WASHINGTON – The recent jailing of Cuban dissidents and the execution of hijackers by dictator Fidel Castro has spurred a range of responsesin Washington — from calling for regime change to pushing even harder for removing trade and travel embargoes on the Caribbean island nation. But political insiders say it …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Argentina’s foreign minister on Wednesday sharply criticized Britain for building up its military capacity in the disputed Falkland Islands, a small increase that caused a big stir in the South American country. Foreign Minister Hector Timerman said Britain’s decision underscores an unwillingness to negotiate in the …

BUCHAREST, Romania – Romanian anti-corruption prosecutors say they have searched the home of the son of a former Moldovan president on suspicion of corruption-related charges. Prosecutors carried out a search of the home of Sergiu Lucinschi, a businessman who also has Romanian citizenship, late Monday. A statement said he was …

And now the most engrossing two minutes in television, the latest from the wartime grapevine: FOX Fans: Missed the Grapevine? Watch it in the Screening Room! Demanding a DemocracyAyatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, the powerful Shiite Muslim leader who called over the weekend for an Islamic state in Iraq and touched …

LISBON, Portugal – Portugal Telecom shares are being battered amid fresh concerns over the company’s future. Following an initial 12 percent decline, the company’s share price was down 3.2 percent, to 0.69 euros, at lunchtime Tuesday. The fall came a day after the postponement of a shareholder decision on whether …

KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan police official says that a roadside bomb planted by the Taliban has killed two policemen in the northern Faryab province. The spokesman for the provincial police, Massoud Yaquobi, says the police chief of Almar district and his bodyguard, also a policeman, were killed when their …

ROME – Police in Rome seized more than 600 kilograms (1,320 pounds) of cocaine and hashish and fanned out to arrest 31 suspected mobsters in what they say further indicates the ‘ndrangheta crime syndicate is making the Italian capital a strategic base for its global operations. The ‘ndrangheta still is …

BANGKOK – A military-appointed legislature in Thailand voted to impeach former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Friday, a move that could further polarize a divided nation that’s been beset by political upheaval for a decade. Some key dates in the crisis: — Sept. 19, 2006: The army topples Yingluck’s brother, …

MADRID – A judge in the southern Spanish city of Granada has indicted 10 priests and two Catholic lay workers in a sex abuse case that prompted Pope Francis to call one of the alleged victims. According to the indictment filed Tuesday, the 12 are suspected of abusing four teenage …

ISTANBUL – Turkey’s state-run news agency says a woman opened automatic weapon fire at a police vehicle in Istanbul’s main square, Taksim, before escaping on foot. No one was hurt in Friday’s incident. The Anadolu Agency says the assailant left her weapon and a bag near the square. There was …