AMMAN, Jordan – A government official says Jordan’s state security court sentenced 12 defendants to prison terms ranging from one to 15 years in what local media described as a plot by the Islamic militant Hamas group to carry out attacks in the West Bank. The official says eight defendants …
Read More »
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Puerto Rico is preparing to welcome the world’s two largest cruise ships for the first time next year. The executive director of the island’s Tourism Company says Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas will bring an estimated 60,000 passengers to …
Read More »
CAIRO – Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities says American archeologists have discovered a 3000-year-old tomb with beautifully painted walls belonging to a nobleman who guarded the temple of the ancient deity Amun. Tuesday’s statement says the tomb, found near the southern city of Luxor, dates back to the New Kingdom of …
Read More »
MEXICO CITY – A Mexican court has ordered alleged drug lord Servando Gomez to stand trial on drug and organized-crime charges. The national Judiciary Council said late Wednesday the court had found enough evidence to warrant a trial of the alleged leader of the Knights Templar cartel on charges of …
Read More »
TORONTO – Canadian special forces in northern Iraq have engaged in two more firefights against Islamic State group militants. Earlier this month in what was the first ground firefight between Western troops and the Islamic State group, Canadian soldiers engaged in a gun battle with militants after coming under a …
Read More »
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Qatar Airways says it is buying a nearly 10 percent stake in International Consolidated Airlines Group, the parent company of British Airways and Spain’s Iberia. The government-backed Gulf carrier said on Friday that the decision to buy 9.99 percent of the company, known as IAG, …
Read More »
DAMASCUS, Syria – A Palestinian official and an activist say local fighters in a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus have advanced in clashes with Islamic State militants. Damascus-based Palestinian official Khaled Abdul-Majid said Wednesday that Palestinian factions have forced the IS fighters to retreat from some positions in Yarmouk camp. …
Read More »
BEIJING – The top anti-graft body of China’s Communist Party says more than 100,000 officials have been reprimanded since late 2012 for violating policies mandating more austere working practices. The party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in its monthly report Monday that 5,340 officials were reprimanded in December 2014, …
Read More »
UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. General Assembly is calling for urgent assistance to help Nepal earthquake survivors and to rebuild the impoverished Himalayan nation so it can better survive future disasters. A resolution approved by the 193-member world body by consensus Friday urges the international community to support the U.N. …
Read More »
DERA ISLAMIL KHAN, Pakistan – Pakistani intelligence officials say two missiles fired from a U.S. drone hit a compound in a troubled Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border, killing three militants. The two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters, said …
Read More »