DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) – With Islamic State group militants on the doorstep of his hometown in eastern Syria, Yaroob al-Abdullah had little time. He had already rushed his wife and four daughters to safety. Now he had to save the thousands of ancient artifacts he loved. In a week of …

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – In a sweeping defeat for U.N. prosecutors, the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal acquitted Serbian ultranationalist Vojislav Seselj on Thursday of all nine counts alleging that he was responsible for or incited atrocities by Serbian paramilitaries in the 1990s Balkan wars. The ruling sparked joy in …

KOLKATA, India (AP) – A long section of a road overpass under construction collapsed Thursday in a crowded Kolkata neighborhood, with tons of concrete and steel slamming into midday traffic, leaving at least 21 people dead and scores of others injured in the Indian city, police said. Rescuers used saws, …

UNITED NATIONS (AP) – A U.S.-based advocacy group says 98 girls in Central African Republic reported they were sexually abused by international peacekeepers, and three girls told U.N. staff they were tied up, undressed and forced to have sex with a dog by a French military commander in 2014. AIDS-Free …

TOKYO (AP) — The operator of Japan’s destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant switched on a giant refrigeration system on Thursday to create an unprecedented underground ice wall around its damaged reactors. Radioactive water has been flowing from the reactors, and other methods have failed to fully control it. The decontamination and …

LARNACA, Cyprus (AP) – A court on Wednesday ordered an Egyptian man detained for eight days after authorities said he admitted hijacking a domestic EgyptAir flight and diverting it to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus by threatening to blow it up with a fake explosives belt. Cyprus police prosecutor Andreas …

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar’s slow transition to democracy took a momentous step Wednesday as a trusted aide to ruling-party leader Aung Suu Kyi took over as the country’s president, officially ending more than 50 years of the military’s control over government. In a day full of ceremony and symbolism, …

HAVANA (AP) – Days after President Barack Obama’s historic visit, the leaders of Cuba’s Communist Party are under highly unusual public criticism from their own ranks for imposing new levels of secrecy on the future of social and economic reforms. After months of simmering discontent, complaints among party members have …

PARIS (AP) – Police evacuated nearly 1,000 migrants Wednesday from a makeshift camp near a Paris subway station, and hundreds of people sought to cross from Turkey to Greece despite European efforts to slow down the arrivals. The Paris operation was peaceful and authorities offered the migrants temporary lodging and …

ATLANTA (AP) – Two Republican governors. Two proposals at the heart of LGBT rights. One rejection. One new law. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said he was preventing discrimination and protecting commerce when he announced his veto of a measure that would have allowed certain individuals, businesses and faith organizations to …