Kurds celebrate ousting Islamic State fighters from Kobani
By ZEINA KARAM Jubilant Kurdish fighters ousted Islamic State militants from the key Syrian border town of Kobani on Monday after a four-month battle — a significant victory for both…
Religion
French arrests beg question: Is free speech for all?
By JILL LAWLESS When cartoonists at a French publication that had poked fun at the Prophet Muhammad were shot dead, millions around the world felt it as an attack on…
Possible GOP candidates pitch ideas at conservative forum
By THOMAS BEAUMONT The robust Christian right in early-voting Iowa plays an outsize role in helping determine the Republican presidential nominee, a political reality not lost on the parade of…
Would-be 2016 GOP candidates woo Iowa’s social conservatives
By THOMAS BEAUMONT and CATHERINE LUCEY After years of campaigning in Iowa for others, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is venturing into new territory as a potential White House candidate…
Town once run by polygamist leader is sharply divided
By BRADY McCOMBS As polygamist leader Warren Jeffs awaited his fate in a Texas prison, he sent an order to his followers on the Utah-Arizona border: Build me a new…
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…
New Saudi king moves fast to name second-in-line to throne
By ABDULLAH AL-SHIHRI Saudi Arabia’s new king moved swiftly Friday to name the country’s interior minister as deputy crown prince, making him the second-in-line to the throne, as he promised…
Aides: Rebels hold Yemen’s president ‘captive’ at his house
By AHMED AL-HAJ Shiite rebels in control of Yemen’s capital now hold the country’s president “captive” at his home, his aides said Wednesday, putting in question who actually rules the…