TALLINN, Estonia — Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has signed a law into effect that significantly tightens control over various religious denominations and organizations. The law, published on the presidential website this week, mandates that all denominations and religious groups reapply for state registration, which authorities reserve the right to refuse. It’s the latest step in … Read more
PARIS — A French court is expected to rule Tuesday on charges against a Rwandan doctor for his alleged role in the 1994 genocide in his home country. Prosecutors have requested a sentence of 30 years in prison. Sosthene Munyemana, 68, faces charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and complicity in such crimes. Munyemana, who … Read more
SANTIAGO — Chile’s police on Friday arrested at least 55 people in a fiscal fraud case that could be one of the biggest in the country’s history, amounting to about $275 million and implicating small and mid-sized companies in different parts of the country. Marcelo Freyhoffer, a high officer at Chile’s tax agency, told journalists … Read more
TBILISI, Georgia — Hundreds of people marched in Georgia’s capital Saturday to support the Caucasus region country becoming a candidate for European Union membership. The EU is expected to announce Dec. 15 whether it has decided to grant Georgia candidate status, a crucial milestone for potential membership. The government was told last month that it … Read more
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Fiji’s leader says that after meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping, he hopes to collaborate with China on upgrading his nation’s shipyards and ports. Sitiveni Rabuka made the remarks to lawmakers in Parliament on Wednesday. Rabuka is generally viewed as leaning less toward China than his predecessor Frank Bainimarama, and in … Read more
TAIPEI, Taiwan — TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Sunday pledged to continue deepening reforms, expand free trade zones and relax market access for foreign investment while seeking to generate excitement around a largely lackluster economy. Li made the remarks when delivering a keynote speech at the opening of the 6th China … Read more
TALLINN, Estonia — The authoritarian president of Belarus invited Hungary’s prime minister to visit his country, which has faced increasing isolation over the government’s relentless crackdown on dissent and support of ally Russia’s war with Ukraine. President Alexander Lukashenko extended the invitation to Prime Minister Viktor Orban at a meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter … Read more
A new king will ascend to the throne in Malaysia, but no one died or was deposed to leave him in charge. Instead, as part of Malaysia’s unique, rotating monarchy, Sultan Ibrahim ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar, ruler of the southern Malaysian state of Johor, was “elected” by a council of state sovereigns on Friday. The … Read more
JERUSALEM — Five family members were killed in a mass shooting Wednesday in an Arab town in northern Israel, police and advocates said, the latest victims of a recent surge of gun violence within the country’s Arab communities. Another Arab citizen of Israel was killed in a separate shooting earlier Wednesday. Israeli police said that … Read more
ATHENS, Greece — Greek authorities strengthened firefighting forces within the northeastern a part of the nation Monday, the place an enormous lethal wildfire was burning for a tenth day with no indicators of abating. The fireplace within the Alexandroupolis and Evros areas close to the Turkish border has been blamed for 20 of the 21 … Read more