Responding to the news that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has enacted a new anti-torture law that fails to address a decade of torture, ill-treatment and extrajudicial executions carried out by Syria’s security forces, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the...

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces bombarded areas around Kyiv and another city just hours after pledging to scale back operations in those zones to promote trust between the two sides, Ukrainian authorities said Wednesday. The shelling — and intensified Russian attacks on other parts...

MOSCOW — The Kremlin says there was no breakthrough in the latest round of talks with Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday it was a “positive factor” that Ukraine submitted its written proposals, but added that “we can’t say there has been something promising or...

BEIJING (AP) — As millions of people in Shanghai line up for coronavirus tests, authorities are promising tax refunds for shopkeepers in the closed-down metropolis and to keep the world's busiest port functioning to limit disruption to industry and trade. This week's shutdown of most...