AP

QAMISHLI, Syria (AP) — Representatives of Kurdish groups in Syria called Saturday for a democratic state that gives the country’s Kurds their ethnic rights after the fall of Bashar Assad. Some 400 people representing Syria’s main Kurdish groups met in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli to unify their positions a month after Syria’s new

By JALAL BWAITEL Associated Press RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Hussein al-Sheikh has been named vice president of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the internationally recognized representative of the Palestinian people. The appointment makes the 64-year-old al-Sheikh the front-runner to one day succeed 89-year-old Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, though that isn’t guaranteed. The position is among

By JALAL BWAITEL Associated Press RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday named a veteran aide and confidant as his new vice president. It’s a major step by the aging leader to designate a successor. The appointment of Hussein al-Sheikh as vice president of the Palestine Liberation Organization does not guarantee

By The Associated Press Nearly nine months after losing chunks of the Kursk region to a surprise Ukrainian incursion, Russia announced that its troops have fully reclaimed the border territory. Ukraine denied it, saying the fighting was still ongoing. If confirmed, Moscow’s victory in Kursk would deprive Kyiv of key leverage in U.S.-brokered efforts to

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — Thousands of young people from around the world had come to Rome expecting to rejoice this weekend in the canonization of the first millennial saint during the Vatican’s Holy Year. They ended up bidding farewell to Pope Francis instead, with their exuberance giving an uplifting tone

By SAMYA KULLAB and KATIE MARIE DAVIES Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — All Ukrainian troops have been forced from parts of Russia’s Kursk region, which Moscow lost control of last year to a surprise Ukrainian incursion, Russia’s top general said in a Kremlin meeting Saturday. Ukrainian officials denied the claim. Valery Gerasimov, Chief of

By WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli airstrike flattened a three-story home in Gaza City on Saturday, killing 10 people — half of them children — as Arab mediators scrambled to restart a ceasefire. Israeli strikes killed at least 49 people in the past 24 hours,

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press MUSCAT, Oman (AP) — Iran and the United States held in-depth negotiations in Oman over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program on Saturday, ending the discussions with a promise for more talks and perhaps another high-level meeting next weekend. The talks ran for several hours in Muscat, the mountain-wrapped capital of

By The Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — World dignitaries and Catholic faithful attended Pope Francis’ funeral in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday. Despite the presence of presidents and princes, prisoners and migrants met Francis’ coffin outside St. Mary Major Basilica, where he was buried, reflecting his priorities as pope. U.S. President Donald Trump, French

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press MUSCAT, Oman (AP) — A massive explosion and fire rocked a port Saturday in southern Iran purportedly linked to a shipment of a chemical ingredient used to make missile propellant, killing 25 people and injuring around 800 others. Helicopters and aircraft dumped water from the air on the raging fire

By LUIS ANDRES HENAO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Pope Francis died on Easter Monday at the age of 88. His death set off mourning across the Catholic world and days of ritual at the Vatican. Here are the key things to know about the funeral of the first Latin American pontiff in the