world news

Policemen, protesters hurt in Cambodian land dispute

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia –  At least seven policemen and two protesters have been hurt in a clash after villagers in northeastern Cambodia blocked a national highway to protest being forced off land they have occupied for at least two years.…

Northern Ireland leader sees little hope of government soon

LONDON –  Arlene Foster, leader of the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party, says there is little chance of a government being formed in Northern Ireland in the next few months. Talks to restore a power-sharing government to Northern Ireland between the…

Turkey, Iraq plan joint offensive against Kurdish rebels

ANKARA, Turkey –  Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says Turkey and Iraq could conduct a joint military operation against Kurdish rebels in Iraq. Cavusoglu told reporters in Vienna during a news conference with his Austrian counterpart Thursday that the operation…

Carter Center say Kenya's polls were a setback for democracy

NAIROBI, Kenya –  The Carter Center says Kenya's 2017 elections were a setback to this East African country's democratic development. In its final report on the elections the U.S.-based center said the process of tallying final results suffered from delays…

Milos Zeman inaugurated for 2nd term as Czech president

PRAGUE –  Milos Zeman, a leading pro-Russian voice in EU politics, has been sworn in for his second term as Czech president. Zeman was elected to the largely ceremonial post in 2013 during the country's first direct presidential vote, a…

Serbian president says "open to solutions" on Kosovo

BUCHAREST, Romania –  Serbia's president says his country won't recognize Kosovo but is open to discussing solutions on the issue. President Aleksandar Vucic, who is in Romania for talks with President Klaus Iohannis, said Thursday: "If we recognize Kosovo.... Albanians…

Protesters demand release of jailed former Bangladesh leader

DHAKA, Bangladesh –  Several hundred opposition supporters have staged a protest in Bangladesh's capital demanding the release of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who is serving a five-year prison sentence in a corruption case. The protesters accused police of obstructing…

Russian lawmaker accused of sex harassment apologizes

MOSCOW –  An influential Russian parliament member accused of sexual harassment by several female journalists has issued an apology and asked for forgiveness. The allegations against Leonid Slutsky by three journalists include groping and making demeaning comments. On Thursday, noting…

The Latest: Turkey wants Afrin offensive to end by May

BEIRUT –  The Latest on developments related to Syria (all times local): 2:15 p.m. Turkey's foreign minister says his government hopes that a cross-border military offensive in a Syrian Kurdish-held enclave will end before May. Speaking during a joint news…

Crewmember rescued from burning cargo ship dies

NEW DELHI –  A shipping line official says one of the 23 crewmembers evacuated from a Singapore-flagged cargo ship that caught fire in the Arabian Sea has died of severe burns. The chief operating officer of A.P. Moller-Maersk, Soren Toft,…

Germans arrest Iraqi who allegedly planned attacks

BERLIN –  German prosecutors say they have issued a formal arrest warrant for a 17-year-old Iraqi citizen who was allegedly planning to commit an extremist attack in either Germany or Britain. Federal prosecutors said Thursday that Deday A., who was…

EU, Poland discuss Poland's divisive judicial reform

WARSAW, Poland –  Poland's prime minister is meeting with a top European Union official in Brussels as part of efforts to avert potential EU sanctions over a reform of Poland's judiciary. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki's office tweeted Thursday that he…

General says China needs to arm South China Sea islands

BEIJING –  A Chinese general says China needs to build defensive structures on islands in the South China Sea to display its claim to sovereignty over virtually the entire crucial waterway. However, the vice president of China's Academy of Military…

Appeals judges uphold most of former Congo VP's convictions

THE HAGUE, Netherlands –  Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court have upheld most of the convictions of a former Congolese vice president for interfering with witnesses during his war crimes trial, and ordered the original trial chamber to review…

Over 2,500 Burundi refugees in Congo seek shelter in Rwanda

BUJUMBURA, Burundi –  A Rwandan official says more than 2,500 Burundian refugees in Congo are seeking shelter in Rwanda amid fears they could be forcibly repatriated back home by Congolese authorities. Jean Claude Rwahama, a refugee official in Rwanda, said…

Prominent leader of German nationalist party to step down

BERLIN –  A prominent member of the nationalist Alternative for Germany, or AfD, will resign from his party posts following several controversial and anti-Muslim remarks about migrants. The party board of the AfD in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt said…

China to build massive $1.5 billion panda conservation area

BEIJING –  The Bank of China has pledged at least 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) to create a massive giant panda conservation park in southwestern Sichuan province, the forestry ministry said Thursday. The Sichuan branch of the central bank signed…

Egypt condemns UN rights chief's criticism ahead of vote

CAIRO –  Egypt's Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the U.N. human rights chief's critical statements on what he described as the "pervasive climate of intimidation" in Egypt ahead of the presidential election later this month. The ministry said in a…

EU weighs new ways to tackle migration as spring approaches

BRUSSELS –  With warmer weather on the horizon, the European Union is weighing more ways to prevent migrants from reaching its shores but remains deeply divided over how to share responsibility for those people entitled to stay. EU interior ministers…

Albania suffers floods, landslides after days of heavy rain

TIRANA, Albania –  Albanian authorities say that heavy rain has caused flooding in more parts of country, with landslides damaging many roads. The defense ministry said Thursday that about 2,800 hectares (6,900 acres) of agricultural land and grasslands in the…