ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – A media rights organization says Ethiopia has released three journalists and three bloggers more than a year after they were arrested and charged with incitement and terrorism in a country known for media oppression. The Committee to Protect Journalists said it welcomed the journalists’ release on …

A judge on Friday released three who have spent two weeks in juvenile detention for refusing to meet with their estranged father. Oakland County Judge Lisa Gorcyca said she’s sending the children to a summer camp, at the request of the father. She held a hearing Friday, three days after …

JERUSALEM – Israel’s Antiquities Authority says an anonymous Israeli robber left two 2,000-year-old Roman sling stones at a museum with a typed note saying the stolen artifacts “brought me lots of troubles.” An employee of the Museum of Islamic and Near Eastern Cultures in Beersheva, Israel, said Monday he found …

BENGHAZI, Libya – Libyan officials say a popular army commander has been killed in battle in the eastern city of Benghazi after opposing militiamen hit his position with a rocket. A statement Wednesday by health authorities says 1st Sgt. Salem Alniali, a longtime enemy of radical extremist groups, “died in …

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Emirati authorities say they plan to scrap long-standing price controls on fuel starting next month, meaning pump prices could rise as the OPEC member nation weathers a sustained slump in oil prices. The Ministry of Energy announced the surprise move on Wednesday, saying fuel prices …

Defaulting on sovereign debt is never a good strategy. Just ask Argentina. The South American nation has defaulted 10 times—most recently this summer—on its international obligations and has experienced sharp economic decline as a result. In the early 1900s, Argentina ranked among the world’s top 10 in per capita income. …

BRUSSELS – The European Union has approved the 15.6 billion-euro ($17 billion) acquisition of ailing French telecom company Alcatel-Lucent by Finland’s Nokia Corporation following an investigation into whether the deal broke competition rules. The EU’s executive Commission said Friday that there was enough difference between the two firms to not …

BAGHDAD – Iraqi officials in Iraq’s western Anbar province say government forces have retaken Anbar University from the Islamic State militant group after hours of fierce clashes. Athal al-Fahdawi, a provincial councilman, says that Iraqi troops are in full control of the university, located 3 miles south of Anbar’s provincial …

MADRID – The Spanish foreign ministry has summoned the Venezuelan ambassador to once again protest comments by Venezuela’s president against Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. The ministry said in a statement it had expressed to Ambassador Mario Isea on Monday the government’s “dislike and rejection of the unacceptable insults made …

CAIRO – Egyptian authorities say gunmen opened fire overnight on security forces out the Niger Embassy, killing a conscript and wounding three. The Interior Ministry statement, released Wednesday, said the shooting happened about 1 a.m. when the embassy in Cairo’s Giza district was closed. It described the attack as a …