PRAGUE – A court official in the Czech Republic says a Roman Catholic priest has been convicted of rape and sexual abuse and sentenced to five years in prison. Jan Dolezal, spokesman for the county court in Havlickuv Brod, located some 120 kilometers (75 miles) southeast of Prague, said Erik …
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RABAT, Morocco – Morocco’s Interior Ministry has announced the dismantling of a cell that recruited young Moroccans to fight with the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq. The statement Wednesday credited the new Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation for discovering the cell based in the northern city of Fez. …
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TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s official news agency is reporting that the country’s powerful Revolutionary Guard has broken up a militant group linked to a “foreign intelligence” agency and killed its members. The report Monday by IRNA did not identify the terrorist group, nor give any casualty figures. The report said …
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KIEV, Ukraine – Amnesty International says it has evidence that Russian-backed separatists in east Ukraine executed several captured government soldiers in gross violation of international humanitarian law. Amnesty said in a statement Thursday that footage viewed by the group shows at least four Ukrainian soldiers now confirmed dead being interrogated …
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HELSINKI – World military spending was largely unchanged in 2014 as lower spending in the United States and Western Europe was matched by increases elsewhere, prompted by conflicts in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa, an arms watchdog said Monday. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said total global …
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KINGSTON, Jamaica – Drug law amendments decriminalizing small amounts of pot and paving the way for a lawful medical marijuana sector have come into effect in Jamaica. The amended drug act became effective Wednesday with little public acknowledgement in a country where marijuana has long been culturally entrenched. Jamaica’s Parliament …
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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Ten months after taking office, Cabinet ministers in a Palestinian unity government are making a rare visit to the Gaza Strip. The Cabinet ministers, all from the West Bank, are spending the week in Gaza in hopes of wresting more control from the Islamic Hamas …
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ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s military says its warplanes have pounded a militant hideout in a troubled tribal region along the Afghan border, killing 22 “terrorists.” In a statement released Wednesday, the military said the airstrikes were carried out the night before in the North Waziristan region, where the military launched a …
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PARIS – France is stepping up efforts to save the life a Frenchman facing a firing squad in Indonesia on drug charges, amid signs that his execution may be suspended. Serge Atlaoui is among 10 foreigners slated for execution in the coming days in Indonesia. His case has drawn national …
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MOSCOW – Russia’s Mission Control has failed to stabilize a cargo ship spinning out of control in orbit, but says it has not yet given up on saving the unmanned spacecraft. The Progress M-27M was launched Tuesday and was scheduled to dock at the International Space Station six hours later …
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