BANJUL, Gambia – Gambia's president has declared a moratorium on the death penalty, calling it a "first step toward abolition." President Adama Barrow announced the moratorium while addressing a large crowd gathered Sunday for the country's independence anniversary. This tiny…
MADRID – Two prominent Catalan politicians are testifying before a Supreme Court judge for their roles in holding a banned independence referendum and making an illegal declaration of independence based on its results. Judicial police have identified left-republican ERC party's…
THE HAGUE, Netherlands – A legal battle between France and Equatorial Guinea over the corruption prosecution of the African nation's vice president is back before the International Court of Justice, months after a Paris court convicted the vice president. French…
BERLIN – German Chancellor Angela Merkel is reported to favor the governor of Saarland state to run her center-right party's day-to-day operations. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has been tipped as a possible successor to Merkel as leader of the Christian Democratic Union.…
LONDON – Oxfam's report on sexual misconduct allegations in Haiti shows that three staff members intimidated and physically threatened witnesses as the charity investigated the original claims. The organization released the findings of its investigation Monday, following reports suggesting Oxfam…
MEXICO CITY – The U.S. Geological Survey says an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 has struck the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, days after a more powerful temblor hit the same area. The epicenter of the quake, which…
BEIRUT – The Latest on the conflict in Syria (all times local): 11:25 a.m. Turkish officials have increased to 786 the number of people detained so far in Turkey for criticizing the country's military offensive in northern Syria. Authorities have…
BEIRUT – Syrian state TV says pro-government forces will begin entering the Syrian Kurdish enclave of Afrin in the country's northwest "within hours." The TV gave no further details about the deployment of the troops, known as "popular forces," which…
MOSCOW – The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on churchgoers in Russia's predominantly Muslim Dagestan region. At least five people were killed and four wounded when a gunman opened fire with a hunting rifles on…
BERLIN – A leading figure in the nationalist Alternative for Germany has urged the party's followers to reject violence. Joerg Meuthen wrote on his Facebook page that he was prompted to speak out after readers of an earlier column had…
JERUSALEM – The Israeli military says it has struck an underground militant infrastructure site in Gaza in response to rocket fire toward Israel. Monday's airstrikes come amid days of renewed tensions and violence along the Gaza border. The military has…
In January, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted that those fleeing “persecution, terror & war, Canada will welcome you regardless of faith,” but a recent report indicated that his country has been deporting North Korean asylum seekers. Al Jazeera reported Sunday…
DHARMSALA, India – The Tibetan government-in-exile says a weekend fire at the sprawling Jokhang monastery in Tibet did not affect the main chapel at the 1,300-year-old religious site, considered the spiritual heart of Tibetan Buddhism. The Jokhang chapel houses many…
KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan official says that bodies of nine civilians abducted by militants early last year have been found in the country's eastern province of Nangarhar. A district governor says the bodies, including three of tribal leaders, were…
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's Press TV is reporting that search and rescue teams have reached the site of the plane crash that authorities say killed all 65 people on board. The Aseman Airlines ATR-72, a twin-engine turboprop used for short-distance…
JAKARTA, Indonesia – Rumbling Mount Sinabung on the Indonesian island of Sumatra has shot billowing columns of ash more than 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) into the atmosphere and hot clouds down its slopes. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency says there…
MANILA, Philippines – A Philippine diplomat says the risks of an armed conflict have increased in the disputed South China Sea with a militarily stronger China now able to challenge the United States, which used to be the dominant power…
ISLAMABAD – Pakistani cricket legend-turned-politician Imran Khan has married a faith healer, ending rumors that he was considering a third marriage after divorcing two wives. Khan's Pakistan Taherik-e-Insaf party announced Monday that the 66-year-old Khan has married Bushra Maneka. The…
A new report details how a worldwide oversight in the War on Terror helped lead to the deaths of four U.S. service members in Niger last October — the largest loss of American troops during combat in Africa since the…
A passenger killed in the deadly Iranian commercial plane crash on Sunday reportedly channeled his faith just moments before takeoff, sending his girlfriend one last text. “May God protect us to arrive safe,” the unnamed passenger wrote to his girlfriend,…
In this 2014 file photo, members of Russia's special forces stand guard during an operation in Makhachkala, the capital of Russia's North Caucasus Republic of Dagestan. (REUTERS/Stringer ) Five women were killed and several others were injured after a gunman…
A helicopter leaving from the location where an avalanche injured two people at the Fenestral Pass, in Finhaut, Switzerland. (Valentin Flauraud/Keystone via AP) Authorities say two skiers were killed by an avalanche in the French Alps, and two more people…
PARIS – Authorities say two skiers were killed by an avalanche in the French Alps, and two more people were injured by an avalanche in Switzerland near the border with France. The prefecture in France's Savoie region said the fatal…
It has been a whirlwind of change for staunchly conservative Saudi Arabia, and on Friday a sold-out audience in Riyadh was treated for the first time to a woman taking the stage alongside the men. The actress, Najat Mouftah, played…