JERUSALEM – A national leader’s appearance before the U.S. Congress is usually a source of pride and unity. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned trip to Washington — opposed by the White House and many Democrats — has Israel in uproar. The Israeli leader faces growing calls to cancel the …

ATHENS, Greece – A Cypriot former interior minister and his son have been jailed in Greece on money laundering-linked charges, in connection with a corruption case involving a jailed Greek former defense minister. An Athens court on Wednesday sentenced Dinos Michailidis, a Cypriot minister in the 1980s and 1990s, and …

MEXICO CITY – The number of confirmed dead from a collision between a passenger bus and a freight train in northern Mexico has been raised to 20, officials said Saturday. Authorities in the state of Nuevo Leon said 16 dead were taken to facilities there after Friday’s crash, and officials …

BRUSSELS – The European Union has launched a drive to combat tax evasion following a series of probes into tax rules that allows multinationals to slash their bills in Luxembourg, Ireland and the Netherlands. The EU’s executive commission said Tuesday that it will table new tax legislation next month including …

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – The shooting spree in Copenhagen by a radicalized former gang member has highlighted an overlap between Islamic extremists and the criminal underworld. Danish police say gang members with Muslim backgrounds are being radicalized both in prison and outside, and some have joined the ranks of foreign fighters …

BEIJING – A famed 81-year-old Chinese dissident writer was given a suspended 2 ½-year prison sentence Wednesday on charges of running an illegal business, apparently because he published articles critical of the country’s propaganda chief. A lawyer for Huang Zerong, who uses the pen name Tieliu, said his client was …

A U.S. blogger in Bangladesh known for his prominent stance against religious fundamentalism was hacked to death by unidentified attackers in the country’s capital Thursday night, police said. Avijit Roy and his wife Rafida Ahmed were attacked late Thursday night in Dhaka as they were returning from a book fair …

UNITED NATIONS – Members of the U.N. Security Council have called on the global chemical weapons watchdog to investigate the latest allegations of the use of chlorine as a chemical weapon in Syria. The current council president, Jordanian Ambassador Dina Kawar, spoke to reporters Thursday after a closed-door briefing by …

HYDERABAD, India – Authorities in southern India say they killed five prisoners, including one accused of terrorism, when they tried to escape from a police van. Police were transferring the five men Tuesday from Warangal city to a court in Hyderabad. The head of Telangana state police, Anurag Sharma, said …

YEREVAN, Armenia – Two leaders of an Armenian opposition group have been charged with attempts to organize mass disorder. The charges on Thursday came two days after police detained four members of the Founding Parliament opposition group. The Investigative Committee said weapons were found in the search of homes and …