German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be the commencement speaker at graduation ceremonies for Harvard University in May of next year, the university announced on Friday. "Angela Merkel is one of the most widely admired and broadly influential statespeople of our time," Harvard president...

British Golden Globe Race sailor Susie Goodall was plucked from a stormy Southern Ocean by a Chinese ship on Friday, a day after her yacht was dismasted, Chile's Maritime Rescue Services told AFP. Goodall "was rescued at 1500 GMT and is already on the ship heading to Punta Arenas," in...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will hand off leadership of her party Friday after nearly two decades at the helm, with the race wide open between a loyal deputy and a longtime rival. The contest’s outcome is expected to be crucial in deciding whether Merkel, Europe’s most influential...

Missing pieces of the famed “Gypsy girl mosaic” are to be displayed in a temporary public exhibit in its original home in Turkey’s southeast, officials said on Friday. Arriving in their native Zeugma, Gaziantep last month, the pieces will be opened to temporary public viewing following...

Lebanese businessman Kassim Tajideen, designated by U.S. authorities as an important financial supporter of Hezbollah, pleaded guilty Thursday to charges related to evading sanctions against him, a Justice Department statement said. Tajideen, 63, pleaded guilty before a Washington court...

The Sudanese government and two Darfur-based rebel movements signed an agreement Thursday in Berlin to resume peace talks. The parties agreed to resume negotiations in Qatar in January, the German Foreign Ministry said in a statement. German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass welcomed...

The Palestinian Authority on Friday welcomed the rejection of UN General Assembly of a U.S. draft resolution condemning Palestinian resistance group Hamas.  In a statement, the Ramallah-based authority thanked member states that voted against the U.S. draft.  "We will...

A top aide to Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, fired for his role in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, personally oversaw the torture of at least one detained female activist earlier this year, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. Saud al-Qahtani was a royal adviser to...

MSF and SOS Méditerranée announced Thursday they will be ending the operations of the Aquarius migrant rescue ship, which has become a lightning rod for the controversy surrounding Europe's policies on accepting migrants. MSF (Médecins sans frontières or Doctors Without Borders) and SOS...

Algerian military discovered a hideout containing 11 missiles near the border with Mali, the Defense Ministry announced Thursday. "After a search operation in Bordj Badji Mokhtar town, an ammunition cache was found containing 11 anti-tank missiles," said the ministry without disclosing...

French police detained 32 students Wednesday who were taking part in protests against government plans to overhaul the country’s approach to education. Students in a number of cities have been protesting against President Emmanuel Macron's educational policies. The major reforms by his...

Hundreds of people took to the streets in capital Amman on Thursday to protest against a controversial tax bill and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz. The demonstrators gathered in front of a state building despite bad weather and chanted slogans such as “Razzaz...

Palestinian factions on Thursday decried a U.S.-sponsored draft resolution condemning Palestinian resistance group Hamas.  In a press conference held outside the UN headquarters in Gaza City, the factions slammed the draft resolution for "labeling the Palestinian resistance and...

An Afghan state agency handling complaints about election processes on Thursday declared votes cast in capital Kabul in last October's general elections invalid due to alleged fraud and irregularities.  Several officials from the country's election authority have been removed from...

Libya will hold a referendum on the country’s permanent constitution in January, the electoral commission said Thursday. “The vote will be held in the first half of January,” commission chief Emad al-Sayeh told a press conference in the capital Tripoli. Results of the vote will...

Iraq needs at least two years to boost the country's gas production to stop importing Iranian gas used to feed its power stations, a senior Iraqi energy official said on Thursday. Hayan Abdel-Ghani, head of state-run South Gas Co., told reporters that Iraq's gas output is expected to...

Pope Francis will visit Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates from Feb. 3 to 5, where he will take part in an international "interfaith" meeting, the Vatican said Thursday. The pontiff was invited to the majority-Muslim country by both Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed...

Representatives from Yemen's warring sides sat in the same room in Sweden on Thursday as U.N.-sponsored peace talks for the war-torn Arab country got underway, aimed at halting a catastrophic three-year civil war. Sweden's foreign minister, Margot Wallstrom, opened the talks at a castle...

At least three people were killed in a car bombing in Iran’s southeastern city of Chabahar on Thursday, according to the state television.  The broadcaster said a suicide bomber drove his explosives-laden vehicle into a police headquarters in the city.  Several people were...

As the world was focused on abortive efforts to begin repatriating hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh to Myanmar last month, hundreds of their fellow Muslims still in Myanmar were boarding boats seeking to escape the country. Their attempted flight cast the spotlight...