Double Suicide Bombing in Baghdad Kills At Least 16 People

Iraq’s Interior Ministry spokesman says a double suicide bombing in central Baghdad has killed at least 16 people. Maj. Gen. Saad Maan says the rush-hour attack struck at the city’s Tayran Square on Monday morning. He says it was carried out by two suicide bombers and that the explosions also wounded at least 65 people. …

Americans Celebrate Slain Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Americans on Monday celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, honoring a man who embodied the U.S. civil rights movement and who understood that the success of the movement depended on its nonviolent principles. Every year on the third Monday in January, Americans honor the slain civil rights leader who in the 1950s and 1960s organized …

Egypt Approves Cabinet Reshuffle Ahead of Elections

Egypt’s parliament approved on Sunday a Cabinet reshuffle including four new ministers, government sources said, two months ahead of a scheduled presidential election. The reshuffle included the appointment of Abu Bakr al-Gendi as minister for local development, Rania al-Mashat as tourism minister, Enas Abdeldayem as culture minister and Khaled Badawy as public enterprise minister. Two …

Liberia Ruling Party Expels President Johnson Sirleaf

Liberia’s ruling Unity Party has expelled the country’s outgoing president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who is accused by party leaders of meddling in last year’s presidential elections in which its candidate suffered a bruising defeat. Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has been in power for 12 years, denies the party’s allegations that she …

Iran: 55 Still Jailed in Tehran after Protests

Iran says 55 people are still being detained in the capital after hundreds were arrested during a wave of anti-government protests. The semi-official Fars news agency quoted judiciary spokesman Gholamhosein Mohseni Ejehi as saying there were around 400 protesters held across the country but that “some were released” Saturday and Sunday. Last week, an Iranian …

Zeman, Drahos Set for Runoff Vote in Czech Presidential Poll

Czech President Milos Zeman has won the first round in the nation’s presidential election, and now must face Jiri Drahos, the former head of the country’s Academy of Sciences, in a runoff vote in two weeks. Eight candidates were hoping to unseat the current controversy-courting 73-year-old leader, who is seeking another five-year term. With 95 …

California Mudslide Death Toll at 18 as Search for Missing Continues

The death toll resulting from mudslides that devastated a California town has climbed to 18 as rescue crews continued to search Saturday for seven people who are still missing, amid diminishing hope that survivors would be found. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office issued a plea to the public to provide information about the missing …

What’s Next for Immigration Reform After Trump Profanity?

The on-again, off-again effort to decide the future of almost 800,000 undocumented youths in the United States swung wildly from Thursday to Friday, with one of the top Republicans in Congress calling President Donald Trump’s reported use of an expletive to disparage some immigrants’ home countries “unfortunate” and “unhelpful.” House Speaker Paul Ryan joined politicians from both parties …

Report: Trump Lawyer Brokered $130,000 Payment to Porn Star

President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer brokered a $130,000 payment to a porn star to prevent her from publicly discussing an alleged sexual encounter with Trump, according to a report Friday in The Wall Street Journal. Trump met Stephanie Clifford, whose goes by the name Stormy Daniels in films, at a golf event in 2006 — a year …