By MATTHEW PENNINGTON, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite U.S. support, the Afghan government's surprising new peace offer to the Taliban is immediately running into a wall. The insurgents show no sign of shifting from their demand that talks for a conflict-ending compromise take ...

By FRANK JORDANS, Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel cleared the last major hurdle on her path to a fourth term Sunday, after members of the center-left Social Democrats voted in favor of continuing their governing coalition with her conservative bloc. The ...

By HYUNG-JIN KIM, Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's president will send a delegation led by his national security director to North Korea this week for talks on how to ease nuclear tensions and help arrange the restart of dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington, ...

By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press ROME (AP) — Italians voted Sunday in one of the most uncertain elections in years and one that could determine if Italy will succumb to the populist, euroskeptic and far-right sentiment that has swept through Europe. The campaign was marked by the ...

By GILLIAN WONG, Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — President Xi Jinping is poised to make a historic power grab as China's legislators gather beginning Monday to approve changes that will let him rule indefinitely and undo decades of efforts to prevent a return to crushing dictatorship. This ...

By KEN THOMAS and PAUL WISEMAN, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday insisted "trade wars are good, and easy to win," a bold claim that prompted threats of retaliation against U.S. exports like blue jeans and motorcycles. "Make no mistake: If the president ...

By JOE McDONALD, AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — China had no immediate reaction Friday to U.S. President Donald Trump's vow to impose high tariffs on steel and aluminum, which he followed up by insisting that trade wars "are good, and easy to win." Chinese leaders have threatened in the ...

By JOSH LEDERMAN and MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Citing mysterious "health attacks" in Havana, the United States said Friday it was making permanent its withdrawal of 60 percent of its diplomats from Cuba as investigations continue. Last October, the State Department ...

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — In just one day, the suggestions have been pouring in: "Kraken" for a new underwater drone capable of blasting coastlines with a powerful nuclear explosion. "Balalaika" for a futuristic nuclear-powered cruise missile capable of circling ...

By PAN PYLAS, Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Bank of England Governor Mark Carney on Friday launched a withering attack on cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and urged regulators around the world to monitor them in the same way as other financial assets. In a speech to the Scottish Economics ...

By SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — The Russia-ordered brief humanitarian pause was in effect for a second day Wednesday in rebel-held Damascus suburbs but no civilians used the corridor manned by Syrian and Russian forces to leave the enclave. Government forces, meanwhile, ...

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli organization said Wednesday it has minted a coin bearing President Donald Trump's image to honor his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The Mikdash Educational Center said the "Temple Coin" features Trump alongside King Cyrus, who 2,500 years ago ...

By NEBI QENA, Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem reopened early on Wednesday after Israeli officials suspended a plan to impose taxes on church properties in the holy city. The iconic church, revered by Christians as the site of Jesus' ...

By ELLIOT SPAGAT, Associated Press SAN DIEGO (AP) — A judge who was taunted by Donald Trump during the presidential campaign sided with the president Tuesday on a challenge to building a border wall with Mexico, removing what could have been a major obstacle to the signature campaign ...

By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — North Korea sent items used in ballistic missile and chemical weapons programs to Syria along with missile technicians in violation of U.N. sanctions — and banned ballistic missiles systems to Myanmar, U.N. experts said. The ...

By KIM TONG-HYUNG, Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Prosecutors on Tuesday demanded a 30-year prison term for former South Korean President Park Geun-hye for alleged bribery, abuse of power and other crimes in a landmark corruption case that marked a stunning fall from grace for ...

BEIJING (AP) — In a rare public expression of dissent in China, a well-known political commentator and a prominent businesswoman have penned open letters urging lawmakers to reject a plan that would allow President Xi Jinping to rule indefinitely. Their impassioned statements on a popular ...

By JON GAMBRELL, Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia replaced its military chief of staff and other defense officials early on Tuesday morning in a shake-up apparently aimed at overhauling its Defense Ministry during the stalemated and ruinous war in Yemen. The ...

By SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — A brief, Russia-ordered "humanitarian pause" went into effect on Tuesday as Syrian and Russian forces set up a corridor to allow civilians to leave a rebel-held enclave near Damascus, but by the end of the five-hour pause, no civilians had ...

By JON GAMBRELL, Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dubai investigators closed the case on Tuesday into the death last weekend of Indian movie icon Sridevi, calling it an accidental drowning. Her family has been given permission to take her body back to India, officials ...