World

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 …

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” …

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 …

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 …

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 …