UNITED NATIONS (AP) – As images and reports of starvation in besieged Syrian communities drew an international outcry and two rare aid convoys this month, an urgent question arose: Why not drop food and other needed supplies by air? Humanitarian access is a key issue as the United Nations tries …

ATHENS, Greece (AP) – At least 42 people, including 17 children, died in two separate incidents of boats smuggling migrants or refugees sinking off two Greek islands overnight into Friday. Dozens survived, and a search and rescue operation was underway for more potential survivors. In the first incident, a wooden …

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – As efforts gather pace to renew peace talks with the Taliban, Afghan women still haunted by the insurgents’ brutal rule say they are being left out of the process, and fear that an accommodation with the militants could lead to the loss of hard-won rights. Ending …

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) – Iraq’s prime minister is appealing to Turkey to pull its troops out of Iraqi territory and help better fight the Islamic State group, as both grapple with ways to thwart the extremist group that he insists is losing ground. Haider al-Abadi spoke to The Associated Press …

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) – Analysts are expecting European Central Bank head Mario Draghi to emphasize the bank’s willingness to expand its stimulus efforts if needed to help the economy. But professional ECB watchers are not expecting him to announce any dramatic new measures Thursday, even though investors are worried about …

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – The Afghan reporters recognized the voice threatening them with death on the Islamic State group’s local radio station. It was a former colleague, who knows their names and where they work. The threats were made during a discussion program on “Voice of the Caliphate,” an elusive …

CHARSADDA, Pakistan (AP) – Pakistan is observing a day of mourning after a deadly attack by Islamic militants who stormed a northwestern university the day before, gunning down students and teachers and spreading terror before the four gunmen were slain by the military. The death toll from the assault at …

UNTAVI, Bolivia (AP) – Overturned fishing skiffs lie abandoned on the shores of what was Bolivia’s second-largest lake. Beetles dine on bird carcasses and gulls fight for scraps under a glaring sun in what marshes remain. Lake Poopo was officially declared evaporated last month. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people …

HEMEIMEEM AIR BASE, Syria (AP) – Helicopter gunships sweep low around Russia’s air base on the Syrian coast and long-range air-defense missile systems tower at the base’s edge as warplanes take off one after another. The sound is deafening. Russia’s heavy airstrikes in Syria continued Wednesday, days ahead of the …