Japan's longest-serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe, intends to leave office because of declining health, according to reports Friday by national broadcaster NHK and other Japanese media.  In a country once known for its short-tenured prime ministers, Abe's departure would mark the end...

Israeli tanks and warplanes bombed Hamas positions in Gaza Friday and the Islamists retaliated with rockets as a three-week-old flare-up showed no let-up despite international mediation efforts. Warning sirens sounded before dawn in Israeli communities near the border as the pre-dawn air...

Nearly 5,800 people suspected of killing health workers, selling defective medical equipment and lying about their travel history have been arrested in China for epidemic-related crimes since January, the state prosecutor's office said. One case involved a shopper who beat another customer...

The UN Security Council is voting on a resolution that would extend the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon for a year but reduce its troop ceiling from 15,000 to 13,000 in response to US pressure. The French-drafted resolution also makes another concession to the...