UNITED NATIONS – A new United Nations report says the world’s number of asylum claims is at its highest in 22 years, with fleeing Syrians and Iraqis leading the way. The report by the U.N. refugee agency released Thursday estimates that applications for asylum in industrialized countries reached 866,000 last …
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LONDON – Audio tapes in which the man identified as “Jihadi John” complains about scrutiny from British intelligence services have been broadcast in Britain. The tapes contained a man identified as Mohammed Emwazi describing to the Muslim advocacy group CAGE his encounters with British agents in 2009. They were played …
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SKOPJE, Macedonia – An opposition politician in Macedonia who ran in the presidential election last year has filed a lawsuit against the government, claiming he was the victim of a major illegal wiretapping operation. Stevo Pendarovski, and four officials from his Social Democratic and allied left-wing parties, filed lawsuits Thursday, …
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FRANKFURT, Germany – Industrial machinery maker Siemens AG says net profit fell 25 percent in its most recent quarter as revalued financial derivatives and lower earnings at its key power and gas business weighed on the bottom line. Net income fell to 1.095 billion ($2.184 billion) in the October-December quarter, …
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HANOI, Vietnam – Vietnam’s military has temporarily grounded Vietnam War-era U.S.-built helicopters after a crash killed four personnel. The UH-1 “Huey” chopper crashed in farmland on Wednesday soon after taking off from Ho Chi Minh City on a training flight. Army Deputy Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Vo Van Tuan …
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MEXICO CITY – Mexican security officials say they’ve captured the man accused of running the Juarez drug cartel following last year’s arrest of Vicente Carrillo Fuentes. National Security Commissioner Monte Alejandro Rubido says Jesus Salas Aguayo was caught Friday in the municipality of Villa Ahumada, about 75 miles south of …
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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Procter & Gamble Co. says it is closing a manufacturing plant in Puerto Rico and laying off some 230 employees. A company statement Friday says the plant in the southern town of Cayey will close in the next nine to 12 months. Officials said the …
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BELFAST, Northern Ireland – A Belfast bakery has been found guilty of discrimination for refusing to bake a cake bearing the slogan “Support Gay Marriage.” In Tuesday’s ruling, Belfast Judge Isobel Brownlie called the bakery’s cancellation of the order “direct discrimination for which there can be no justification.” The judge …
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NIAMEY, Niger – The International Organization for Migration says the bodies of 18 migrants who likely died of dehydration have been found in the Sahara desert in northern Niger. Giuseppe Loprete, the IOM’s chief of mission in Niger, said in a statement Sunday that the migrants were believed to have …
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NEW DELHI – Tens of thousands of people have gathered in the southern Indian town of Rameswaram for the burial of former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, known as the father of the country’s military missile program. On Thursday his body, carried in a glass topped hearse, was driven from his …
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