World

PARIS – A key international economic monitor has nudged up its forecast for global economic growth this year amid low interest rates, inflation and oil prices in some major countries. The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, a grouping of the world’s richest countries that acts like a think tank, …

BUDAPEST, Hungary – Hungary’s junk credit rating has been upgraded by Standard & Poor’s, which cited the country’s improving growth outlook and its better preparedness to handle unexpected crises. S&P said in a statement Friday that it was raising Hungary’s rating from BB to BB+, one step below investment grade, …

MOSCOW – Russia officials say they will resume space tourism in 2018 after years of sending into space only professional cosmonauts and astronauts. Russia had sent seven paying guests to the International Space Station since 2001 before curtailing the program in 2009. Sending a tourist has been all but impossible …

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, …