world news

Indian troops kill 3 rebels in Kashmir gunbattle

SRINAGAR, India –  A gunbattle between Indian troops and rebels early Monday killed three insurgents in disputed Kashmir and triggered more anti-India protests and clashes, officials said. The fighting began before dawn after government forces raided a cluster of homes…

Japan govt altered documents in scandal linked to Abe's wife

TOKYO –  Japan's Finance Ministry has acknowledged doctoring documents in a widening scandal linked to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's wife that has rattled his government. The doctored documents related to the 2016 sale of state land to a school operator…

Seoul envoy in China for talks on North Korea developments

BEIJING –  South Korea's national security director is holding meetings in Beijing following word of a possible summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. South Korea's Yonhap news agency said Chung Eui-yong was briefing top…

Afghan official: Insurgents take over district HQ in west

KABUL, Afghanistan –  An Afghan official says insurgents have taken control of a district headquarters in western Farah province. Fared Bakhtawer, the head provincial council in Farah, said Monday that initial information shows around 15 security forces were killed and…

Peace deal backers suffer in Colombia congress elections

BOGOTA, Colombia –  Colombian voters turned to right-wing parties critical of the country's peace deal with the main leftist rebels and knocked the current president's party down in congressional elections, raising questions about the future of the accord. Sunday's vote…

China shrinking steel industry, but too slowly for West

BEIJING –  China's steel mills, a target of U.S. President Donald Trump's ire, are their industry's 800-pound gorilla: They supply half of world output, so every move they make has a global impact. Trump responded last week with a blanket…

Vietnam says ex-top police official organized gambling ring

HANOI, Vietnam –  Vietnamese police have arrested a senior police official suspected of involvement in an international gambling ring as the ruling Communist Party pushes its crackdown on graft. The Ministry of Public Security said on its website that the…

Hong Kong pro-democracy movement loses ground in by-election

HONG KONG –  Final results show Hong Kong pro-democracy candidates have won back two of four seats in a crucial by-election in the semiautonomous Chinese region. According to Monday's tally, the opposition was not able to recapture all its territory,…

Rescued brothers report sailing from Libya to seek cure

ROME –  A Spanish humanitarian group says it has rescued three migrant brothers who set out from Libya in a rubber dinghy to seek leukemia treatment for one of them. Riccardo Gatti of the aid group Proactiva Open Arms told…

Mexico: Crude device caused ferry blast, terrorism ruled out

MEXICO CITY –  Mexican authorities say a rudimentary or homemade explosive device was responsible for a tourist ferry blast that injured 26 people Feb. 21 in the Caribbean resort city of Playa del Carmen. But Deputy Attorney General Arturo Elias…

Macedonia: 75th anniversary of Jewish deportations observed

BITOLA, Macedonia –  Thousands of people have marched in southern Macedonia to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the deportation and eventual death of almost the country's entire Jewish population. Public officials, civic group representatives and relatives of former Macedonian Jews…

Iranian foreign minister in Islamabad for 3-day visit

ISLAMABAD –  Pakistan state television reports that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has arrived in Islamabad as the head of a politico-economic delegation. During his three-day visit, which began Sunday, Zarif will hold talks with the Pakistani prime minister,…

Ethiopian immigration in doubt ahead of Israeli budget vote

JERUSALEM –  An Israeli government official says a last-ditch attempt to approve the reunification of hundreds of families split between Israel and Ethiopia has fallen through. The families are relying on the Cabinet to agree to fund the immigration of…

Hundreds of Poles gather to express solidarity with Jews

WARSAW, Poland –  Hundreds of Poles have gathered in Warsaw to express their solidarity with Jews who perished in the Holocaust, were expelled from Poland 50 years ago or feel targeted by a new wave of anti-Semitism today. Speakers at…

Contamination in ex-spy case ups pressure on UK to act

SALISBURY, England –  The health implications of the nerve agent attack on a Russian ex-spy and his adult daughter broadened Sunday when British officials conceded that limited traces of contamination were found in a restaurant and a pub in Salisbury,…

Israeli army draft bill spat could spark early elections

JERUSALEM –  Israel's prime minister is holding emergency negotiations with key coalition partners in hopes of averting a crisis that has threatened to plunge the country into early elections. Members of Benjamin Netanyahu's government have been quarreling over whether to…