One shady operator provides glimpse of supply line to Iran

WASHINGTON — Austrian-born Daniel Frosch was only 23 when U.S. officials first realized that he had become a small but important cog...

European Union bank oversight startup to be slow

LONDON — European leaders took a step forward Friday in their effort to put all of the Eurozone's banks under central oversight but...

Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan, shot by Taliban, able to stand

LONDON — Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenage education-rights campaigner who was shot in the head by the Taliban, has been able to...

Opening of Northern Ireland's first abortion clinic draws protests

LONDON — The opening of Northern Ireland's first private abortion clinic Thursday in Belfast drew hundreds of noisy demonstrators, who...

At Mexico City park, statue of Azerbaijan leader elicits protest

MEXICO CITY — The leafy green parks of Mexico City's elegant Polanco neighborhood have their politically comforting statues.

Twitter blocks neo-Nazi group Better Hannover in Germany

BERLIN — Twitter on Thursday blocked users in Germany from viewing the messages of a neo-Nazi group as the company for the first...

Russia opposition leader is detained, interrogated

MOSCOW — Sergei Udaltsov, a Russian opposition leader, was detained and interrogated for several hours Wednesday by authorities...

Britain will not extradite hacker with Asperger's

LONDON — In a case that has dogged Anglo-American relations for a decade, Britain said Tuesday that it would not send a confessed...

Scotland to hold independence referendum in 2014

LONDON — The people of Scotland will decide in 2014 whether to stay yoked to England and Wales or become an independent nation after...

'Prince' Roy Bates dies at 91; adventuring monarch of Sealand

A born swashbuckler, Paddy Roy Bates fought in the Spanish Civil War as a teenager, faced a Greek firing squad in World War II and had a...

Peace Prize honors the sometimes discordant EU

LONDON — In some European capitals, they mutter about a Fourth Reich and compare the German chancellor to Adolf Hitler. The French...

Greece civil servants' secure jobs stir resentment among public

ATHENS — With a new batch of budget cuts looming, Greek officials have made it clear that they must target the state's nearly 1-...

Vladimir Putin turning 60: Russia's hero and most interesting man

MOSCOW — He slowly descended the stairs to the courtyard, his handgun loaded with 12 rounds. Seven armed comrades stood in the windows...

Kurdish autonomy in Syria troubling for rebels, Turkey

AFRIN, Syria —This tranquil town in northwest Syria is a haven from the warfare convulsing much of the country, but the calm points to...

U.S. indicts 11 in alleged technology theft for Russia

HOUSTON —Eleven alleged members of a clandestine procurement network have been indicted in connection with what prosecutors say was...

NATO's secretary-general discusses Afghanistan, Libya

BRUSSELS — Since becoming head of the world's most durable military alliance three years ago, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh...

Ikea's Saudi Arabia catalog erases women; company expresses regret

The Ikea catalog distributed in Saudi Arabia is the same as in other countries except for what it's missing — women.

France unveils tax-heavy budget

PARIS — To mixed reaction, France's Socialist government unveiled a get-tough budget Friday that contains $25.8 billion in tax...

Vatican court blocks evidence in trial of pope's ex-butler

VATICAN CITY — The self-proclaimed whistle-blowing butler of Pope Benedict XVI went on trial Saturday for allegedly stealing...

Spain announces cutbacks, tax increases

MADRID — Spain announced cutbacks and tax increases Thursday aimed at saving $50 billion from its budget next year, as Europe's...

Unfortunately for Germany, it's 'a wonderland for raccoons'

NIESTE, Germany — The masked intruders who come regularly after dark don't fill Marga Trautmann-Winter with dread so much as...

Greyhound bus makes one of its last overnight trips across Britain

GLASGOW, Scotland — The other passengers aboard the late-night Greyhound bus weren't looking to get their kicks on route M6. Mostly...

Russia prepares to crack down on drunk driving

MOSCOW — The five caskets positioned next to one another in a common grave Wednesday showed the tragic results of another apparent...

Russia rights activists decry sentences in police abuse case

MOSCOW — Two police officers in Kazan, Russia, were sentenced to less than three years in prison Tuesday after the first convictions...

Russian opposition figure takes dim view of anti-Putin movement

MOSCOW — The long months of political protest in Russia last winter and spring against the rule of Vladimir Putin were followed by a...

Louvre's new Islamic wing provides tonic at time of tension

PARIS — In the midst of the furor in the Muslim world over negative Western depictions of the prophet Muhammad, the Louvre on Saturday...

Greece's economic woes get more taxing

HYDRA, Greece — With its whitewashed walls and brightly blooming bougainvillea, Hydra hardly conjures up scenes of confrontation,...

Scotland leader Alex Salmond's dream: The death of modern Britain

LONDON — Ask a pundit who Britain's savviest politician is, and there's a good chance the name that comes back won't belong to someone...

Here, Ireland's potato famine won't be forgotten

Since he was a child, John Lahey had heard about the tragic Irish potato famine.

Turkish ex-military officers sentenced in Sledgehammer case

BEIRUT — Two former Turkish generals and a retired admiral were among more than 300 ex-officers sentenced to prison terms Friday in...

Regulator lets BSkyB keep license but chides James Murdoch

LONDON — British Sky Broadcasting, the satellite TV network partially owned by Rupert Murdoch, remains a "fit and proper" holder of...

Russia says USAID ousted for meddling in elections

MOSCOW — Russia's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said that the U.S. Agency for International Development was being barred from...

French magazine ordered to hand over Kate Middleton photos

PARIS — Britain's royal family won a legal victory Tuesday when a French court ordered a magazine to hand over photographs of Kate...

Shanghai revisits its forgotten Jewish past

SHANGHAI — The family always knew there was something mysterious about Wang Fanglian, secrets he dared not share with even his closest...

Critics in Britain see 'lopsided' U.S. extradition treaty

BOLSOVER, England — One of America's most wanted men, here in Britain anyway, is a slightly awkward computer geek who still drops by...

Pope Benedict XVI ends Lebanon trip, urges interreligious harmony

BEIRUT — Pope Benedict XVI closed a three-day visit to Lebanon on Sunday with an impassioned plea for peace, reconciliation and...

In Russia, listless protesters, bored riot police

MOSCOW — The opposition had trumpeted the protest Saturday as the "March of Millions," and the authorities were ready, deploying...

Russian opposition lawmaker ousted from parliament

MOSCOW — A prominent opposition activist was stripped of his seat in the lower house of the Russian parliament Friday, a move that...

German court ruling bolsters European bailout fund

BERLIN — Germany's supreme court ruled Wednesday that the nation can participate in a permanent European bailout fund, giving the go-...

German judges may hold Europe's fate in their hands

KARLSRUHE, Germany — In their eye-catching red robes and caps specifically designed to evoke Renaissance Italy, Germany's supreme...

Europe acts to rein in its debt crisis

The European Central Bank unveiled an aggressive plan to buy the bonds of financially flailing countries such as Spain and Italy, its...

Vladimir Putin's latest animal trick: Flying with cranes

MOSCOW — Vladimir Putin, Russia's macho president, is at it again.

3 family members, cyclist found shot to death in French Alps

CHEVALINE, France — Three members of a family and a passing cyclist were killed, and a 4-year-old girl discovered hours later cowering...

Archaeologists hope to unearth some Richard III mysteries

LEICESTER, England — A parking lot, a parking lot! His kingdom for a parking lot?

Russia's historic Borodino battlefield is in war with cottages

BORODINO, Russia — Dozens of war buffs in fur hats, capes and tights rode prancing horses, practicing for the battle reenactment....

Medieval France town is under siege — by tourists

SAINT-CIRQ LAPOPIE, France — The valley of the Lot River as it wends its way through southwestern France is known for its...

Italy Prime Minister Mario Monti faces growing pressure over debt

ROME — Italy's record hot summer is coming to an end, but the heat will remain on Prime Minister Mario Monti in the coming weeks as he...

Turkey calls for international assistance to aid Syrian refugees

BEIRUT — Beleaguered Turkish officials called Monday for international assistance to aid escalating numbers of Syrian refugees...

A new breathalyzer law drives anger in France

PARIS — Mention the name Daniel Orgeval in France these days, and an unpopular little device inevitably comes up: the breathalyzer....

Queen Elizabeth II is Britain's 'most familiar enigma'

LONDON — Her face is everywhere: on stamps, coins, mugs and book covers. Her likeness has just been reproduced for the 23rd time at...

Russia computer experts who detected Flame malware issue warning

MOSCOW — Computer virus experts at Kaspersky Lab, acting with the blessing of the United Nations, were searching for a villain...

NATO summit: Obama's Pakistan gamble falls flat

CHICAGO — When the White House sent a last-minute invitation for Asif Ali Zardari to attend the two-day NATO summit, they were...

Merkel comes under increasing fire on euro crisis

BERLIN — If it seems to German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the world is against her, she may be right.