world news

Af-Pak officials inaugurate long-awaited gas pipeline

KABUL, Afghanistan –  Afghanistan's president and Pakistan's prime minister have launched a 1,814 kilometer (1,130 miles) gas pipeline that will feed Turkmenistan gas to Afghanistan, as well as Pakistan and eventually to India. The first part of the inauguration Friday…

Modi hugs Trudeau, amid Indo-Canada invitation embarrassment

NEW DELHI –  Prime Minister Narendra Modi has greeted his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau with a hug, a day after embarrassed Canadian diplomats had to rescind a party invitation for a man convicted of attempting to kill an Indian politician…

Japanese men nabbed for shooting at defacto NKorean embassy

TOKYO –  Police have arrested two Japanese men believed to be right-wing activists for shooting at North Korea's de facto embassy in Tokyo. Police said Friday that the men fired several shots at the General Association of Korean Residents in…

Glitches or not, Nissan starts testing semi-autonomous rides

YOKOHAMA, Japan –  Starting next month, Nissan Motor Co. will be testing on regular roads what it calls "a robo-vehicle mobility service." The service is Called Easy Ride. It uses a cell-phone app to book semi-autonomous driven rides. Nissan demonstrated…

Australia deputy leader quits Cabinet over harassment claim

CANBERRA, Australia –  Australia's beleaguered deputy prime minister has resigned from the Cabinet over allegations that he sexually harassed a woman. Barnaby Joyce said Friday that while he will exit the Cabinet, he will not resign from Parliament. That ensures…

Cash-strapped Venezuela faces eviction from Miami consulate

BOGOTA, Colombia –  Venezuela's cash-strapped government faces eviction from a Miami building it once owned after its consulate failed to pay rent since August. The notice was filed Feb. 15 in a Miami-Dade county court. The landlord, a developer behind…

Not guilty verdict in death of indigenous teen in Canada

WINNIPEG, Manitoba –  A man accused of killing a 15-year-old indigenous girl and dumping her body in Winnipeg's Red River has been found not guilty of second-degree murder. Tina Fontaine's remains were discovered eight days after she was reported missing…

Police officer dies after fan violence before game in Spain

BILBAO, Spain –  Spanish police say an officer has died after clashes between police and soccer fans before a Europa League match on Thursday. Police said the officer died in hospital after clashes outside San Mames Stadium in the Basque…

French court keeps Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan in prison

PARIS –  A court has rejected a release request by a prominent Islamic scholar incarcerated this month on preliminary rape charges. A judicial official said that Tariq Ramadan, who was briefly hospitalized recently, refused to leave his prison cell to…

Haiti suspends Oxfam pending investigation into sexual abuse

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti –  A Haitian government minster says Oxfam will be suspended in the country for two months pending an investigation into sexual misconduct by employees of the aid group. Minister of Planning and External Cooperation Aviol Fleurant says Haiti…

UNICEF official resigns after allegations made

LONDON –  A senior official at UNICEF has resigned after allegations of inappropriate behavior during an earlier stint at Save The Children. Deputy executive director Justin Forsyth said Thursday he is stepping down from his UNICEF post "because of the…

Argentina: arrests after cocaine seized at Russian embassy

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina –  Argentine officials say that a police officer and a Russian diplomatic official were arrested after authorities seized a large cocaine shipment at the Russian embassy in Buenos Aires. Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said Thursday that 860…

101 Nigerian girls missing after Boko Haram attack, parents say

More than 100 girls are missing in Nigeria three days after a suspected attack by Boko Haram extremists.  (REUTERS) MAIDUGURI, Nigeria –  More than 100 girls are still missing three days after suspected Boko Haram extremists attacked their school in…

Dutch lawmakers label massacre of Armenians as genocide

THE HAGUE, Netherlands –  Lawmakers in the lower house of the Dutch parliament have overwhelmingly voted to label as genocide the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks more than a century ago. The move is likely to further ratchet…

Romanian minister calls for firing of anti-graft prosecutor

BUCHAREST, Romania –  Romania's justice minister has called for the country's chief anti-corruption prosecutor to be removed from her post, citing what he said were serious concerns about the way she conducted her job. Justice Minister Tudorel Toader claimed Thursday…

Jimmy Carter warns against one-state for Israel-Palestine

UNITED NATIONS –  Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is warning that the two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict "is being overtaken by a one-state reality which will have dire consequences for Israel in the long-term." Carter concluded that the establishment…

Parents: 101 Nigerian girls missing after Boko Haram attack

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria –  Parents in northern Nigeria say more than 100 girls are still missing three days after suspected Boko Haram extremists attacked their school. The announcement on Thursday comes after government officials in Yobe state acknowledged that some 50…

Israel extends detention for 2 suspects in Netanyahu case

JERUSALEM –  An Israeli court has extended the arrests of a media tycoon and a former adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu implicated in a corruption case involving Israel's telecom giant. A Tel Aviv judge ordered that Nir Hefetz, an…

Online dating couple jailed in UK for IS-inspired bomb plot

LONDON –  A man and woman who met on a Muslim dating website have been handed prison sentences for plotting an Islamic State-inspired bomb attack in Britain. Prosecutors say Munir Mohammed, an asylum-seeker from Sudan, and London pharmacist Rowaida El-Hassan…