ATHENS, Greece – More than 280 passengers and crew are facing a possible third night on board a ferry that ran aground just outside port on the small Aegean island of Kassos, because bad weather hampered the arrival of a tug boat. The coast guard said the Vintsenzos Kornaros, its …

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. secretary-general is condemning the deadly attack on a French satirical newspaper as “a horrendous, unjustifiable and cold-blooded crime.” Ban Ki-moon spoke to the media hours after masked gunmen stormed the newspaper’s Paris offices and killed 12 people, including the editor. Ban called it “a very …

MOSCOW – The international police agency Interpol has issued a wanted notice for former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on charges of embezzlement. The so-called “red notice” issued Monday is not an arrest warrant, but aimed at helping national police agencies of member countries identify suspects. Yanukovych abandoned his post and …

SYDNEY – Beaches at the Australian city of Newcastle have been closed for a sixth day because of a 5-meter (16-foot) great white shark that is lurking in coastal waters. Newcastle City Council Aquatic Services Coordinator Peter Withers says the shark was first spotted on Saturday off Merewether Beach and …

PARIS – President Francois Hollande, once the most unpopular French leader in his country’s modern history, is getting a major boost in popularity following his response to the terror attacks that shook the nation. The Ifop-Fiducial poll released Monday for Paris Match magazine asked, “‘Do you approve or disapprove of …

NAIROBI, Kenya – A Kenyan official says the government is considering a request by the Chinese government to repatriate some of the 76 Chinese nationals arrested in Kenya for hacking. Ben Ogutu, the political and diplomatic secretary at the foreign affairs ministry, said on a live TV talk show Wednesday …

HELSINKI – An Iraqi-born cleric convicted of making death threats against a Norwegian politician and intimidating witnesses has walked free from prison. Mullah Krekar, a 58-year-old Kurd known as Najmaddin Faraj Ahmad, served nearly three years in prison. Relatives collected him Sunday from Kongsvinger prison near Oslo. Outside the gates, …

BEIRUT – In the moments after her husband blew himself up in the ballroom of a Jordanian hotel as part of an al-Qaida plot, Sajida al-Rishawi fled the scene of chaos wearing her own explosive belt. The 2005 assault on three hotels in Amman, the worst terror attack in Jordan’s …

Mad cow disease (search)was diagnosed in a Canadian cow this week, setting off a new round of predictable, but groundless panic. The U.S. government promptly banned imports of Canadian beef and cattle. Investors dumped the stock of beef-related companies, notablyMcDonald’s (search),which lost $1.5 billion in market value. And of course, …

UNITED NATIONS – North Korea’s foreign minister is demanding that the U.N. secretary-general tell member states that a resolution targeting the country’s bleak human rights record is illegal and based on lies. The letter from Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong, obtained by The Associated Press, says North Korea will be …