BEIJING (AP) — China on Thursday demanded President Donald Trump veto legislation aimed at supporting human rights in Hong Kong and renewed a threat to take “strong countermeasures” if the bills become law.Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the Hong Kong Human Rights …

BERLIN (AP) — Berlin police say they deployed a tactical response unit to a refugee shelter after spotting a man with an automatic rifle — only to find it was a replica.Police spokeswoman Patricia Braemer said Thursday that an off-duty officer walking past the building saw the man …

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s Immigration Department says it has broken up a China-based online investment scam syndicate with the arrest of 680 suspected Chinese citizens after storming a building where they were operating, but another 100 managed to flee.Immigration …

HONG KONG (AP) — A small but determined group of protesters remained holed up Thursday inside a Hong Kong university campus as the city’s largest pro-Beijing political party urged voters to “kick out the black force” in upcoming elections seen as a key gauge of public …

LONDON (AP) — Lawyers for victims of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein say Britain’s Prince Andrew should speak to U.S. investigators immediately, after the prince withdrew from royal duties over what he called his “ill-judged association” with the convicted pedophileU.S. …

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Blaming its rival for a recent chill in relations, North Korea on Thursday said its leader turned down an invitation by South Korean President Moon Jae-in to participate in a regional summit next week.The announcement continued North Korea’s current hardball …

CAIRO (AP) — The Islamic State group has claimed an attack this week in Egypt’s restive Sinai Peninsula that killed an officer and wounded three others.A statement by the extremist group released late on Wednesday on a militant-linked website says its fighters had targeted an armored …

BANGKOK (AP) — Pope Francis called Thursday for women and children to be protected from exploitation, abuse and enslavement as he began a busy two days of meetings in Thailand, where human trafficking and forced prostitution help fuel the sexual tourism industry.Francis pleaded for action …

BEIJING (AP) — World shares skidded Thursday, tracking moderate declines on Wall Street as anxiety mounted over the possibility the U.S. and China may not reach a trade deal before next year.China’s Commerce Ministry on batted away rumors that the talks were in trouble with a …

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Burkina Faso says 18 extremists have been killed after they attacked a security base in the north and were repelled.A defense ministry statement late Wednesday says one gendarme also was killed in the afternoon attack in Arbinda in Soum province. Seven gendarmes were …

ROME (AP) — Italian rescue services say a blast at a fireworks factory in Sicily has killed five people and seriously injured two others.Italian firefighters and Carabinieri police said that the 71-year-old wife of the owner of the family-run factory in the Sicilian town of Barcellona Pozzo …

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi officials say three anti-government protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces overnight in Baghdad.The security and hospital officials said on Thursday that one protester was killed when security forces used live rounds to repel demonstrators from …

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese Commerce Ministry official says Beijing is working to resolve conflicts with Washington over trade, dismissing speculation the talks might be in trouble as unreliable “rumors.”Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said Thursday he could not disclose any new …

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack that killed 30 soldiers in Mali earlier this week.A statement late Wednesday asserts that another 30 soldiers were wounded in Monday’s ambush.The statement mentions no deaths among IS-linked …

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi officials say 3 protesters have been killed in renewed clashes with security forces in Baghdad.

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus police say 120 Syrian migrants have been housed at a reception center after arriving from Turkey aboard a boat.Police said Thursday that the 97 men, 20 children — including 14 unaccompanied minors — and three women told authorities they each paid …

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s newly elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has sworn in his brother and former president Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister.Gotabaya Rajapaksa is expected to name his Cabinet later, on the advice of the new prime minister.Ranil Wickremesinghe …

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Thursday he does not regret postponing a U.S.-South Korean military exercise, even though the gesture was rejected by North Korea as not enough to restart nuclear diplomacy.The prospects for a resumption of the nuclear …

AVDIIVKA, Ukraine (AP) — U.S.-made medical equipment, night-vision devices and countermortar radar make a difference for Ukrainian troops fighting Kremlin-backed separatists on the front line of the standoff between Russia and the West. Sometimes, it’s the difference between life and …

BERLIN (AP) — About one in four Europeans hold anti-Semitic beliefs, with such attitudes on the rise in eastern countries and mostly steady in the west, according to a survey released Thursday.The poll of 14 European countries, done for the New York-based Anti-Defamation League, found …