GUATEMALA CITY – Guatemalan authorities have arrested the country's former organized crime prosecutor as a purported participant in a network that allegedly seized properties illegally. The United Nations' anti-corruption mission in Guatemala confirmed the arrest of Rony Lopez on Friday.…
VATICAN CITY – The former U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Mary Ann Glendon, has resigned from the board of the Vatican bank in the latest vote of no-confidence in the bank's efforts to turn itself around. The Institute for…
TORONTO – The former leader of Ontario's conservative opposition party is running for his party's leadership just three weeks after resigning amid sexual misconduct allegations. The development comes just a few months before an election. Patrick Brown stepped down after…
SANTIAGO, Chile – At least 25 trucks were torched in a southern region of Chile that the Mapuche indigenous community claims as its ancestral territory, authorities said Friday. The Chilean equivalent of the FBI said the trucks were burned in…
MILAN – Italian police have turned water cannons on anti-fascist protesters in Bologna who were trying to disrupt a planned campaign appearance by the head of the neo-fascist Forza Nuova. Clashes broke out Friday afternoon and evening when police intervened…
CARACAS, Venezuela – A leading opposition party in Venezuela says it has ruled out taking part in the April presidential election against President Nicolas Maduro. Leopoldo Lopez said Friday that his Popular Will party refuses to validate the election, which…
PARIS – French investigators have dropped an investigation into rape accusations against President Emmanuel Macron's budget minister, citing a lack of evidence. The Paris prosecutor's office said Friday the investigation was unable to prove a lack of consent, and did…
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – Ethiopian officials have declared a state of emergency amid widespread anti-government protests that have persisted for more than two years and in which hundreds have been killed and several thousand detained, the majority of whom have…
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's official IRNA news agency is reporting that an Iranian passenger plane has skidded off the runway after its landing gear jammed during a domestic flight. The Friday report said all 104 passengers and crew of the…
LONDON – A tourist from Hawaii has pleaded guilty to punching two London police officers outside Buckingham Palace. A prosecutor says 36-year-old Ryan Robinson of Kahekili Highway asked the armed officers, "Do you know any jokes?" before punching one in…
An Indian woman died after her hair got caught in the wheel of a go-kart. (iStock) A 28-year-old woman in India died Wednesday after her hair got caught in the wheel of a go-kart she was driving, tearing her scalp…
LONDON – It's time for London to enjoy its stint as the center of the fashion universe. London Fashion Week kicked off Friday with catwalk shows by Bora Aksu and Mulberry, and headliners over the next few days include Burberry,…
SOFIA, Bulgaria – The European Union's foreign policy chief says that all countries in the Western Balkans have realistic chances of joining the world's largest trading club by 2025. Federica Mogherini said at a briefing in Sofia that a recently…
PRISTINA, Kosovo – Every country has a national anthem, a musical compilation that aims to stir patriotic emotion, and Kosovo is no exception. Except for one peculiarity: its anthem has no lyrics. Ten years after the former Serb territory declared…
BEIRUT – The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah is urging fellow politicians not to let the U.S. administration divide their ranks while it mediates a dispute with Israel over offshore gas drilling rights. Hassan Nasrallah said in televised address Friday that…
MADRID – Spain's conservative government says it's considering changes to allow parents in Catalonia to choose Spanish over Catalan as the main language in their children's schooling. The move, if confirmed, would end decades of regional policies prioritizing the native…
SKOPJE, Macedonia – Bulgaria has waded into a 25-year-long dispute between Greece and Macedonia regarding Macedonia's name, saying that issue also concerns Bulgaria. Macedonia and Greece are in a renewed push to resolve their dispute. Greece objects to its northern…
NAIROBI, Kenya – An inquest has started in Kenya's western town of Kisumu into the death of a six-month-old baby who was allegedly hit on the head by police during opposition protests last year against President Uhuru Kenyatta's re-election. The…
BERLIN – German authorities have arrested a 20-year-old Somali man on suspicion of being a member of the extremist militia al-Shabab. Federal prosecutors say the man was detained Thursday in the central state of Hesse. Prosecutors said in a statement…
BERLIN – The nationalist Alternative for Germany party has rebuked one of its leading figures for describing Turks as "camel drivers" and making other anti-migrants slurs. In a statement, the party's leadership said it decided unanimously Friday to issue a…
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A federal control board is seeking a $300 million loan for Puerto Rico's power company after a federal judge rejected a previous $1 billion loan request despite warnings the U.S. territory would have to start…
GENEVA – Two U.N. agencies are denouncing proposals by Hungary's government to tax and penalize groups that assist migrants inside the country. Spokesman Rupert Colville of the U.N.'s human rights office says Hungary's legislative proposals could cause an "unjustified restriction"…
LIPJAN, Kosovo – All the students in a tiny village in Kosovo have gathered to celebrate a very special day for Pavaresia Sopi — a 10th birthday with deep significance for her whole Balkan nation. Pavaresia, whose name means "independence"…
VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis is inviting 300 young people to the Vatican next month to personally present their hopes and concerns about the Catholic Church, after an online questionnaire failed to generate enough feedback. The March 19-24 meeting is…
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan's military says it is sending troops to assist Saudi Arabia on a training mission but that they will not be deployed in conflict zones outside the kingdom. The announcement surprised lawmakers who on Friday sought clarification further…
ISTANBUL – Turkey's state-run news agency says a court in Istanbul has sentenced six journalists accused of involvement in a 2016 coup attempt to life prison terms. Anadolu Agency says those sentenced on Friday include Ahmet Altan, the former editor-in-chief…
BANGKOK – Thailand's military government has filed criminal charges against 50 activists over a recent protest in which they demanded the army give up power and restore civilian rule through elections. The Lawyers Association of Thailand said Friday that seven…
A North Korean official thought to have been executed by the regime's death squad shockingly reappeared in TV footage released Thursday after a mysterious monthslong absence. Hwang Pyong-so, the former director of the North Korean military’s General Political Bureau, appeared…
WARSAW, Poland – Poland's prime minister is meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin for talks on the European Union's future, energy projects and on intensifying bilateral ties. Mateusz Morawiecki was greeted Friday in Berlin by Merkel. They were…
MUNICH – The European Union's top Brexit negotiator says London must make clear how it wants to resolve outstanding issues arising from its departure from the bloc, and what relationship it wants going forward. Michel Barnier says he is "working…
MUNICH – The Latest on the Munich Security Conference (all times local): 12:50 p.m. The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross says the international community should consider "humanitarian exemptions" to economic sanctions against Libya. Peter Maurer spoke…
LAGOS, Nigeria – Police say gunmen have shot dead at least 18 people in Nigeria's northwestern Zamfara state. State police spokesman Muhammad Shehu says an armed gang ambushed a group of residents in Birani village. He says the bandits were…
LONDON – The head of Oxfam International says claims that staff members sexually exploited people in crisis zones are "a stain" that shames the charity. Executive director Winnie Byanyima says she is appointing an independent commission to investigate the allegations,…
HYDERABAD, India – Police say seven workers have died of suffocation while cleaning an underground drainage pit in a poultry farm in southern India. Deputy Superintendent of Police Chowdesari says the deaths occurred Friday in Morem village in Andhra Pradesh…
BUDAPEST, Hungary – Hungary's prime minister is stepping up efforts to silence civic groups critical of his government ahead of April elections which will likely result in his third consecutive term. Critics fear that a new draft bill nominally meant…
BEIJING – Chinese authorities say four people have been killed and five injured in an explosion at a stall selling fireworks on the eve of the Lunar New Year holiday. The information office in Tonghai county in the southwestern province…
Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, right, survived a Parliamentary vote that threatened his political career after the opposition Labor Party called on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, center, to fire his deputy for breaching standards of behavior demanded of government…
HYDERABAD, India – Iran's president has strongly criticized the Trump administration's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and urged Muslims to support the Palestinian cause. Hassan Rouhani also lashed out at the United States for imposing a ban on travelers…
BERLIN – German daily Die Welt says one of its reporters who was detained in Turkey for more than a year has been released from jail. The newspaper cited Deniz Yucel's lawyer in its report Friday. Yucel, who has both…
PRISTINA, Kosovo – Kosovo's president and his Montenegrin counterpart have called on Kosovo's parliament to ratify the border demarcation deal between the two countries. Hashim Thaci on Friday announced the joint statement with Filip Vujanovic, adding that upon ratification the…
BERLIN – A 17-year-old Iraqi has been arrested in Germany after allegedly contacting senior members of the Islamic State group. Prosecutors in Frankfurt say the teen was detained Tuesday in the central German town of Eschwege. German daily Bild reported…
NAIROBI, Kenya – A Kenyan official says suspected al-Shabab extremists have killed three teachers in an overnight attack in the northeastern county of Wajir. North Eastern regional coordinator Mohamud Saleh says an unknown number of gunmen attacked Qarsa primary school…
KIGALI, Rwanda – Rwanda's military says it has killed three Congolese soldiers while repulsing an alleged attack by Congo's forces. Eugene Nkubito, a commander of Rwandan forces in the north, told reporters late Thursday that the attack happened Tuesday in…
MUNICH – Dozens of world leaders, top defense officials and diplomats are gathering in southern Germany for an influential security conference amid growing strains between the U.S. and other NATO nations and Russia over the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine.…
JOHANNESBURG – South Africa's new President Cyril Ramaphosa is preparing to give his first state of the nation address to a country with high expectations as he vows to curb corruption that flourished under his predecessor. Ramaphosa, elected by ruling…
BERLIN – Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni says Europe needs "a strong German government" as he heads to Berlin for talks Friday with Chancellor Angela Merkel. Gentiloni told Munich-based daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung that Europe's economic upswing mustn't be endangered by hesitancy…
HARARE, Zimbabwe – As the body of Zimbabwe's main opposition leader awaits repatriation home for burial, his party already faces nasty power struggles to replace a man praised by both allies and rivals for his tenacious fight for democracy. That…
ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey's military says a plane used to train pilots has crashed in western Turkey, killing its two pilots. A military statement said the SF-260D light trainer plane went down on Friday after taking off from Cigli air…
VILNIUS, Lithuania – European leaders and royals are in Lithuania, which is celebrating the centenary of its independence declaration with festivities and churches across the small Baltic nation. President Dalia Grybauskaite says "we got our statehood back," adding Lithuanians will…
SRINAGAR, India – Police say a Russian skier was killed by an avalanche that hit the Gulmarg tourist resort in the Indian portion of Kashmir. Police spokesman Manoj Kumar Pandit says four other Russian skiers from the group were rescued…
