BANGKOK (AP) – Vietnam granted early release from prison to a Catholic priest who is one of its most prominent dissidents, a move widely seen as a goodwill gesture before President Barack Obama arrives on an official visit late Sunday night. The Catholic Archdiocese of the central city of Hue …

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) – Less than two years ago, amid Cyprus’ worst economic crisis in decades, a charity shop run by the Orthodox Church in the heart of medieval Nicosia was awash with jobless people looking for free food. Now, demand has dropped off to the point where Church authorities …

AKIU, Japan (AP) – The Group of Seven major economies showed a united front on fighting terrorist financing and tax evasion in talks that ended Saturday, but shied away from coordinated action on policies to revive stalling growth. An “action plan” issued after the talks by G7 finance ministers and …

WASHINGTON (AP) – A U.S. Secret Service officer shot a man with a gun who approached a checkpoint outside the White House and refused to drop his weapon, the Secret Service said. The White House was briefly placed on a security alert after the Friday afternoon shooting, which happened within …

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – A solar-powered airplane that landed in Oklahoma last week is headed to Ohio on the latest leg of its around-the-world journey. The Swiss-made Solar Impulse 2 took off from Tulsa International Airport before 5 a.m. Saturday with a destination of Dayton International Airport in Ohio. The …

CAIRO (AP) – Search crews found floating human remains, luggage and seats from the doomed EgyptAir jetliner Friday but face a potentially more complex task in locating bigger pieces of wreckage and the black boxes vital to determining why the plane plunged into the Mediterranean. An aviation industry publication, meanwhile, …

PARIS (AP) – The 66 people lost aboard EgyptAir Flight 804 included a businessman adored by his colleagues, a language and history scholar and a mother caring for a daughter with cancer. A look at the lives of the dead: Ahmed Helal was a business executive who directed Procter and …

WASHINGTON (AP) – A group the White House recently identified as a key surrogate in selling the Iran nuclear deal gave National Public Radio $100,000 last year to help it report on the pact and related issues, according to the group’s annual report. It also funded reporters and partnerships with …

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – A top North Korean diplomat who negotiated a short-lived 1994 deal with the United States to freeze its nuclear programs in exchange for international aid has died of cancer, the country’s state media said Saturday. The North’s Korean Central News Agency said Kang Sok Ju, …

MEXICO CITY (AP) – Mexico’s Foreign Relations Department ruled Friday that the extradition of convicted drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman to the United States can go forward. The process can still be appealed, meaning it could be weeks, months or even longer before the Sinaloa cartel leader may be …