ISLAMABAD – The Pakistani police say a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a mosque in the city of Rawalpindi, next to the capital of Islamabad, killing five people. Police officer Raja Abdul Rasheed says the Friday evening explosion targeted the mosque affiliated with Shiite Muslims. The minority sect has …

LONDON – Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has defended his government’s decision to give Irish Republican Army fugitives written assurances that they would not be arrested, and denied keeping the deal secret. Blair spent two hours answering questions Tuesday from an all-party British parliamentary committee investigating his agreement with …

PARIS – President Francois Hollande says France is “waging war” against terrorism and will not back down from international military operations against Islamic extremists despite recent deadly attacks. Hollande said “it is not a war against religion, it’s a war against hate.” He spoke to leading diplomats Friday as French …

HELSINKI – Norwegian police have ordered house arrest for an Iraqi-born cleric who is to be released this weekend after serving time for making death threats against politicians and fellow immigrants. The Oslo Police District said Tuesday that Najmaddin Faraj Ahmad, also known as Mullah Krekar, will be held at …

SEOUL, South Korea – Ten people were feared dead after a Chinese fishing boat sank in international waters near the South Korean resort island of Jeju, officials said Friday. Three survivors rescued by crew members of another nearby Chinese fishing boat told officials that their boat collided with a cargo …

UNITED NATIONS – Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations says his country soon will ask the world body’s member states to formally recognize Russia as a sponsor of terrorism. Yuriy Sergeyev told reporters on Friday that Ukraine will submit a draft resolution to the U.N. General Assembly that echoes the …

BRUSSELS – NATO says secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg will meet with Russia’s foreign minister for the first time this week, at a time when relations between Moscow and the West have plunged to their lowest point since the end of the Cold War. NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said Tuesday that Stoltenberg …

WASHINGTON – No other agency in Washington seems to have taken as many hits as theState Department (search)these days, but despite the swings the department appears to be standing tall. Criticism of State has ranged from letting terrorists into the country to causing a diplomatic breakdown among the United States …

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The Dutch government’s website is down and authorities say they are investigating the cause. An employee of the Ministry of General Affairs said the outage began at around 9:45 a.m. (0845 GMT) Tuesday and had not been resolved by early afternoon. The employee declined to be …

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Security Council threatened new sanctions Thursday against Sudanese government officials and armed groups that attack civilians in Darfur, target peacekeepers and impede efforts to end the 12-year conflict in Sudan’s vast western region. The council made the threats in a resolution adopted unanimously that extends …