Prime Minister Shinzo Abe defends handling of hostage crisis
By MARI YAMAGUCHI and ELAINE KURTENBACH Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe defended his policy toward terrorism, as the flag at his official residence flew at half-staff Monday in a mark…
Diplomacy
Raul Castro: US must return Guantanamo for normal relations
By JAVIER CORDOBA and MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN Cuban President Raul Castro demanded on Wednesday that the United States return the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, lift the half-century trade embargo on…
Jordan ready to swap inmate for pilot held by Islamic State
Jordan is willing to swap an Iraqi woman prisoner involved in deadly 2005 hotel bombings for a Jordanian pilot captured in December by extremists from the Islamic State group, a…
Purported IS message threatens Japan, Jordan hostages
By MARI YAMAGUCHI and ELAINE KURTENBACH An online message purportedly from the Islamic State group warned Tuesday that a Japanese hostage and Jordanian pilot the extremists hold have less than…
Kerry in Nigeria to warn against postelection violence
In a rare high-level visit to Africa’s most populous country, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday urged Nigeria’s leading presidential candidates to refrain from fomenting violence after next…
Rockets kill 21 in Ukraine city as rebel offensive begins
By PETER LEONARD Indiscriminate rocket fire slammed into a market, schools and homes Saturday in the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, killing at least 21 people, authorities said. Ukraine’s top…
IS-linked militants say countdown for Japan’s hostages began
By MARI YAMAGUCHI and ELAINE KURTENBACHMilitants affiliated with the Islamic State group have posted an online warning that the “countdown has begun” for the group to kill a pair of…
Yemen president resigns under pressure from rebels
Yemen’s president resigned Thursday, saying he had reached a “deadlock” in talks with Shiite rebels who rule the capital and had confined him to his home. His resignation raised fears…