Chancellor Angela Merkel testified Thursday to a parliamentary committee examining alleged U.S. surveillance in Germany and the activities of German intelligence, defending her insistence that "spying among friends" is unacceptable.
A leader of the Russian delegation at talks on resolving the war in Syria says agreement has been reached to form a permanent contact group of Russia, Turkey and Iran to "preserve and strengthen the cessation of hostilities." Sergei Vershinin made the statement Thursday after the second round of talks in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.
Egypt swore in nine new ministers to the cabinet of Prime Minister Sherif Ismail on Thursday, along with five new governors, including the country's first female governor.
Britain's business secretary says he had constructive talks with the president of General Motors amid alarm that thousands of jobs could be lost by the possible takeover of GM's Opel division by France's PSA Group.
A veteran human rights lawyer says a report by Myanmar's government alleging the involvement of a former army officer in the assassination of a top legal adviser to the ruling National League for Democracy party raises new questions about the slaying.
Heavy rains have caused flooding across the Gaza Strip, overwhelming the territory's beleaguered sewage system and forcing at least eight families to evacuate from their makeshift homes.
The spokesman of the Saudi Interior Ministry says security authorities have arrested 18 suspects belonging to the Islamic State group, including bomb makers.
The European Union's legislature has approved more anti-terror rules targeting foreign fighters going to or returning from conflict zones and will make crimes of such actions as public incitement and training for terrorism.
The Greek government says the country's economy has met its budget targets and there is therefore no reason for any further austerity measures to be imposed as part of a deal with international bailout creditors.
Alpine emergency crews say four mountain climbers have been killed after a slab of ice detached from a mountainside near Italy's northern border with Switzerland.
NATO's chief says he has received a formal request from conflict-torn Libya to help strengthen its security institutions and that the alliance is looking into exactly what can be done.
The Saudi-led coalition says it will probe reports of airstrikes targeting a gathering of female mourners near the capital Sanaa, which left seven people dead.
The Somalia-based extremist group al-Shabab is claiming responsibility for a mortar attack outside the presidential palace during a handover ceremony for the country's new president.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says the U.S. is not ready to collaborate militarily with Russia, appearing to close the door for now on any effort to work more with Moscow in the fight against Islamic State militants in Syria.
Aid groups say boulders placed under a Paris bridge are preventing migrants from setting up camp in an area that has been a magnet for people fleeing war and poverty around the world.
Syrian government officials have sat face-to-face with Syrian rebels for the second time in three weeks in Astana, Kazakhstan, as diplomats step up their efforts to reconcile the two sides ahead of U.N.-brokered peace talks in Geneva.
