World News

BEIRUT (AP) — U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in Syria have liberated a Yazidi woman who had been held for a decade by the Islamic State group, where she was raped and forced to marry extremists, the Syrian Democratic Forces said Monday. The 24-year-old woman along with her son and daughter were rescued during an ongoing security operation by Kurdish fighters in …

PARIS (AP) — The French government summoned Russia’s ambassador for talks Monday over the killing of two French citizens working for nongovernmental organizations in Ukraine, and promised sustained support for the Ukrainian military in its effort to push back Russian forces. The humanitarian workers were killed in Russian strikes on Thursday near a front line of fighting in the war …

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese court gave a suspended death sentence to a China-born Australian democracy blogger on Monday. The Australian government, which has repeatedly raised his case over the years, said it was appalled. Yang Hengjun was found guilty of espionage and sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said. Such sentences are …

BOGOTÁ (AP) — Cuatro militares colombianos murieron luego de que un helicóptero en el que viajaban se accidentara el lunes en el área de la base militar Cutí, ubicada en la frontera con Panamá, informó el Ejército colombiano. Fueron hallados sin vida el piloto al mando de la aeronave, el mayor Karol Felipe García Murillo, así como el jefe de …

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A fire at a guesthouse in central Romania on Sunday morning left one person dead and two hospitalized, authorities said. Emergency teams were deployed to the blaze in the town of Calimanesti in Valcea county where 10 people — including the owner and an employee — were staying at the guesthouse, according to the Department for …

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said it tested cruise missiles outfitted with new “super-large” warheads as well as a new type of anti-aircraft missile, extending a streak in weapons demonstrations that has rival South Korea worried. The report Saturday by North Korean state media came a day after South Korea’s military said it detected the North launching multiple …

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said it tested cruise missiles outfitted with new “super-large” warheads as well as a new type of anti-aircraft missile, extending a streak in weapons demonstrations that has rival South Korea worried. The report Saturday by North Korean state media came a day after South Korea’s military said it detected the North launching multiple …

OCUMICHO, Mexico (AP) — Guided by their ancestral lunar calendar, members of Mexico’s Purepecha Indigenous group celebrated their own New Year’s Eve — a little differently than the West’s traditional New Year. The Purepechas, who live in the western state of Michoacán, preserve the pre-Hispanic belief in the “New Fire” ceremony, a version of which was also practiced by their …

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia will seek an urgent U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss the escalation of tensions with its former province of Kosovo after its government decided to ban the use of the Serbian dinar and introduce the euro in areas where minority Serbs live, Serbia’s president said Friday. Kosovo’s government has banned banks and other financial institutions …

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The government of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has taken steps to to address human rights abuses in the country, including the killings of journalists and rights activists, a U.N. expert said Friday. However, more needs to be done, she said, including ensuring accountability. The remarks by United Nations Special Rapporteur Irene Khan came at the …