December 8, 2016 IS calls for attacks on US bases in uneasy island of Bahrain The Islamic State group is calling for its followers to launch attacks in Bahrain, including those targeting American military personnel stationed on the tiny island.
December 8, 2016 UK government distances itself from Saudi 'proxy war' claims Britain's foreign secretary has claimed that U.K. ally Saudi Arabia was engaging in "proxy wars" in the Middle East — comments that Prime Minister Theresa May say do not represent Britain's position.
December 8, 2016 Verdict expected in French budget minister's tax scandal A Paris court is preparing to return a verdict in one of the biggest political scandals of French President Francois Hollande's government.
December 8, 2016 UN humanitarian efforts running short of land near Mosul The U.N.'s top humanitarian official for Iraq says finding enough land to shelter those displaced by the fighting to retake Mosul from the Islamic State group is just the latest challenge in their efforts to protect the one million people believed to still be holed up in the city.
December 8, 2016 Iraqi official: Anti-IS airstrike killed, wounded civilians Iraq's parliament speaker says an airstrike targeting an Islamic State-held town in western Iraq near the Syrian border has killed and wounded "dozens" of civilians.
December 8, 2016 Pope recalls poor families as Rome holiday shopping begins Pope Francis has recalled struggling families, the jobless and those forced to take "undignified" work as Rome's holiday season begins.
December 8, 2016 The Latest: Australia offers help with Aceh quake response The Latest on a magnitude-6.5 earthquake that hit Indonesia's Aceh province on Wednesday (all times local): ___ 3:50 p.m.
December 8, 2016 NATO commander says 150 Turkish officers gone since coup NATO's top military officer says that around 150 Turkish officers have been recalled or retired from the alliance's high command in response to the failed coup attempt in Turkey in July.
December 7, 2016 Argentina prosecutor: priests abused at least 22 children An investigating prosecutor in Argentina says that at least 22 children were sexually abused by two priests at a school for youths with hearing disabilities in northwestern Mendoza province.
December 7, 2016 AP Explains: What next after the downfall of IS in Sirte? The Islamic State group this week lost the city of Sirte, its only foothold in Libya, essentially ending its ambition to expand its self-styled "caliphate" into the North African nation, at least for now.
