World

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – U.N. Security Council members are in Haiti for a three-day visit aimed in part at urging the government to hold long-delayed municipal and legislative elections. Council members arrived Friday and expect to meet with officials including President Michel Martelly during their stay. Martelly began ruling by decree …

PARIS – A 250-year-old book by the Enlightenment anti-establishment writer Voltaire is climbing best-seller lists in France weeks after the attacks by French-born Islamic extremists that left 20 people dead, including the gunmen. The “Treatise on Tolerance” is a cry against religious fanaticism and stemmed from Voltaire’s conviction that religious …

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – The African Union has joined regional and international organizations in threatening South Sudan’s warring factions with sanctions. The African Union’s Peace and Security Council said Saturday it will impose sanctions on all parties in South Sudan who continue to undermine the cessation of hostilities agreement. The …

ATHENS, Greece – A Greek militant anarchist group has claimed responsibility for a gunfire attack on the Israeli embassy building in Athens last year that caused no injury and minor damage. Police said Wednesday a proclamation by the “Group of Popular Fighters” over the attack early on Dec. 12 was …

BATA, Equatorial Guinea – The Confederation of African Football has fined Morocco $1 million for failing to host the 2015 African Cup of Nations and banned the country from participating in the next two tournaments in 2017 and 2019. CAF says it is also seeking around $9 million in damages …

TUNIS, Tunisia – Residents of Tunisia’s two main border crossings with Libya have begun a general strike to protest what they say is excessive force by police during clashes at the weekend that left one person dead. The unrest in Ben Guerdane, near the northern Mediterranean crossing, and Tatouine, near …

BUCHAREST, Romania – A Romanian court has sentenced a former minister to two years in prison for taking bribes and getting his mother’s house built for free when he was in office. The High Court of Cassation and Justice sentenced Miron Mitrea to prison Friday for taking bribes worth 920,000 …

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Qatar’s ruler is in Saudi Arabia for talks with the newly enthroned King Salman about the deteriorating security situation in Yemen and relations with Egypt. A Saudi official says Salman greeted Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at the airport Tuesday, a day after …

RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil’s attorney general’s office says it will seek $1.55 billion from six construction and engineering companies for their alleged involvement in a massive kickback scheme at state-run oil firm Petrobras. The amount includes $111 million in compensation for public money that prosecutors say was stolen from …

MADRID – Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says Spain’s economy will grow by a better-than-expected 2.4 percent in 2015, claiming it as strong evidence that the country has emerged from the severe economic crisis. Opening the annual state-of-the-nation debate Tuesday, Rajoy said Spain had moved from the edge of the abyss …