LIMA, Peru – Police say at least 25 people were killed when their bus veered off a highway and tumbled 200 meters (about 650 feet) down a cliff in southern Peru. Highway Police chief Dino Escudero tells RPP radio that…
MADRID – A Spanish judge has ordered the arrest of a leading Catalan separatist politician if she returns to Spain from Switzerland, where she has moved to avoid a judicial inquiry. Judge Pablo Llarena issued the national arrest warrant after…
KAMPALA, Uganda – Inside the immigration office in Tel Aviv, Yohannes Tesfagabr considered his options. He could not dare return to his native Eritrea, a country he risked his life to flee in 2010. He also hoped to avoid the…
There has been a muted and perplexed response here to reports that North Korea snubbed a planned meeting with Vice President Pence during his visit at the start of the Olympics. The presidential "Blue House" did not respond to…
SANTIAGO, Chile – The special envoy sent by Pope Francis to investigate allegations that sex abuse was covered up has been hospitalized in Chile. Catholic bishop's conference spokesman Jaime Coiro says the problems affecting Charles Scicluna aren't extremely serious, "but…
CAIRO – Egypt's president says his country "scored a goal" by signing a $15 billion deal with an Israeli company to supply natural gas that will help turn Egypt into a regional energy hub. Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi said in televised comments…
JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fighting for his political life as a dizzying array of scandals has engulfed him, his family and his inner circle. Police last week announced they have sufficient evidence to indict Netanyahu for…
HARARE, Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe's former leader Robert Mugabe is celebrating his first birthday since his resignation in near solitude, far from the lavish affair of years gone by. The government that removed him with military assistance in November has declared…
MADRID – A language still spoken by the descendants of Jews expelled from Spain 500 years ago is getting a helping hand from the Spanish Royal Academy to keep it alive. Ladino, a language taken abroad by Spanish Jews expelled…
TIGHANIMINE, Morocco – Bitter cold and exceptionally heavy snowfall have beleaguered parts of Morocco this winter, disrupting schools, closing national highways — and delighting residents in cities where it hadn't snowed for decades. The effects are starkest in the north…
WARSAW, Poland – A Polish government official says a controversial law makes it a criminal act to blame Poles for Holocaust crimes they did not commit will not lead to criminal charges. The recently adopted law has sparked a bitter…
TOKYO – A Japanese man who has won legal custody of 13 surrogate children in Thailand has remained virtually anonymous in Japanese media. Mitsutoki Shigeta is the son of the founder of Japanese telecom and insurance company Hikari Tsushin. As…
RIGA, Latvia – Latvia's banking chief will miss a meeting of the European Central Bank's top council, of which he is a member, amid an investigation into suspected corruption. The Bank of Latvia's spokesman, Janis Silakalns, said Wednesday that Latvia…
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Budget carrier flydubai says its earnings and profits have increased, with revenue reaching 5.5 billion dirhams ($1.5 billion) in 2017 compared to 5 billion dirhams ($1.37 billion) in 2016. Profits for the Dubai-based airline reached…
BEIRUT – The Latest on the Syrian civil war (all times local): 12:15 p.m. The spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey is determined to press ahead with its offensive to clear a Syrian enclave of Kurdish fighters despite…
MANILA, Philippines – Justice officials have asked a court to formally designate the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People's Army, as terrorist groups in a move that could further damage chances of a resumption…
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka's military says an explosion in a passenger bus has injured 19 people, including 12 military personnel. Brig. Sumith Atapattu said the explosion occurred Wednesday near Diyatalawa, a former garrison town about 190 kilometers (120…
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan says it has been given three months to prove it is doing enough to stay off an international watch list for countries that fail to curb the financing of terror groups. Pakistan has been scrambling to stay…
ATHENS, Greece – Greek lawmakers are debating whether to launch an investigation into 10 senior politicians — including two former prime ministers, the current central bank governor and a European commissioner — over allegations they were involved in a pharmaceutical…
BEIRUT – The Syrian Civil Defense rescue organization says 10 people have been killed by government airstrikes and shelling on a town in the suburbs of Damascus. The group, also known as the White Helmets, says government forces targeted Kafr…
PARIS – French President Emmanuel Macron's government is presenting its first big immigration bill, which human rights organizations criticize as repressive toward asylum-seekers. The government says the bill, to be presented at a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, aims at accelerating expulsion…
BUCHAREST, Romania – Moldova is to host a conference on the security challenges facing three former Soviet republics where there are ongoing concerns about Russian influence. The parliament speakers of Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia will head the conference, which will…
Two speed skaters blamed their loss on a third teammate who had fallen behind during the 500M team pursuit heats during Monday's race. Viewers demanded they be removed from the team for their treatment of their teammember. (AP) Almost half…
KAMPALA, Uganda – Inside the immigration office in Tel Aviv, Yohannes Tesfagabr considered his options. He could not return to Eritrea, a country he risked his life to flee in 2010. He hoped to avoid the fate of compatriots who…
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan says it has agreed to follow the international nuclear agency's guidelines on the import and export of radioactive material. The international community has expressed concerns about Pakistan's atomic program since it tested its first nuclear weapons in…
JOHANNESBURG – Gunmen have attacked a police station in a rural town in South Africa, killing five officers and an off-duty soldier in what the government calls a "national tragedy." Authorities say the attackers stole weapons and fled in a…
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – A court in Bahrain has sentenced a prominent activist to five years in prison over tweets alleging torture at a prison in his country and criticizing Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen. The case against Nabeel…
JERUSALEM – Israeli media are reporting that one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's closest confidants has turned state witness and will incriminate Netanyahu in corruption allegations. Police would not confirm Wednesday whether Shlomo Filber would testify, but all the major…
PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Russia has named an honorary consul in a Pakistani province on the Afghan border, signaling closer ties with Islamabad at a time when U.S.-Pakistani relations are spiraling downward. The appointment of Arsala Khan as honorary consul general…
MANILA, Philippines – A Philippine court has sentenced an Australian man to life imprisonment after finding him guilty on human trafficking and child pornography charges. Drew Frederick Shobbrook listened quietly as the verdict was read in a court in Cebu…
BEIRUT – A string of court cases and judicial investigations against Lebanese media figures is testing this country's reputation as a forum for ideas in a region blanketed by censorship and threats to the press. Lebanese authorities are getting tough…
TOKYO – Japan says its military has witnessed a ship-to-ship transfer on the high seas that it "strongly suspects" violates U.N. sanctions on North Korea. The Foreign Ministry said late Tuesday that a surveillance plane and an escort ship saw…
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador – Police in El Salvador arrested two military colonels and a lieutenant colonel Tuesday in connection with the case of eight soldiers who were convicted last year of abducting and torturing two people, one of them…
CANBERRA, Australia – Australian authorities say they have helped make the Indian Ocean safer for air and sea travelers since the Malaysian airliner vanished in the vast expanse four years ago through search and rescue training with island nations. Search…
WELLINGTON, New Zealand – The U.S. Navy says it has rescued three fishermen who were adrift on a boat in the Pacific Ocean for eight days. The men were reported missing Feb. 12 after failing to return from a fishing…
Conservative rallies take place frequently across South Korea, calling for a harsher stance against the North Korean regime. As the grandeur of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony dazzled inside South Korea’s Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium – complete with North Korean cheerleaders…
Syrian government forces bombarded rebel-held suburbs of the capital, Damascus, for a second consecutive day Tuesday, killing more than 100 people and raising the specter of a full-scale offensive that could spell catastrophe for the nearly 400,000 residents trapped under siege.…
SANTIAGO, Chile – The Vatican's sex abuse investigator has begun a series of meetings in Chile with abuse victims and others who have opposed the appointment of a bishop accused of covering up for the country's most notorious pedophile priest.…
BEIRUT – The airstrikes came at a rate of one a minute, with horrible results: civilians fleeing collapsing buildings, children trapped under slabs of concrete, paramedics grimly rushing the bloodied victims away on stretchers. At least 100 people were killed…
EL-ARISH, Egypt – Egyptian officials say the country will open its border with the Gaza Strip amid a military campaign against Islamic insurgents in restive northern Sinai Peninsula. The two officials said Tuesday the Rafah crossing point will operate starting…
LONDON – The leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party says a claim that he gave information to a Czechoslovak spy during the Cold War is "a ridiculous smear." Jeremy Corbyn says claims in British newspapers "are increasingly wild and entirely…
BUCHAREST, Romania – A Romanian museum has defended its screening of French AIDS drama "120 Beats Per Minute" amid protests over gay themes which feature in the film. Lila Passima, director of the Romanian Peasant Museum, told The Associated Press…
UNITED NATIONS – The Latest on the U.N. Security Council meeting on Mideast issues (all times local): 12:50 p.m. Israel's U.N. ambassador is accusing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of refusing direct peace negotiations with Israel and is calling him "the…
Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, made headlines during her three-day visit earlier this month at the 2018 Winter Olympic games in South Korea. Yo Jong, who was a part of North Korea’s delegation to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, became…
North Korea: Who is Kim Yo Jong? In a historic move, South Korean President Moon Jae-In shook hands with Kim Yo Jong during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics. Who is North Korea's representative, Kim Yo Jong, and…
Colombian police officers stand in front of people assembling to try to cross into Colombia from Venezuela last month via Simón Bolívar International Bridge in Cúcuta, Colombia. (REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins ) Venezuela’s ongoing economic and political crisis has sparked a…
UNITED NATIONS – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is calling for an international peace conference by mid-2018 with key goals of full U.N. membership for the state of Palestine and a timeframe for resolving all issues with Israel for a two-state…
KIEV, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed a bill aimed at reintegrating the territory in the country's east controlled by Russia-backed separatists. The bill passed last month designates the areas in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as "temporarily…
A 35-year-old defector is the new human face of the horrors in North Korea. Ji Seong-ho fled torture and starvation in North Korea in a remarkable escape story. Now he is the Trump’s administration’s newest weapon in its war of…
MADRID – Spain's Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of a rapper who argued that his lyrics praising terror groups were protected by freedom of expression laws. The court ruled Tuesday that Jose Miguel Arenas Beltran, a rapper best known…
