PARIS – French judicial officials have named three investigating judges who specialize in financial, public health and organized crime cases to lead a criminal probe of the Germanwings plane crash that killed 150 people. Marseille Prosecutor Brice Robin disclosed the names of the three judges Friday, two days after announcing …

ATHENS, Greece – Greece’s coast guard says it rescued more than 1,000 migrants from the eastern Aegean Sea between Friday morning and Monday morning. The coast guard said it had rescued 1,161 people in 37 search-and-rescue operations off the islands of Samothraki, Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Agathonisi and Farmakonisi. Greece is …

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Dutch retailer Royal Ahold NV, operator of U.S. supermarket chains Stop & Shop and Giant, has agreed to merge with its Belgian counterpart Delhaize Group, in a deal that creates a company that will serve more than 50 million customers a week across the Atlantic. The …

NIAMEY, Niger – Niger’s army says it has killed 15 Boko Haram Islamic extremists and captured 20 others. Army spokesman Col. Michel Moustapha Ledru said on state TV late Wednesday night that the army also destroyed ammunition, cars and motorcycles from the militants. He said Boko Haram members had attacked …

JERUSALEM – Israel’s navy intercepted a vessel attempting to breach a naval blockade of Gaza early Monday and was redirecting it to an Israeli port, the military and the activists said. The military said that after exhausting all diplomatic efforts the government ordered it to block the Swedish vessel. Israeli …

ATLANTA – The Atlanta Cyclorama, the colossal Civil War painting created about 130 years ago, is leaving the building it has occupied since 1921 to move across town. Cyclorama officials say Tuesday is the last day visitors can see the 15,000-square-foot oil painting in Atlanta’s Grant Park neighborhood. After the …

LAKE WORTH, Fla. – Florida officials say a 49-year-old beat his parents with a crowbar, killing his 83-year-old mother. The attack occurred Tuesday as Thomas and Delena Schneiders were on their way to church. Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies report that 84-year-old Thomas Schneiders says he made it out alive …

SYDNEY – Police say a 32-year-old surfer has been critically injured by a shark at the same Australian coastal town where a Japanese tourist was killed in February. A police statement said the local man was surfing with two friends at Light House Beach in Ballina on Thursday when he …

LONDON – The Greek people are voting on a future in which they face two painful prospects: the slow grind of years more of austerity cuts or the country’s potentially catastrophic exit from the 19-nation eurozone. The question is whether their vote on Sunday can help them escape either. “Yes” …

SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Police in suburban Detroit are having a little fun while asking for help from the public in figuring out who swiped roughly 28,000 pounds of packaged nuts. The Shelby Township Police Department says a truck and trailer packed with 18 pallets of walnuts and other snack …