A suicide bomber killed at least 22 people and wounded 50 others in an attack Saturday outside a bank in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, provincial officials said."The explosion happened outside a bank where government employees collect their monthly salaries," Nangarhar provincial police chief Fazal Ahmad Shirzad told AFP.Provincial government spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai confirmed the attack and said dozens were killed and wounded. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied responsibili

World News April 18, 2015

Greece's government bonds had their worst week since the aftermath of Syriza's January election victory as the nation failed to make tangible headway in its efforts to secure funding and avoid a default.The yield on 10-year Greek debt climbed to the highest since December 2012 as the clock ticked down toward almost 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) of payments due next month. German 10-year bonds rose in the week, pushing yields below 0.1 percent for the first time, after European Central Bank Pres

World Business April 18, 2015

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the governor of Okinawa prefecture that expanding other U.S. military facilities on the island is the only way to shift a Marine air base out of an urban area.The two met in Tokyo on Friday for the first time after Takeshi Onaga won office in November vowing to oppose the offshore construction plan, a stance polls show is backed by his constituents. Last month he ordered a halt to seabed boring surveys, saying that environmental conditions had been violated. The ce

World News April 18, 2015

North Korea's ceremonial head of state, Kim Yong-nam, arrived in Beijing on Saturday, en route to Indonesia to attend a regional conference where he could hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a diplomatic source said. Kim, the head of North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament, is among leaders, including Xi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who are expected to attend next week's Asian-African Conference in Indonesia. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin has hinted t

North Korea April 18, 2015

Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and two assists, and Alex Ovechkin scored once, leading the Washington Capitals and fill-in goalie Philipp Grubauer past the New York Islanders 4-3 Friday night to even their first-round playoff series at a game each. After Washington's two stars - Ovechkin led the NHL in goals, Backstrom was No. 1 in assists - were reunited on the top line, both scored to erase a 3-1 deficit. Jason Chimera netted the go-ahead goal with 12 1/2 minutes left. It was the first time the

More Sports April 18, 2015

Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan urged the Group of 20 major economies to lend support to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), an organization that helps developing countries tackle climate change-related problems, in Washington on Saturday. In a meeting held immediately after the G-20 financial ministerial gathering, Choi said the GCF can help developing countries deal with environmental issues, adding that climate change can be utilized as growth opportunities.The meeting was also attended by World B

Foreign Affairs April 18, 2015

Thousands of American and Filipino soldiers on Monday will kick off expanded wargames, showcasing a deepening defence alliance as alarm bells ring over China. The 10-day exercises in the Philippines are an annual affair between the longtime allies, but this time they will involve double the number of soldiers as last year in a sign of their expanding military partnership. The Philippines is seeking more U.S. military and diplomatic support to fend off China's increasing forcefulness in its bid t

World News April 18, 2015

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for international action to end the Saudi-led air campaign on Huthi rebels as intense bombing hit Yemen again Friday and Al-Qaeda seized more ground in the chaos.Columns of smoke rose over an arms depot targeted by warplanes east of the capital Sanaa, witnesses said. The facility belonged to the elite Republican Guard, which remains loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Renegade troops loyal to Saleh are allied with the Huthi rebels, whose sweepi

World News April 18, 2015

President Juan Manual Santos delivered a sharp rebuke to Colombia's largest rebel group Friday, calling on its leaders to set a deadline to reach a peace deal following this week's slaughter of 11 soldiers while they were sleeping. Santos didn't propose any cutoff date to conclude peace talks taking place the last two years in Cuba between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. But he warned the guerrillas that the country's patience is wearing thin "Don't be deaf to us C

World News April 18, 2015

South Korean President Park Geun-hye called Friday for quick ratification of a free trade agreement (FTA) with Colombia to further boost bilateral trade in the second day of her visit to the South American country. The sides clinched an FTA in February 2013, but opposition mainly from the automobile sector in Colombia has delayed the domestic ratification process. Colombia's Constitutional Court has yet to approve the deal, while South Korea's parliament has completed its ratification. Park said

Politics April 18, 2015

KIEV (AFP) - Six Ukrainian troops were killed in two separate incidents in the troubled separatist-held east Sunday as isolated clashes continue to violate a fragile ceasefire to end the year-long war, officials said."Unfortunately, six Ukrainian soldiers have been killed today," army spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk told AFP.Four soldiers died when their vehicle came under missile fire while crossing a bridge near the separatist bastion of Lugansk.Two others were killed when an anti-tank mine exp

World News April 5, 2015

VATICAN CITY (AFP) - Pope Francis called Sunday for an end to "absurd violence" in hotspots around the world while praising the breakthrough reached last week on curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions.In his traditional Easter message, the 78-year-old pontiff prayed that the framework accord reached Thursday between Iran and six major world powers would be "a definitive step toward a more secure and fraternal world."Tens of thousands of pilgrims huddled under umbrellas in a rain-soaked St Peter's Squa

World News April 5, 2015

CAIRO (AP) - A bomb blast on a bridge leading to an upscale neighborhood in central Cairo killed a policeman and wounded at least two passers-by on Sunday, police said. An Associated Press reporter saw a mangled corpse hanging out of a truck on the bridge, which spans the Nile River connecting the Giza district to the wealthy island neighborhood of Zamalek, where many embassies are located. Dozens of people gathered at the scene, some yelling in outrage, others in fear or grief. Several cars wer

World News April 5, 2015

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraqi officials say separate attacks in the capital Baghdad have killed at least nine people and wounded others. Police say the deadliest attack Sunday took place in the northern Sabi al-Bore neighborhood, where a bomb ripped through an outdoor market, killing four civilians and wounding 10 others. The two police officials said three policemen were killed and two others wounded when gunmen in two speeding cars opened fire on their checkpoint in the eastern New Baghdad district. T

World News April 5, 2015

JERUSALEM (AP) - An official Israeli analysis has drawn up a list of alleged shortcomings of the nuclear framework agreement between Iran and world powers, providing a basis for what is expected to be months of furious lobbying by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reshape or cancel the deal. Netanyahu, an outspoken critic of the negotiations with Iran, has already criticized the deal as insufficient. He is expected to lobby heavily against the framework deal as its language is finalized ahead

World News April 5, 2015