VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has backed down and accepted the resignation of Nigerian bishop who had been rejected for years by the priests of his Ahiara diocese. The announcement Monday came after Francis in June issued a harsh ultimatum…
JAKARTA, Indonesia – Indonesian police say they have arrested four men and a boy who shot a critically endangered orangutan at least 130 times with an air gun. Villagers spotted the wounded orangutan in a lake in the East Kutai…
BAGHDAD – Islamic State militants have ambushed a group of Iraq's Shiite-led paramilitary fighters, killing at least 27. The Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of mostly Shiite militias, said on Monday that the attack took place the previous night…
MANILA, Philippines – Philippine police say authorities have arrested an Arab man who they believe is a former commander of the Islamic State group. Police Director General Ronald dela Rosa said Monday that police and military personnel arrested Fehmi Lassoued,…
BANGKOK – A cartoonist who lampoons Thailand's military government has done a caricature of a historian critical of the nation's monarchy and sold it in an online auction to raise money for legal aid for political dissidents. Anon Nampha of…
Militants disguised as Iraqi soldiers ambushed paramilitary troops Monday north of Baghdad, leaving at least 27 dead, officials said. It is unclear who was behind the attack. The attack comes days after NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the alliance will…
BUCHAREST, Romania – Religious protesters in Romania have disrupted the screening of two movies in Bucharest, saying they violate traditional values in the Eastern European country. The recent protests illustrate divided views about homosexuality which remains a difficult topic in…
NAPLES, Italy – In the Naples suburb of Torre del Greco, a port town at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, voters are steaming. Local seamen have jobs lost to foreigners willing to work for lower pay. The town is without…
HELSINKI – Latvia's financial regulator has ordered the crisis-struck ABLV Bank to cease all payments on the request of the European Central Bank amid U.S. accusations of money laundering and breaching sanctions on North Korea. The ECB said Monday that…
BANJUL, Gambia – Gambia's president has declared a moratorium on the death penalty, calling it a "first step toward abolition." President Adama Barrow announced the moratorium while addressing a large crowd gathered Sunday for the country's independence anniversary. This tiny…
MADRID – Two prominent Catalan politicians are testifying before a Supreme Court judge for their roles in holding a banned independence referendum and making an illegal declaration of independence based on its results. Judicial police have identified left-republican ERC party's…
THE HAGUE, Netherlands – A legal battle between France and Equatorial Guinea over the corruption prosecution of the African nation's vice president is back before the International Court of Justice, months after a Paris court convicted the vice president. French…
BERLIN – German Chancellor Angela Merkel is reported to favor the governor of Saarland state to run her center-right party's day-to-day operations. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has been tipped as a possible successor to Merkel as leader of the Christian Democratic Union.…
LONDON – Oxfam's report on sexual misconduct allegations in Haiti shows that three staff members intimidated and physically threatened witnesses as the charity investigated the original claims. The organization released the findings of its investigation Monday, following reports suggesting Oxfam…
MEXICO CITY – The U.S. Geological Survey says an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 has struck the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, days after a more powerful temblor hit the same area. The epicenter of the quake, which…
BEIRUT – The Latest on the conflict in Syria (all times local): 11:25 a.m. Turkish officials have increased to 786 the number of people detained so far in Turkey for criticizing the country's military offensive in northern Syria. Authorities have…
BEIRUT – Syrian state TV says pro-government forces will begin entering the Syrian Kurdish enclave of Afrin in the country's northwest "within hours." The TV gave no further details about the deployment of the troops, known as "popular forces," which…
MOSCOW – The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on churchgoers in Russia's predominantly Muslim Dagestan region. At least five people were killed and four wounded when a gunman opened fire with a hunting rifles on…
BERLIN – A leading figure in the nationalist Alternative for Germany has urged the party's followers to reject violence. Joerg Meuthen wrote on his Facebook page that he was prompted to speak out after readers of an earlier column had…
JERUSALEM – The Israeli military says it has struck an underground militant infrastructure site in Gaza in response to rocket fire toward Israel. Monday's airstrikes come amid days of renewed tensions and violence along the Gaza border. The military has…
In January, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted that those fleeing “persecution, terror & war, Canada will welcome you regardless of faith,” but a recent report indicated that his country has been deporting North Korean asylum seekers. Al Jazeera reported Sunday…
DHARMSALA, India – The Tibetan government-in-exile says a weekend fire at the sprawling Jokhang monastery in Tibet did not affect the main chapel at the 1,300-year-old religious site, considered the spiritual heart of Tibetan Buddhism. The Jokhang chapel houses many…
KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan official says that bodies of nine civilians abducted by militants early last year have been found in the country's eastern province of Nangarhar. A district governor says the bodies, including three of tribal leaders, were…
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's Press TV is reporting that search and rescue teams have reached the site of the plane crash that authorities say killed all 65 people on board. The Aseman Airlines ATR-72, a twin-engine turboprop used for short-distance…