One of the ugliest U.S. presidential campaigns in modern history turned even uglier Friday night when Donald Trumpabruptly canceled a Chicago rally in the face of furious protests, setting off a melee of shoving and taunting between supporters and opponents.The boiling-over culminated weeks of violence that has become a fixture of Trump's rallies. The Republican front-runner has often called for protesters to be ejected and has mused about whether they deserve physical abuse, even as he says he

World News March 12, 2016

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The official in charge of global climate negotiations says between 80 and 100 countries are expected to sign the landmark agreement to tackle climate change reached in Paris in December at a ceremony at U.N. headquarters on April 22.Segolene Royal, French environment minister and newly-appointed president of U.N.-led climate negotiations, said Friday that more than 30 heads of state and government have already said they will attend signing event. She said invitations signe

World News March 12, 2016

BEIRUT (AP) -- After five years of bloodshed -- after a quarter of a million deaths, and the flight of millions of refugees -- Syria has arrived at a critical juncture: A diplomatic framework is in place to end the carnage, a two-week-old partial cease-fire is holding, and peace talks are set to resume in coming days."The indicators from a distance are all good,'' said Bassam Barabandi, a Washington-based former Syrian diplomat who now serves as a political adviser to the Syrian opposition. But

World News March 12, 2016

PARIS (AFP) -- Europe and Russia are set to launch an unmanned spacecraft Monday to smell Mars' atmosphere for gassy evidence that life once existed on the Red Planet, or may do so still.ExoMars 2016, the first of a two-phase Mars exploration, will see an orbiter hoisted from Kazakhstan at 0931 GMT Monday on a Russian Proton rocket.With its suite of high-tech instruments, the Trace Gas Orbiter or TGO, should arrive at the Red Planet on October 19 after a journey of 496 million kilometres.Its mai

World News March 12, 2016

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The U.N. Security Council on Friday approved its first-ever resolution tackling the escalating problem of sexual abuse by U.N. peacekeepers who act as predators when sent to protect vulnerable civilians in some of the world's most volatile areas. The United Nations has been in the spotlight for months over allegations of child rape and other sexual abuses by its peacekeepers, especially those based in Central African Republic and Congo. The U.N. says there were 69 allegati

World News March 12, 2016

LONDON (AFP) -- The U.N. commissioner who investigated human rights in North Korea on Friday recommended establishing a panel of experts to study how crimes against humanity in the reclusive state can be punished."What do you do if we bring home powerful evidence of crimes against humanity -- and a veto" from one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council "prevents you taking it further? How can you deal with that problem?" said Michael Kirby at a conference in London o

North Korea March 12, 2016

BEIJING (Yonhap) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has vowed to put forward specific plans in Beijing's proposal for pursuing peace treaty talks with North Korea in tandem with denuclearization negotiations. Wang made the remarks during a press conference on Friday after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, according to a transcript of Wang's remarks posted on the Chinese foreign ministry's website. Wang said the "parallel track" approach of pursuing both a peace treaty

North Korea March 12, 2016

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti has been named as NATO's top military commander, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced Friday.President Barack Obama nominated Scaparrotti to replace Gen. Philip Breedlove as NATO's supreme allied commander Europe, and NATO has also agreed to the appointment, Carter said in a statement.In addition to the NATO position, Scaparrotti will be assigned as commander of U.S. European Command, he said."General Scaparrotti's prov

Defense March 12, 2016

South Korea and the United States on Saturday staged a massive landing drill in an eastern coastal port city, the largest of its kind, amid continued provocations from Pyongyang.The latest exercise mobilized 17,200 soldiers, including around 12,200 U.S. Marine and Navy troops in Pohang for the exercise, South Korea's Marine Corps said. Sources said the drill mobilized key U.S. vessels including the USS Bonhomme Richard and amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland.The drill also focused on destro

Defense March 12, 2016

BEIRUT (AFP) -- The Islamic State group on Sunday claimed responsibility for bombings near a revered Shiite shrine outside the Syrian capital Damascus that killed at least 45 people.In a statement circulated on social media, the jihadist group said two of its members had detonated suicide bombs near the Sayyida Zeinab shrine.Syrian state media earlier reported 45 people had been killed and 110 injured in the attacks, which it said involved a car bomb and two suicide bombers.

World News Jan. 31, 2016

Even if the world’s largest drugmakers were to mobilize as fast as they could, and even if the science were straightforward, it’s unlikely a Zika vaccine could be developed quickly enough to address the expanding outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus that may cause birth defects when pregnant women are infected.Little work has been done so far on the virus, which the World Health Organization said last week is “spreading explosively” in Latin America after a spike in cases of microcephaly, a birt

World News Jan. 31, 2016