QUITO, Ecuador – Ecuador’s largest indigenous association is complaining that it was left off of Pope Francis’s agenda during his visit to Ecuador, where the group has been at odds with President Rafael Correa. The head of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities, Jorge Herrera, said Roman Catholic Church officials never …

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Venezuela has decided to stop buying much of Guyana’s rice crop amid an escalating border dispute between the South American neighbors, the Guyanese finance minister said Thursday. Finance Minister Winston Jordan said Venezuelan officials informed him during a visit to Caracas that they will be acquiring rice …

PONTIAC, Mich. – A suburban Detroit judge has released three siblings who spent two weeks in juvenile detention for refusing to meet with their estranged father. Oakland County Judge Lisa Gorcyca is sending the children to summer camp instead. She held a hearing Friday, three days after a TV station …

LONDON – Britain says it’s creating a “secure zone” in the French port of Calais for British-bound trucks to tackle the problem of migrants stowing away in the vehicles. Home Secretary Theresa May said Tuesday that the move would provide a secure waiting area for 230 vehicles and stop truck …

LONDON – A British judge has sentenced a Hungarian gang believed to have sexually exploited hundreds of women to prison terms of up to 14 years. Detectives executed dozens of warrants in Hungary and Britain, arresting 11 people in 2014, after a woman who escaped from a London brothel told …

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Mideast envoy says Israel and the Palestinians are further apart than ever from achieving a peace agreement that would lead to a two-state solution. Nickolay Mladenov warned the U.N. Security Council on Thursday that “the rise of violent extremism and terrorism” in the region poses …

Too often, especially during the Christmas season, we often times forget the reason for the season, right? With the craziness of getting everything ready for Christmas, I’ve fallen prey to the stress of it all this year. I, like so many of you no doubt, have not been sitting back …

ROME – Italian news reports say at least seven people have died in an explosion at a fireworks factory near Bari, on Italy’s Adriatic coast. The ANSA news agency said the explosion Friday destroyed the Bruscella factory in Modugno and that the death toll might rise once firefighters are able …

QUETTA, Pakistan – Pakistani police say gunmen opened fire on a police convoy, killing two officers and a woman passer-by in the southwestern city of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province. Abdur Razzaq Cheema, the Quetta police chief, says police fired back and killed one of the attackers in Monday’s …

PHILADELPHIA – The accuser in the only sex assault case that Bill Cosby has settled is questioning his self-proclaimed ability to “read” women’s cues in sexual situations. Andrea Constand’s lawyer notes in a court filing Tuesday that Cosby didn’t recognize the Temple University employee he befriended was gay. Constand testified …