A man suspected of swallowing drugs had his charges dropped after he did not go to the bathroom for 47 days while in custody. (iStock) British prosecutors have dropped drug charges against a suspect who refused to use the toilet…
MILAN – A Nigerian-born man elected senator for Italy's anti-migrant League is shrugging off criticism from Italian football player Mario Balotelli for representing a party long viewed as xenophobic. Tony Iwobi became Italy's first black senator in Sunday's parliamentary vote.…
A doctor in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta neighborhood is pleading for help from President Trump as reports emerge of yet more chemical attacks against civilians in the battle-torn country. His pleas come as the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad, in coordination…
BANGKOK – A new law makes criticism of Thailand's Constitutional Court punishable by imprisonment, giving extra protection to a body that in recent years has made controversial rulings altering the shape of governments. The unheralded law took effect when it…
Women across the world are marking International Women's Day with protests and marches. (AP Photo) MADRID – Women across Europe and Asia shouted their demands for equality, respect and empowerment Thursday to mark International Women's Day, with protesters in Spain…
LONDON – An ex-Russian spy and his daughter lie in critical condition in a British hospital — poisoned, authorities say, with a nerve agent in a targeted murder attempt. Sergei Skripal, a former Russian agent who confessed to spying for…
CAIRO – Egypt's military says 16 troops have been killed and 19 wounded since a wide-scale operation against Islamic militants was launched a month ago. Army spokesman Col. Tamer al-Rifai said Thursday that 105 militants have been killed and that…
BOGOTA, Colombia – The political party formed by Colombia's once-largest rebel group has withdrawn a former guerrilla commander from the race for president. Leaders of the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force on Thursday said Rodrigo Londono won't seek the presidency, citing…
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – At least seven policemen and two protesters have been hurt in a clash after villagers in northeastern Cambodia blocked a national highway to protest being forced off land they have occupied for at least two years.…
LONDON – Arlene Foster, leader of the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party, says there is little chance of a government being formed in Northern Ireland in the next few months. Talks to restore a power-sharing government to Northern Ireland between the…
ANKARA, Turkey – Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says Turkey and Iraq could conduct a joint military operation against Kurdish rebels in Iraq. Cavusoglu told reporters in Vienna during a news conference with his Austrian counterpart Thursday that the operation…
A former Russian spy and his daughter who were poisoned with a nerve agent Sunday are in critical but stable condition, British Home Secretary Amber Rudd on Thursday. Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found unconscious on…
JOHANNESBURG – A South African triathlete who suffered severe leg injuries when attackers cut his legs with a saw says he will focus on recovery so he can run and cycle again. Athlete Mhlengi Gwala on Thursday told News24 media…
NAIROBI, Kenya – The Carter Center says Kenya's 2017 elections were a setback to this East African country's democratic development. In its final report on the elections the U.S.-based center said the process of tallying final results suffered from delays…
PRAGUE – Milos Zeman, a leading pro-Russian voice in EU politics, has been sworn in for his second term as Czech president. Zeman was elected to the largely ceremonial post in 2013 during the country's first direct presidential vote, a…
BUCHAREST, Romania – Serbia's president says his country won't recognize Kosovo but is open to discussing solutions on the issue. President Aleksandar Vucic, who is in Romania for talks with President Klaus Iohannis, said Thursday: "If we recognize Kosovo.... Albanians…
DHAKA, Bangladesh – Several hundred opposition supporters have staged a protest in Bangladesh's capital demanding the release of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who is serving a five-year prison sentence in a corruption case. The protesters accused police of obstructing…
The murder trial involving a Danish inventor accused of killing journalist Kim Wall during a trip on his private submarine began on Thursday, as a prosecutor told the court the lead suspect is an intelligent man "with psychopathic tendencies." Prosecutor…
MOSCOW – An influential Russian parliament member accused of sexual harassment by several female journalists has issued an apology and asked for forgiveness. The allegations against Leonid Slutsky by three journalists include groping and making demeaning comments. On Thursday, noting…
