Russian President Vladimir Putin looked to be victorious and win a fourth presidential term on Sunday, with the only possible hitch being if large numbers of voters decide to opt out and not vote. Polls have given Putin, who, if…
BUNIA, Congo – The assailants attacked under cover of darkness, slaughtering Nguli Nzafi 's wife and three children with machetes and arrows. The 71-year-old, who also lost all 40 of his cattle in the violence, was forced to flee on…
JERUSALEM – The Israeli military says it has destroyed a Gaza tunnel built by the Hamas militant group. Military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus says Sunday the new tunnel was intended to connect to an old tunnel that Israel partially…
SEOUL, South Korea – A senior North Korean diplomat handling North American affairs is heading to Finland for talks with the U.S. and South Korea. South Korea's Yonhap news agency says Choe Kang Il was seen Sunday at a Beijing…
TEHRAN, Iran – Iranian state media says the country's foreign minister was briefly hospitalized due to severe illness. The state-run IRNA news agency cited a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying that Mohammad Javad Zarif was hospitalized for a few hours…
BEIRUT – The Latest on the Syria conflict (all times local): 10:15 a.m. Turkey's president says allied Syrian forces have taken control of the town center of Afrin, the target of a nearly two-month offensive against a Kurdish militia. Recep…
DAKAR, Senegal – Senegal's government has closed more than a dozen schools linked to a man the Turkish government considers a terrorist, underlining Turkey's growing influence in predominantly Muslim West Africa. About 3,000 children in Senegal have been affected as…
ISTANBUL – A Turkish news agency and Syrian activists say Turkey-backed forces have reached the center of the Syrian town of Afrin, the target of a nearly two-month-old Turkish offensive against a Syrian Kurdish militia. Turkey views the Kurdish forces…
MOSCOW – A look at some of the significant dates in Vladimir Putin's 18 years in power as Russia's president and prime minister: Dec. 31, 1999 — In a surprise address to the nation, President Boris Yeltsin announces his resignation…
MANILA, Philippines – A Philippine official says at least four employees have been killed and two others are trapped in a fire that hit a Manila hotel, where more than 300 guests were evacuated, some by helicopter. Johnny Yu, who…
MANILA, Philippines – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has asked other countries to abandon the International Criminal Court because it is "rude." Duterte is facing a possible complaint before the world tribunal for the thousands of killings of drug suspects during…
SYDNEY – South East Asian leaders and Australia's prime minister on Sunday called on North Korea to end its nuclear program urged United Nations countries to fully implement sanctions. Leaders at the first summit of the Association of Southeast Asian…
KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan official says the Taliban have attacked security positions northwest of the capital, killing at least five police. Mohammed Zaman, the provincial police chief for Ghazni province, says the attack late Saturday set off a two-hour…
MOSCOW – The Latest on Russia's presidential election (all times local): 9 a.m. Election monitors are reporting irregularities at voting stations across Russia in a presidential election whose only open question is how many people cast ballots. Vladimir Putin is…
JAMMU, India – Officials say five members of a family have been killed and two others wounded in cross border shelling between Indian and Pakistani soldiers in disputed Kashmir. Indian police say the five were killed Sunday after a shell…
YEKATERINBURG, Russia – Vladimir Putin's victory in Russia's presidential election Sunday isn't in doubt. The only real question is whether voters will turn out in big enough numbers to hand him a convincing mandate for his fourth term — and…
LONDON – Britain should consider postponing Brexit because there may not be enough time to strike a deal with the European Union before the U.K. leaves the bloc a year from now, a key committee of British lawmakers said Sunday.…
GANGNEUNG, South Korea – As the world's top disabled athletes competed on ice and snow, Erica Mitchell steered through her own obstacle course on Pyeongchang's narrow and uneven streets. The 31-year-old from Chicago was one of many people with disabilities…
Putin faces seven other challengers but none present a real threat. He solidified this, however, by barring them from campaigning on the final day of the election. (AP) As Sunday’s presidential election nears, Vladimir Putin is widely expected to be…
WARSAW, Poland – Poland's leading archbishop has deplored comments by a senior conservative priest who had wished Pope Francis a quick death if he does not open to "wisdom." Krakow Archbishop Marek Jedraszewski said Saturday he heard about the comments…
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's semi-official ILNA news agency is reporting that authorities have detained a close ally of former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Saturday report says the office of Tehran prosecutor's said police detained Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei for "investigations."…
JOHANNESBURG – The president of the Indian Ocean nation of Mauritius, Africa's only female head of state, has resigned amid a financial scandal. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim Gurib-Fakim submitted her resignation in the "national interest," her lawyer Yousouf Mohamed told reporters Saturday,…
Horst Seehofer, left, has undercut Angela Merkel, right, by saying "Islam does not belong to Germany." (Reuters) German Chancellor Angela Merkel was undercut by her interior minister on Friday, when he said in an interview that “Islam does not belong…
VATICAN CITY – The Vatican has bowed to pressure and released the complete letter by Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI about Pope Francis after coming under criticism for selectively citing it in a press release and digitally manipulating a photograph of…