BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Ahead of Christmas, a towering wooden screen — once blackened with soot from millions of worshippers' candles — is being restored to its gilded glory in the Church of the Nativity, built at the site where many believe Jesus was born. But few visitors are...

A group of 24 volunteers who took part in migrant rescue operations appeared in court Thursday on the Greek island of Lesbos on smuggling-related charges in a case that has been strongly criticized by international human rights groups. Judicial officials said the misdemeanor court on Lesbos...

NEW DELHI (AP) — Air pollution remained extremely high in the Indian capital on Thursday, a day after authorities closed schools indefinitely and shut some power stations to reduce smog that has blanketed the city for much of the month. New Delhi’s air quality remained “very poor,”...

Mosul (Iraq) (AFP) – Iraqi wheat farmer Khamis Ahmad Abbas lost it all when his battle with drought forced him to abandon his land, pushing him into unemployment. Experts have warned that record low rainfall, compounded by climate change, are threatening social and economic disaster in...