South African president says Parliament will open July 18 amid discord in the new coalition

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Friday that Parliament will open for its next term on July 18 as he remains locked in negotiations with other parties to form a Cabinet well before then amid rifts in the new governing coalition. The talks...

Japan and Philippines trying to finish defense pact for signing in Manila as alarm grows over China

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Top defense and foreign affairs officials of Japan and the Philippines will meet in Manila next month to strengthen strategic ties and discuss regional concerns, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said Friday at a time of escalating concerns over China’s...

Women's rights will be raised at the UN meeting being attended by Taliban, UN official says

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. political chief who will chair the first meeting between Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers and envoys from about 25 countries answered sharp criticism that Afghan women have been excluded, saying Wednesday that women’s rights will be raised at every session. ...

Top European rights court says Russia responsible for breaching rights in Crimea after 2014 takeover

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Europe's top human rights court ruled Tuesday that Russia was responsible for a string of human rights violations in Crimea since overrunning and later illegally annexing the Black Sea peninsula in 2014. The European Court of Human Rights said in a...

More Americans are ending up in Russian jails. Prospects for their release are unclear

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — One was a journalist on a reporting trip. Another was attending a wedding. Yet another was a dual national returning to visit family. All are U.S. citizens now behind bars in Russia on various charges. Arrests of Americans in Russia are...

Israel’s Supreme Court rules military must draft ultra-Orthodox, a ruling that could split Netanyahu’s coalition

The Latest | Netanyahu says he will only accept a partial cease-fire deal that would not end the war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will only accept a partial cease-fire deal that would not end the 8-month-long war in Gaza, casting doubt on the viability of a U.S.-backed truce proposal. Netanyahu said he was ready to make a partial deal to bring back some of...

Netanyahu says he won't agree to a deal that ends the war in Gaza, testing the latest truce proposal

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The viability of a U.S.-backed proposal to wind down the 8-month-long war in Gaza has been cast into doubt after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would only be willing to agree to a “partial” cease-fire deal that would not end the war, comments that...

Colombia launches talks with rebel group led by fighters who returned to arms after 2016 peace deal

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia launched peace talks with the Second Marquetalia rebel group on Monday as the administration of leftist President Gustavo Petro tries to pacify rural areas of the country that have seen rising violence despite efforts to broker ceasefires with various armed...

Argentina’s President Javier Milei meets Czech leaders to wrap up his trip to Europe

PRAGUE (AP) — Argentina’s self-described anarcho-capitalist President Javier Milei wrapped up his brief trip to three European Union countries by visiting the Czech Republic on Monday. Milei met Czech leaders, including his counterpart, retired Gen. Petr Pavel and conservative...