world news

UN chief met Sudan's president who is accused of genocide

UNITED NATIONS –  The United Nations says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met with Sudan's president, who is accused of genocide by the International Criminal Court, on the sidelines of the African Union summit on grounds of "operational necessity." U.N. deputy spokesman…

Leaked report: UK economy will be worse off after Brexit

LONDON –  A forecast prepared for the British government reportedly says the economy will be worse off after the country leaves the European Union whatever trade deal is struck with the bloc. The leaked assessment published Monday by news website…

Ireland to hold referendum in May on easing abortion ban

LONDON –  Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar says the country will vote in late May on whether to lift a constitutional ban on most abortions. The government met Monday evening to agree on details of a referendum on the eighth…

Al-Qaida's Mali branch releases Colombian captive video

DAKAR, Senegal –  An agency that monitors jihadi websites says al-Qaida's Mali branch has released a video of a Colombian missionary who has been held captive for nearly one year. SITE Intelligence Group said the video released Monday by the…

Privatization concerns grow as PREPA seeks $1.3B loan

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico –  Puerto Rico officials are denying claims they plan to eliminate a regulatory agency that oversees the island's power company amid plans to privatize the utility, which they have warned will run out of funds by…

Associates of Russian opposition leader held over protest

MOSCOW –  Several associates of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have been sentenced to 10 to 30 days in custody for staging an unsanctioned rally in Moscow. The verdicts came a day after about 1,000 Navalny supporters marched across the…

Netanyahu confronts Putin over Iran's actions in Syria, Lebanon

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Monday in Moscow to discuss remnants of the Holocaust and the future of Syria. (Israeli Prime Minister Office) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin met…

Colombia suspends peace talks with ELN rebels over bombings

BOGOTA, Colombia –  Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is suspending talks with the country's last remaining rebel group after a series of bombings over the weekend killed seven police officers The next round of the year-old talks between the government…

President says Poland did not take part in the Holocaust

WARSAW, Poland –  Poland's president says there was no institutionalized participation by Poland or its people in the Holocaust, but acknowledges that individual Poles took "wicked" actions against Jewish neighbors. President Andrzej Duda said Monday that he would never allow…

French police detain slain jogger's husband

PARIS –  The husband of a slain jogger has been detained by French police three months after the killing in eastern France prompted marches and a wave of emotion across the country. Randall Schwerdorffer, a lawyer for Jonathann Daval, said…

Iranian women protest obligatory headscarf

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates –  Social media postings show at least five women in Iran protesting the obligatory Muslim headscarf by taking theirs off and waving them on sticks. The videos and photos show individual women in separate locations in…

Austria: more than 100 skiers stuck on broken chairlift

BERLIN –  Austrian police say that more than 100 skiers who are stuck on a broken chairlift in central Austria are being rescued with helicopters. Styria provincial police tweeted Monday that the lift stopped working because of technical problems and…

Israeli president to attend Greek holocaust museum ceremony

ATHENS, Greece –  Israel's president has met with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras during a visit to Athens that will include a foundation stone-laying ceremony for a Holocaust museum. Reuven Rivlin also met with his Greek counterpart, Procopis Pavlopoulos, in…

Jordan king vows to stick up for Palestinians on Jerusalem

AMMAN, Jordan –  Jordan's king has assured the Palestinians he will defend their "legitimate rights" to independence and a capital in east Jerusalem in dealings with the international community. Abdullah II met Monday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is…

EU agency to have stopgap Amsterdam HQ in Brexit move

AMSTERDAM –  Dutch officials say the European Medicines Agency will be housed in temporary accommodation in Amsterdam before a new headquarters is completed for the agency's relocation from London. Dutch Health Minister Bruno Bruins announced Monday that the EU agency…

The Latest: EU adopts Brexit negotiating guidelines

BRUSSELS –  The Latest on Brexit negotiations (all times local): 3:20 p.m. The European Union has adopted new orders for its Brexit negotiator laying out the terms of a transition period to help ease Britain out of the bloc after…

Italian populist candidates boast they're non-politicians.

ROME –  Populists aiming to govern Italy for the first time have tapped many middle-class professionals from outside politics as their candidates for March 4 national elections. Luigi Di Maio, the 5-Star Movement candidate for premier, on Monday introduced some…

Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan leaders met over Nile dam impasse

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia –  An Ethiopian government statement says the leaders of Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan met in Addis Ababa to discuss contentious issues related to the dam that Ethiopia is building on the Nile River. The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry…

Leaked video causes political storm in Lebanon

BEIRUT –  Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is urging calm after a video emerged showing the foreign minister calling Lebanon's powerful parliament speaker a "thug" in a closed meeting. The leaked video which emerged Sunday comes amid an escalating dispute…

Last-known Sobibor death camp survivor dies in Ukraine

BERLIN –  Arkady Waispapir, the last known survivor of the Nazis' Sobibor death camp, has died in Ukraine. He was 96. The Berlin-based Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe said Monday that Waispapir died Jan. 11 in Kiev. Born…