What the credit downgrade to ‘junk’ means for Russia
By NATALIYA VASILYEVA Russia has seen its credit grade cut to “junk” status for the first time in over a decade, a big blow for a country that wants to…
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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…
Indonesian military halts recovery efforts for AirAsia plane
By FADLAN SYAM Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s military has halted its recovery efforts for the crashed AirAsia plane, including attempts to locate more bodies and raise the fuselage from the…
US announces charges in New York Russian spy ring case
By TOM HAYS Three Russian citizens were charged Monday in connection with a Cold War-style Russian spy ring that spoke in code, passed messages concealed in bags and magazines, and…
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…
Rally by German anti-Islam group PEGIDA draws smaller crowds
A group protesting against the perceived “Islamization of the West” mustered fewer supporters than previously, with police in the eastern city of Dresden estimating that about 17,300 people took part…
Japan stunned by video claiming death of 1 of 2 IS hostages
By YURI KAGEYAMA From the prime minister to ordinary people, Japanese were shocked Sunday at a video purportedly showing one of two Japanese hostages of the extremist Islamic State group…
Ukraine: Phone calls prove rebels attacked city, killed 30
Ukraine’s leader says intercepted radio and telephone conversations prove that Russian-backed separatists were responsible for firing the rockets that pounded the southeastern city of Mariupol and killed at least 30…