MOSCOW – Vladimir Putin now has a stronger hold on Russia — and stronger place in the world — thanks to an overwhelming mandate for yet another term as president. His domestic opponents are largely resigned to another six years…
MEXICO CITY – Under a patchwork shelter of overlapping tarps and repurposed vinyl advertisements, several dozen residents of 18 Independence Street pack cheek by jowl into donated tents in the street near their building, which was damaged in the Sept.…
BEIJING – China has appointed a former missile force commander as its new defense minister. Lt. Gen. Wei Fenghe's naming as the international face of China's rapid military modernization was among a series of appointments undertaken by the ceremonial legislature…
MANILA, Philippines – Philippine officials say firefighters have found two more bodies in a hotel and casino complex in the Philippine capital that was gutted by fire and thick heavy smoke and raised the death toll to five. Officials said…
CANBERRA, Australia – Wildfires razed dozens of homes in southeast Australia, cut power to thousands more and killed livestock, but most of the weekend blazes had been contained by Monday. There have been no reports of serious injury, officials said.…
Australian officials on Sunday shut down rumors that missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 could be seen in the Indian Ocean and was riddled with "bullet holes." Peter McMahon, a 64-year-old Australian mechanical engineer, claimed that Google Earth images purportedly showed…
SEOUL, South Korea – Top U.S., South Korean and Japanese officials have discussed how to achieve a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula ahead of upcoming inter-Korean and U.S.-North Korean summit talks. Seoul has said previously that North Korean leader…
CANBERRA, Australia – Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi was welcomed to Australia's Parliament House on Monday for the official start of a state visit that has provoked protests over her muted response to a military crackdown against Rohingya Muslims.…
Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit detectives are investigating a burglary at a Melbourne bookstore that has to be seen to be believed. The break-in happened at a shopping centre on Collins St, in the Melbourne CBD, around midnight last Thursday. Police…
Sunday is Election Day in Russia, and the Golos call-in center is a beehive of activity. Volunteers at this election monitoring organization are taking calls from voters reporting on irregularities. Lawyers are on hand. There is a group of analysts…
ROME – The Italian news agency ANSA says a Spanish non-governmental organization's migrant rescue ship has been sequestered in Sicily by prosecutors' orders. The seizure took place Sunday in Pozzallo port, where a day earlier the Proactiva Open Arms' vessel…
Straight off his fraud-tainted presidential election win, Vladimir Putin is calling accusations of Russia's involvement in the poisoning of an ex-spy as "nonsense."
Backlash grew around the world Sunday after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed a huge victory in his country's presidential election. Putin was re-elected with more than 75 percent of the vote, exit polling data showed, which keeps him as Russia's leader…
Russian President Vladimir Putin won re-election with more than 75 percent of the vote Sunday, according to exit poll data. The Russian strongman's election win keeps him as Russia's leader for another six years and allows him to claim the…
RIO DE JANEIRO – Hundreds of people are marching in Brazil's second largest city to protest the murder of councilwoman and human rights activist Marielle Franco. Franco and her driver Anderson Pedro Gomes were shot dead by assailants Wednesday night…
MOSCOW – Social networks buzzed all day Sunday with videos, photos and firsthand accounts of voting violations in Russia's presidential election. Election authorities said they will investigate all irregularities and annul results where needed. But the breadth of the reports…
Russian President Vladimir Putin won re-election with more than 73 percent of the vote, according to exit poll data. The Russian strongman received at least 73.9 percent of the vote, according to the BBC and the Associated Press. Putin won…
World leaders condemn Russia for spy attack U.S., Germany and France issue statement of solidarity, saying they agree with U.K. assessment that Russia was responsible for nerve agent attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter. A Russian…
KIGALI, Rwanda – Burundi's president has signed a decree setting May 17 for a referendum on changes to the constitution that could keep him in power until 2034, days after some ruling party members bestowed on him the title of…
GENEVA – Catalonia's fugitive ex-president says that independence for the Spanish region is not the "only option" for resolving Spain's worst political crisis in recent decades. Carles Puigdemont says that a moderate alternative could be adopting Switzerland's canton model, which…
JERUSALEM – Israel's Shin Bet security service says a Palestinian has stabbed an Israeli in Jerusalem, seriously wounding him. Police said he was shot dead by officers at the scene. The attack Sunday occurred in Jerusalem's Old City, home to…
YEKATERINBURG, Russia – From the stage of a gay nightclub, a performer in drag reminded those in the crowd of their civic duty as Russians. "Do you know what's happening tomorrow?" asked Andrei. "I'm going to the election tomorrow. If…
DAMASCUS, Syria – Syrian President Bashar Assad visited troops Sunday on the front line in the newly captured areas of eastern Ghouta, near the capital Damascus, according to images broadcast on state media and on the presidency sites. In the…
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – A school teacher from the U.K. has won a highly-competitive $1 million prize that honors one exceptional teacher a year who's made a significant contribution to the profession. Andria Zafirakou beat out some 30,000 applicants…