world news

Archbishop: Saudi leader wants different faiths to flourish

LONDON –  The leader of the Anglican church says Saudi Arabia's crown prince is committed to the flourishing of different faiths in his strict Sunni Muslim kingdom. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Thursday in…

Israeli leader opens Jerusalem exhibit, rebukes opponents

UNITED NATIONS –  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has opened an exhibition on Jerusalem to reinforce Israel's claim to the historic city as the Jewish people's "eternal capital" — and rebuke over 125 countries that support Palestinian claims to east…

Arrests in Greece over violent robberies around Acropolis

ATHENS, Greece –  Greek police have arrested six Pakistani men accused of a string of violent knifepoint robberies in parkland around the ancient Acropolis Hill in Athens, one of the country's top tourist attractions. The suspects were detained on Tuesday…

Israel mulls home arrest for Australian linked to sex crimes

JERUSALEM –  Israel's Supreme Court has ordered a woman accused of sex crimes in Australia to be kept in police custody in a medical facility while it considers moving her to house arrest. Australia wants 54-year-old Malka Leifer extradited for…

Swiss, Qatar criminal justice officials step up cooperation

BERN, Switzerland –  Authorities say that Switzerland and Qatar will increase cooperation in criminal investigations. Switzerland's federal justice department says that "these efforts are also in the interests of a clean Swiss financial center." The federal office said Thursday that…

EU's Tusk: No Brexit progress without Irish border solution

LONDON –  European Council President Donald Tusk has warned that there can't be progress toward a post-Brexit trade deal until the issue of the Irish border is resolved. Tusk says that until Britain presents a plan to keep the all-but-invisible…

Greek driver, 80, arrested for going wrong way on highway

THESSALONIKI, Greece –  Greek police have arrested an 80-year-old driver who entered a highway the wrong way in the dark and drove briskly for 40 kilometers (25 miles), even knocking aside a patrol car that tried to stop him. Police…

Turkish court sentences musician, journalists on 'terror'

ANKARA, Turkey –  Turkey's state-run news agency says a court has convicted a musician-turned-newspaper columnist of "knowingly and willingly" aiding the network led by U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and sentenced him to three years in prison. Singer Atilla Tas,…

Trial of alleged London bomber hears of subway fireball

LONDON –  London commuters have testified that they were left with singed hair and burns after a fireball tore through a subway carriage last year. Teenage Iraqi asylum-seeker Ahmed Hassan is accused of planting a bomb on the London Underground…

Ultra-Orthodox Jews block Jerusalem road in draft protest

JERUSALEM –  Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews are blocking the main entrance to Jerusalem to protest the arrest of members of their community for refusing to register for the military draft. Israel has compulsory military service for most Jewish men, but…

European Union law enforcement agency Europol gets new chief

THE HAGUE, Netherlands –  The commissioner general of the Belgian Federal Police has been appointed as the new executive director of European Union law enforcement agency Europol. Catherine De Bolle was appointed Thursday, which is International Women's Day, by the…

Anti-migrant League has its first black senator in Italy

MILAN –  A Nigerian-born man elected senator for Italy's anti-migrant League is shrugging off criticism from Italian football player Mario Balotelli for representing a party long viewed as xenophobic. Tony Iwobi became Italy's first black senator in Sunday's parliamentary vote.…

New law protects Thai Constitutional Court from criticism

BANGKOK –  A new law makes criticism of Thailand's Constitutional Court punishable by imprisonment, giving extra protection to a body that in recent years has made controversial rulings altering the shape of governments. The unheralded law took effect when it…

Women strike, protest as world marks International Women's Day

Women across the world are marking International Women's Day with protests and marches.  (AP Photo) MADRID –  Women across Europe and Asia shouted their demands for equality, respect and empowerment Thursday to mark International Women's Day, with protesters in Spain…

Rare but deadly nerve agents have been used in war, terror

LONDON –  An ex-Russian spy and his daughter lie in critical condition in a British hospital — poisoned, authorities say, with a nerve agent in a targeted murder attempt. Sergei Skripal, a former Russian agent who confessed to spying for…

Egypt says 16 troops killed in month-old offensive

CAIRO –  Egypt's military says 16 troops have been killed and 19 wounded since a wide-scale operation against Islamic militants was launched a month ago. Army spokesman Col. Tamer al-Rifai said Thursday that 105 militants have been killed and that…

FARC withdraws Timochenko from Colombia's presidential race

BOGOTA, Colombia –  The political party formed by Colombia's once-largest rebel group has withdrawn a former guerrilla commander from the race for president. Leaders of the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force on Thursday said Rodrigo Londono won't seek the presidency, citing…