A land mine explosion in Afghanistan claimed the lives of 9 children Saturday as they walked to school, according to police. Spokesman Khalil Asir said the mine detonated in the northeastern province of Takhar, killing the children, who were nine to 12 years old. Asir said the Taliban planted …
Hong Kong police Saturday fired tear gas in an effort to disperse protesters whose rallies in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory show no signs of subsiding. Saturday marked the 22nd consecutive weekend of pro-democracy protests in the territory’s streets. Friday, Shen Chunyaok, the director of the Hong Kong, Macao and Basic …
The United Nations global climate meeting next month will take place in Madrid rather than Chile, which had to bow out as host on short notice, officials said Friday. U.N. climate chief Patricia Espinosa said representatives of the body that organizes the annual conference had accepted Spain’s offer to host …
The Washington Nationals will not have to travel far, or wait all that long, to visit the White House, as the World Series champions have a get-together planned with President Donald Trump on Monday. Typically, teams wait until the following season when they are in Baltimore or Washington to visit …
Spaniards are voicing outrage after five men were acquitted of rape on the grounds that their 14-year-old victim had been unconscious at the time. The Barcelona-based court ruled Thursday that the men were guilty of the lesser crime of sexual abuse and sentenced them to 10-12 years and fined …
The Nationals’ World Series victory Wednesday night has brought together fans in a city deeply divided by the impeachment inquiry against U.S. President Donald Trump. The Washington Nationals defeated the Houston Astros 6-2 on Wednesday in the seventh game of Major League Baseball’s World Series, earning the team’s first championship …
The United States says it is still looking for ways to block a proposed natural gas pipeline connecting Russia and Germany, after the Danish government this week cleared away one of the last legal obstacles to the project, known as Nord Stream 2. “The Department of Energy strongly believes that …
The FBI says it is investigating more than 2,000 cases tied to groups designated by the United States as foreign terrorist organizations, a figure that reflects the persistent threat posed by outfits such as al-Qaida and Hezbollah. There are currently 68 individual groups on the U.S. State Department’s list of …
U.S. President Donald Trump’s attended two fundraisers this week, raking in millions of dollars for the Trump 2020 and House Republican campaigns. The events, both held at Trump’s own properties in Washington and Chicago are drawing continued scrutiny and charges of ethics violations that the president brushes aside. White House …
Chile canceled the hosting of two important international meetings in the capital, Santiago, because of ongoing protests across the South American country. Chile’s President Sebastián Piñera said Wednesday his country will not host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in November or the COP25 environmental summit in December, as his …
A fire swept through a Pakistani train Thursday killing at least 46 people, police said, after a gas canister passengers were using to cook breakfast exploded. The fire destroyed three of the train’s carriages near the town of Rahim Yar Khan in the south of Punjab province. District police chief …
Indonesia is about the closest thing left to a liberal democracy in Southeast Asia, so analysts had high hopes that President Joko Widodo could promote civil rights and transparency, while steering an open economy to more global trade. As the president enters his second term this month, however, those expectations …
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn were set to trade barbs over Brexit and public spending Wednesday when they face off in Parliament for the last time before a Dec. 12 general election. The House of Commons on Tuesday approved an early election in hopes of …
The day after anti-government protests erupted in Iraq, Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani flew into Baghdad late at night and took a helicopter to the heavily fortified Green Zone, where he surprised a group of top security officials by chairing a meeting in place of the prime minister. The arrival of …
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says this week’s inaugural meeting of a committee tasked with drafting a new Syrian constitution presents a “unique opportunity” for peace. The U.N. chief said Tuesday that he expects the 150-member committee to work “in good faith.” Representatives from the Syrian government, opposition and civil …
A top U.S. Border Patrol official has a warning: The crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border is not over. Even though crossings have been down over the past few months and news of custody deaths and teeming facilities full of children and families has faded from front pages and talking points …
Ninety years ago, on Oct. 29, 1929, the U.S. stock market plummeted nearly 13%. Wall Street investors panicked and unloaded their stock. The unprecedented financial crash became known as Black Tuesday. …
The full House of Representatives will vote this week on the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, addressing the White House argument that the probe has been illegitimate. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has scheduled a vote for Thursday, saying in a letter to fellow representatives that she wants to …
Freshman Rep. Katie Hill, a rising Democratic star in the House, announced her resignation amid an ethics probe, saying explicit private photos of her with a campaign staffer had been “weaponized” by her husband and political operatives. The California Democrat, 32, had been hand-picked for a coveted leadership seat. But …
Actress Geena Davis urged Hollywood filmmakers to take new steps to address an ongoing gender imbalance in media as she accepted an honorary Oscar on Sunday for her work to promote more women on screen. While equality for women lags throughout U.S. society, it is even worse in film and …
California Governor Gavin Newsom says there are hopes that by later Monday the near historic winds that are driving a huge wildfire in the northern part of the state will “substantially settle down” as some 3,000 people work to put out the blaze. “We’re not out of the woods, but …
Negotiations on a sweeping 16-nation free trade deal and a code of conduct for the hotly contested South China Sea are expected to take center stage at a summit of Asian leaders in Bangkok next month. The leaders of all 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations …
Conservative President Mauricio Macri conceded defeat in Argentina’s election Sunday night, paving the way for the country’s Peronist center-left to return to power under Alberto Fernandez as frustrated voters rejected the incumbent’s handling of a bruising economic crisis that has sunk many into poverty. The result would mark a dramatic …
Thousands of supporters of an ultra-religious party are gathering in Karachi to start a large anti-government march on Pakistan’s capital farther north. Mufti Abrar Ahmed, spokesman for the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party, says its leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman will lead the protesters’ caravan setting off later on Sunday. The beginning of …
Pope Francis has thanked Amazon regional bishops for their “candor” at a meeting which called for ordaining married priests and other changes to help the Catholic church’s far-flung flock in that part of South America. In his homily Sunday at a Mass to conclude weeks of discussions at the Vatican …
An Afghan politician confirms that U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is in Afghanistan’s capital for his first visit since talks between the U.S. and Taliban collapsed last month. Sayed Hamid Gailani, leader of the National Islamic Front of Afghanistan, posted on his Twitter account late Saturday that he met …