World

Taliban council agrees to cease-fire in Afghanistan

KABUL - The Taliban's ruling council agreed Sunday to a temporary cease-fire in Afghanistan, providing a window in which a peace agreement with the United States can be signed, officials from the insu...

Dec 31, 2019

10! ... 9! ... 8! ... Here comes New Year's in Times Square!

NEW YORK - A Chinese dance performance, punctuated with red and gold pyrotechnics, will usher in a host of stars at Times Square's six-hour New Year's Eve extravaganza on Tuesday night. The throng of ...

Dec 31, 2019

Sour notes for Macron from striking Paris Opera musicians

PARIS - Striking Paris Opera musicians ushered in a new year of protest against President Emmanuel Macron's government by playing extracts from "Carmen" and "Romeo and Juliet" to a square steeped in t...

Dec 31, 2019

US consumer confidence ticked down in December

BALTIMORE - U.S. consumer confidence slipped ever so slightly in December, as expectations fell about economic growth over the next six months. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer conf...

Dec 31, 2019

Sharon Stone's dating profile restored after being blocked

LOS ANGELES - Sharon Stone can now return to mingling on Bumble without being kicked off the dating app. A Bumble spokesperson said in a statement Monday that Stone's profile has been restored after i...

Dec 31, 2019

US home prices gains accelerate in October for 2nd month

WASHINGTON - U.S. home prices rose faster in October than the previous month as many would-be buyers competed for a limited supply of available properties. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city h...

Dec 31, 2019

Trump signs law to reduce robocalls, though they won't end

NEW YORK - An anti-robocalls measure signed into law Monday by President Donald Trump should help reduce the torrent of unwanted calls promising lower interest rates or pretending to be the IRS, thoug...

Dec 30, 2019

North Korean leader calls for 'military countermeasures'

SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for active "diplomatic and military countermeasures" to preserve the country's security in a lengthy speech at a key political co...

Dec 30, 2019

European money spawns more misery for migrants in Libya

TRIPOLI, Libya - When the European Union started funneling millions of euros into Libya to slow the tide of migrants crossing the Mediterranean, the money came with EU promises to improve detention ce...

Dec 30, 2019

China has pain pill addicts too, but no one's counting them

SHANGHAI - Wu Yi was supposed to die. At age 26, his cancer was spreading. His doctor gave him five years to live and a prescription for OxyContin. Six years later, he was still alive. And still takin...

Dec 30, 2019