Iraqi army troops sweeping through an area southeast of Mosul have come under attack from Islamic State militants firing automatic weapons and mortars.
Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman has mocked the Syrian Civil Defense for posting a Mannequin Challenge video — a viral Internet meme in which participants remain frozen as mannequins while the video is recorded — and accused them of staging scenes of destruction in the rebel-held neighborhoods of Aleppo.
Norway's security agency says that Italy has decided to pull back an extradition request for a Norway-based radical Iraqi-born cleric suspected of enticing recruits to fight in Iraq and Syria.
A deal reunifying the ethnically divided Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus can be reached if both sides demonstrate more "flexibility and creativity," Britain's foreign secretary said Wednesday.
Russian news agencies are reporting that President Vladimir Putin has appointed Deputy Finance Minister Maxim Oreshkin to take over the economic development ministry, replacing an official who is facing corruption charges.
Thousands of Filipino protesters have returned to the site of a 1986 revolt that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos, this time to condemn his burial at a heroes' cemetery.
Pope Francis has met with director Martin Scorsese, whose new film, "Silence," about Jesuit missionaries in 17th-century Japan, was screened this week in Rome.
Authorities in Greece say they have picked up about 70 migrants, including children, found in a forested area on the outskirts of the northern city of Thessaloniki.
Thousands of Cubans lined the streets of Havana Wednesday morning, some sleeping on sidewalks overnight, to bid goodbye to Fidel Castro as his ashes began a four-day journey across the country he ruled for nearly 50 years.
The coup leader blamed for destabilizing Mali several years ago is now standing trial on charges related to the killings of former presidential guard members.
A top U.S. diplomat says the United States has "credible information" that South Sudan's government is targeting civilians in Central Equatoria state and preparing for "large-scale" attacks within days and weeks.