BEIRUT – Local authorities outside the Syrian capital say government forces have cut off their town from a surrounding rebel-held enclave, isolating 20,000 residents with no access to aid. A member of the local council of Harasta said Wednesday that…
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – An Afghan official says at least seven people were killed when a bus collided with a car on the main highway in southern Kandahar province. Qudratullah Khushbakht, spokesman for the provincial governor in Kandahar, says 24 people,…
IFEROUANE, Niger – Tuaregs in northern Niger are hoping to draw tourists back to the region by putting their traditional dances, music poetry and camel races on display. Despite concerns about Islamic extremism throughout the Sahel region in West Africa,…
PARIS – Two Frenchmen are going on trial for allegedly stealing Emmanuel Macron's online identity last year when he was running for president. The unusual case to be heard Wednesday in a Paris court followed a complaint filed by Macron…
BAGHDAD – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered an "immediate" investigation into the killing of a senior military officer by "undisciplined individuals" at a checkpoint north of Baghdad. Brig. Gen. Shareef Ismaeel al-Murshidi, a brigade commander whose forces are…
German Chancellor Angela Merkel waves when Germany's parliament Bundestag meets to elect Angela Merkel for a fourth term as chancellor in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, March 14, 2018. (Gregor Fischer/dpa via AP) Germany's parliament elected Angela Merkel for her fourth term as chancellor on…
BERLIN – German Chancellor Angela Merkel is starting her fourth term with a much-changed top team in which only three members of the new 16-member Cabinet keep their old jobs. There are new faces in some key positions: the finance,…
KATHMANDU, Nepal – Survivors of a plane crash at Nepal's main airport this week say it's a miracle they survived an accident that killed 49 of the 71 people on board. Shorna Huggain of Bangladesh, who was a passenger on…
BERLIN – The Latest on the formation of a new coalition government in Germany (all times local): 10 a.m. Germany's parliament has elected Angela Merkel for her fourth term as chancellor, putting an end to nearly six months of political…
LONDON – Britain's prime minister is set to chair a meeting of the national security council Wednesday to consider sanctions against Russia after Moscow ignored a deadline to explain how a nerve agent developed by the Soviet Union was used…
MANILA, Philippines – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte says his country is withdrawing its ratification of a world treaty that created the International Criminal Court, where he's facing a possible complaint for crimes against humanity. An ICC prosecutor announced last month…
PARIS – Pro-Kurdish demonstrators protesting against Turkey's military offensive in northern Syria have clashed with police outside the U.S. embassy in Paris. French police tried to keep the protesters back from the embassy building on Tuesday night and used tear…
BERLIN – Germany's parliament is meeting to elect Angela Merkel for a fourth term as chancellor, ending nearly six months of political drift in Europe's biggest economy. Merkel needs the support of a majority of all lawmakers to be re-elected…
BEIRUT – For the first time since its meteoric rise in 2012 amid the chaos of war, al-Qaida's branch in Syria is in retreat, battling rival militant groups in the north and fighting for survival in a key foothold near…
MELBOURNE, Australia – The alleged victims of the most senior Vatican official ever charged in the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis have finished giving testimony to an Australian court. Australian Cardinal George Pell began a hearing in the Melbourne Magistrate…
HELSINKI – Finland tops an index of the happiest nations in which to live. The World Happiness Report published Wednesday ranked 156 countries by their happiness levels, based on factors such as life expectancy, social support and corruption. This year's…
WELLINGTON, New Zealand – Papua New Guinea police say an earthquake last month killed at least 125 people and forced another 35,000 from their homes. The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary said Wednesday that major relief efforts are underway in…
LONDON – Physicist and author Stephen Hawking possessed an uncanny ability to come up with memorable phrases and sayings that summed up his world view. Here is a short selection of his many famous observations: — "We are just an…
LONDON – Stephen Hawking was a prolific author with a knack for making books on challenging scientific topics engaging to a wide spectrum of readers. The physicist is best known for his best-selling 1988 classic "A Brief History of Time:…
ISLAMABAD – Iran's foreign minister has expressed a willingness to resolve differences with Saudi Arabia as part of Tehran's desire for stability in the region. Mohammad Javad Zarif says Tehran had also expressed willingness to improve ties with Saudi Arabia…
LONDON – A glance at the life of celebrated physicist Stephen Hawking, who died Wednesday at 76. Jan. 8, 1942 — Born in Oxford, England, the eldest of four children born to Frank Hawking, a biologist, and Isobel Hawking, a…
KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan official says insurgents attacked a checkpoint in western Farah province and killed at least 10 security personnel. Provincial council member Abdul Samad Salehi said four of the dead were from the intelligence service and six…
Stephen Hawking, the famed theoretical physicist who defied a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to live virtually his entire adult life with the disease – in a wheelchair and paralyzed but making constant contributions to a world few could understand…
SEOUL, South Korea – Another conservative former South Korean president is being questioned by prosecutors over a range of corruption allegations. Former President Lee Myung-bak said he felt "very sorry for causing concerns" as he arrived at the prosecutors' office…