BEIRUT (AP) – Back in Syria, the young women were told they would get well-paid jobs at restaurants and hotels in Lebanon. But when they arrived, their belongings and mobile phones were taken away, and the women were locked up in two hotels north of Beirut and forced into prostitution. …

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) – Syrians in government-controlled areas headed to polling stations Wednesday to elect a new 250-member parliament that is expected to serve as a rubber stamp for President Bashar Assad. Voters began turning up shortly after the stations opened at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT). Around 3,500 government-approved candidates …

NEW DELHI (AP) – The tiny bone fragments formally turned over to the U.S. Wednesday carry a world of significance and perhaps closure for possibly a few American families who lost a loved one over the mountains of India in World War II. During a solemn ceremony Wednesday, U.S. military …

CHANGSHA, China (AP) – For years, Chen Tiantian could only read about the gay rights movement in faraway places. She knew that there were activists in Beijing and a vibrant community in Shanghai, and that in San Francisco, a distant mecca, gay pride parades took up entire streets. But on …

IDOMENI, Greece (AP) – More than 100 migrants engaged in running battles Wednesday with Macedonian police on the other side of a fence on Greece’s border with the country, in clashes that sent clouds of tear gas wafting over a crowded tent city of stranded refugees and other migrants. The …

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Looking for new ways to engage with its audience, Facebook says people who use its Messenger chat service will soon be able to order flowers, shop for shoes and talk with a variety of businesses by sending them direct text messages. And soon, if you haven’t …