BERLIN – The comet where a European spacecraft landed last year has made the closest approach to the sun of its 6 ½-year orbit. The European Space Agency said comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko reached its closest point to the sun, known as perihelion, at 0203 GMT Thursday. That put it some 186 …

BENGHAZI, Libya – Witnesses and officials say Libya’s Islamic State affiliate has seized control of a neighborhood in the central city of Sirte, going door to door searching for members of a rival group it has been battling for days. Mohammed Hadia, a government committee member, said IS fighters are …

CAIRO – The Egyptian presidency says President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s mother has died and urges Egyptians to support public projects instead of paying for notices offering condolences on her passing. Monday’s statement didn’t say how old el-Sissi’s mother, Soad Ibrahim, was or give the cause of death. The 60-year-old el-Sissi has …

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court say a lower panel of judges must reconsider its decision not to report Kenya to the court’s government body for failing to fully cooperate with prosecutors seeking evidence against the country’s president. Late last year the court’s chief prosecutor, …

JUBA, South Sudan – The father of a South Sudanese journalist says unknown gunmen killed his son on the outskirts of the capital, Juba, in an attack that came days after President Salva Kiir was reported to have threatened to kill reporters “working against the country.” Julius Kilong Ramoi said …

BEIJING – A Chinese state news agency says rescue workers are searching for eight people missing after a landslide that killed three others in the country’s mountainous southwest. The Xinhua News Agency said the disaster at about 7 p.m. on Saturday evening buried a road in Funing County in Yunnan …

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – One of the largest communities of Navajo farmers along the San Juan River has voted to keep irrigation canals closed for at least a year following a toxic spill at a Colorado gold mine. Navajo President Russell Begaye has asked several tribal communities to weigh in …

KINSHASA, Congo – A spokesman for Congo’s government says the president has signed legislation that allows elections to go ahead as planned. Lambert Mende said Wednesday that President Joseph Kabila has signed legislation that means local elections can be held on Oct. 25, which can allow for national elections in …

VIENNA – In a story Aug. 19 about an arrangement over alleged past nuclear weapons work between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, The Associated Press reported erroneously referred to Parchin as a “nuclear site.” In fact, it is a military site where some believe nuclear weapons work may …

MIAMI – The parents of slain journalist Steven Sotloff are speaking out about the foundation they established to honor his legacy and their disappointment with the U.S. government in a rare interviewing marking the 1-year anniversary of his death. South Florida residents Shirley and Arthur Sotloff have spoken little since …