Author: _wxxv

Suicide bomb in Kabul kills young girl, wounds 22

KABUL, Afghanistan –  A suicide car bombing in the eastern part of the Afghan capital on Friday morning killed at least one person, a young girl, and wounded 22, Afghan officials said. Basir Mujahid, spokesman for the Kabul police chief,…

The week in pictures

The week in pictures Here is a selection of the most arresting images taken around the world in the past seven days. http://www.foxnews.com/">Fox News http://www.foxnews.com/ A man smeared in colored powder during Holi celebrations in Kolkata, India, March 1, 2018…

Egypt’s embattled activists face a #MeToo reckoning

CAIRO –  Accusations of sexual misconduct directed at two prominent human rights lawyers in Egypt — one of them a former presidential hopeful — have roiled the country's beleaguered civil society, which is already under unrelenting pressure from authorities. The…

Large explosion causes casualties in Afghan capital

KABUL, Afghanistan –  Police say a large explosion has caused casualties in Afghanistan's capital. Basir Mujahid, spokesman for the Kabul police chief, says the blast Friday occurred in eastern Kabul. No more details were immediately available.

Putin’s rival candidates hurl water and insults at presidential debate

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the 71-year-old leader of the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party, has water thrown at him during Wednesday night's presidential debate. The only female candidate running against Russian President Vladimir Putin stirred up controversy at Wednesday’s presidential debate after she…

Australian prosecutor drops a sex charge against cardinal

MELBOURNE, Australia –  An Australian prosecutor on Friday withdrew a single charge against Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Catholic cleric to face a sex prosecution. The 76-year-old Australian cardinal will appear on Monday in a court in Melbourne, Australia's…

Victims’ clothing a vivid reminder of Cambodian genocide

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia –  An American textile conservationist is training staff at Cambodia's genocide museum to preserve thousands of articles of clothing of prisoners killed by the Khmer Rouge, the 1970s regime that ruled the country under a reign of…

Maldives denies breaching UN sanctions on North Korea

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka –  The Maldives government on Thursday disputed claims by the Japanese foreign ministry that a Maldivian-flagged ship transferred goods to a North Korean-flagged tanker at sea in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution. A Japanese foreign…

Ex-Colombia guerrilla leader hospitalized with chest pain

BOGOTA, Colombia –  The leader of Colombia's once-largest guerrilla group who is now campaigning for president has been hospitalized after experiencing chest pain. The group known as the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force said Thursday Rodrigo Londono is under medical observation.…

Guatemala judge OKs corruption probe for ex-president

GUATEMALA CITY –  A Guatemalan judge ruled Thursday that an investigation will proceed against former President Alvaro Colom in a case of alleged corruption involving bus concessions during his 2008-2012 administration. Judge Eduardo Cojulum said Colom should be investigated for…

Outraged Bolivians protest over Virgin painted in lingerie

LA PAZ, Argentina –  Hundreds of Bolivians held a pilgrimage Thursday to protest an artist's rendition of their patron saint wearing red underwear and black stockings. Artist Rilda Paco has earned some praise, but also faced criticism and even death…

Vatican sex abuse envoy returns with more than he expected

SANTIAGO, Chile –  The Vatican's leading expert on clerical sex abuse has wrapped up his fact-finding mission to Chile and headed to Rome to brief the pope, concluding one of the most extraordinary months in the Catholic Church's long-running saga…

Need a name for nuclear weapon? Launch online contest

MOSCOW –  After announcing Russia had developed new nuclear weapons, President Vladimir Putin on Thursday invited the nation to offer names for some of them — apparently not worried by Britain's red-faced experience doing the same thing. In 2016, the…

Ex-Catalan leader Puigdemont withdraws bid to regain power

BRUSSELS –  Fugitive ex-Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has announced he is temporarily withdrawing his bid to get back his old job as president of the independence-minded northeastern Spanish region. Puigdemont says in a video message posted from Brussels, where he…

Angela Merkel admits that ‘no-go zones’ exist in Germany

German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted that no-go zones exist this week.  (Reuters) German Chancellor Angela Merkel made a major concession to Europe's populist movement this week when she admitted the existence of so-called “no-go zones” in Germany. Conservatives and populists…

Barcelona sends signed jersey to hero student in US

BARCELONA, Spain –  Barcelona says it has sent a signed team jersey to the student who was credited with saving the lives of at least 20 other students during a school massacre in the United States two weeks ago. The…

Former German death camp guard submits new clemency bid

BERLIN –  A former Auschwitz death camp guard has submitted a fresh request for clemency in a bid to avoid serving his sentence for accessory to murder. German news agency dpa reported Thursday that officials say former SS sergeant Oskar…

Czech Republic cancels lithium deal with Australian firm

PRAGUE –  The Czech government has canceled a deal that could have given an Australian company the right to mine a huge deposit of lithium, a key component in electric batteries. Trade and Industry Minister Tomas Huner said Thursday he…

Venezuela official says presidential elections to be delayed

CARACAS, Venezuela –  A top Venezuelan official says the government has reached an agreement with several opposition parties to delay presidential elections by a month. Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez made the announcement after signing an agreement Thursday with representatives of…

Armenia annuls normalization protocols with Turkey

YEREVAN, Armenia –  Armenia's president has annulled long-dormant protocols aimed at normalizing ties with Turkey. According to his spokesman, Vladimir Akopyan, President Serzh Sargsyan made the announcement Thursday at a meeting of the country's security council. The so-called Zurich Protocols…

Clash of local officials, vigilantes leaves 11 dead

LA CONCEPCION, Mexico –  The brothers leading the nearly 15-year fight against a Mexico dam project have been hailed as environmental heroes, but after a confused gunfight between their vigilante forces and other townsfolk, they are now in jail facing…

Brazil’s economy ended slide in 2017; grew 1 percent

SAO PAULO –  Brazil's government says the country's economy grew in 2017 for the first time in three years, aided by a strong performance in the agricultural sector. The government's IBGE statistics bureau said Thursday that the country's gross domestic…

Brazil court largely upholds law that some fear hurts Amazon

SAO PAULO –  Brazil's Supreme Court has batted down challenges to key parts of a law that environmentalists say has contributed to increasing deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. The 2012 law included an amnesty for illegal deforestation that occurred before…

Snow and wind paralyze European airports, trap drivers

The fire brigade of Airport Security Services (SSA) rides snowplows removing snow on the runway during at the Geneva Airport, in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, March 1, 2018.  (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP) GENEVA –  Exceptional snow and wind forced airports to…

The Latest: Slovak police detain 7 over slain journalist

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia –  The Latest on the killing of a Slovak investigative journalist (all times local): 4:20 p.m. Slovakia's national police chief Tibor Gaspar says seven people have been detained during raids conducted in eastern Slovakia in connection with the…

German top court overturns murder verdict in drag-race case

BERLIN –  A German federal appeals court has reversed the murder conviction of two men whose midnight drag race along a Berlin boulevard ended in the death of another motorist. The Federal Court of Justice ruled Thursday the crime didn't…

Bangladesh accuses Myanmar of deploying troops at border

DHAKA, Bangladesh –  A senior official in Bangladesh's border agency has accused Myanmar of deploying additional forces across its border near a no man's land where thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees are living in tents. Border Guard Bangladesh Brig. Gen.…

Top EU official asks Romania not to reverse corruption fight

BUCHAREST, Romania –  A senior European Union official has urged Romania not to backslide on the anti-corruption fight amid a judicial overhaul that critics say will make it hard to punish high-level graft. European Commission first vice president Frans Timmermans…

Russia unveils nuclear weapons Putin claims are immune to interception

Russia has developed a new set of strategic nuclear weapons that can't be intercepted, Vladimir Putin claimed Thursday, marking a breakthrough that could dramatically increase the country's military capabilities. The Russian president made the bold claim during his state-of-the-nation speech…

Macedonia removes ancient Greek king’s statue from airport

SKOPJE, Macedonia –  In a goodwill gesture to neighboring Greece, Macedonia has removed a prominent statue of the ancient Greek warrior-king Alexander the Great from its main airport terminal. The 2-meter-high (6.5-foot) statue was placed there in 2011 as a…

Person using stolen identity nominates Trump for Peace Prize

COPENHAGEN, Denmark –  The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which selects winners of the peace prize, says someone using a stolen identity has nominated U.S. President Donald Trump for the award. The Norwegian news agency NTB quoted committee secretary Olav Njolstad as…

Catalan separatists keep up fight against Spanish government

MADRID –  Separatist parties in Catalonia's regional parliament are continuing to defy the Spanish government, insisting that fugitive Catalan ex-president Carles Puigdemont is their legitimate leader despite a ruling by Spain's Constitutional Court that he can't take office. The three…

EU aspirants from Balkans urged to get on with reforms

SOFIA, Bulgaria –  Leaders from the Western Balkans said Thursday they are determined to implement a wide array of reforms as a prerequisite to joining the European Union in the future. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters in the…

Poland to demote communist-era generals to rank of privates

WARSAW, Poland –  Poland's right-wing government has paved the way for stripping the nation's last communist leader, the late Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski, and other communist-era officers of their rank, calling it an "act of restoring moral order." Prime Minister Mateusz…

Paris officials sleep outdoors to call attention to homeless

PARIS –  Braving a Siberian blast sweeping across Europe, around two dozen officials from the Paris region spent a night outdoors to call attention to the plight of the homeless. On waking up early Thursday near the Austerlitz train station,…

Egypt says 2 officers killed during anti-militant operation

CAIRO –  Egypt's military says two officers have been killed and two others wounded in fighting a part of a massive security operation against Islamic State group militants in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula and other areas. The armed forces…

Inquiry: UK must compensate child migrant program survivors

LONDON –  Britain's inquiry into decades of child abuse says the government must pay compensation to 2,000 people who were sent overseas as children to countries where many met harsh conditions, neglect and abuse. More than 100,000 poor children were…

The Latest: UN official: Pauses in Syria suburb 'not enough'

BEIRUT –  The Latest on developments regarding Syria (all times local): 2:55 p.m. A top U.N. aid official says five-hour daily pauses in fighting in Syria's embattled eastern Ghouta region laid out under a "unilateral" plan by Russia are not…

Russia developing nuclear weapons immune to interception, Putin claims

Russia is developing a new set of strategic nuclear weapons that can't be intercepted, Vladimir Putin claimed Thursday, marking a breakthrough that could dramatically increase the country's military capabilities. The Russian president made the bold claim during his state-of-the-nation speech…

Egypt's president: More funds needed to overhaul railway

CAIRO –  Egypt's president says his cash-strapped government lacks about 250 billion Egyptian pounds, or $14.1 billion, to overhaul the country's run-down railway system. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's remarks Thursday came a day after a passenger train collided with a cargo train…

AP PHOTOS: Colors come out as Hindus celebrate Holi festival

NEW DELHI –  Winter ends, spring arrives and the colors come out. Across India and Nepal, millions of Hindus are celebrating Holi, the joyous festival of color, smearing one another with colored powder and spraying each other with squirt guns.…

French lawmakers want 90-euro fines for sexist catcalls

PARIS –  A group of French lawmakers wants a fine of at least 90 euros ($110) for people caught making sexist catcalls as President Emmanuel Macron's government prepares a sweeping new law targeting sexual violence and harassment. The five lawmakers…