PARIS – Three foreign tourists — two Austrians and an Italian — have died in an avalanche in the French Alps, and a fourth tourist has been taken by helicopter to a hospital in Grenoble with unspecified injuries. Hautes-Alpes department officials said that the snow slide took place mid-afternoon Wednesday …

The elevation of a homosexual priest to the level of bishop in theEpiscopal Church (search)raises some profound questions for the future of that denomination and the future of Christendom as a whole. The church is never more powerful than when it opposes culture and never less powerful than when it …

BEIJING – China’s state broadcaster is investigating one of its hosts after a video of him insulting Mao Zedong was leaked online, causing a stir and rekindling debate on the complicated legacy of the father of communist China. China Central Television says talent show host Bi Fujina will face serious …

ISLAMABAD – U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan killed two leaders of Al Qaeda’s South Asia branch earlier this year, a spokesman for the militants said Sunday, confirming a major blow to the affiliate only months after its creation. In an audio message, spokesman Usama Mahmood said a Jan. 5 drone …

ATHENS, Greece – Official figures show that Greece fell well short of its budget deficit reduction targets last year, a development that’s likely to add pressure on the Greek government during tortuous talks with bailout creditors. The country’s statistical authority says Wednesday that the 2014 deficit was 3.5 percent of …

BAGHDAD – Authorities in Iraq say bombings and mortar fire targeting public places have killed 14 people around the capital, Baghdad. Police officials say the deadliest attack happened Sunday night when a car bomb exploded on a commercial street in downtown Baghdad, killing six people and wounding 13. Earlier, a …

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – International Criminal Court judges have postponed the trial of a former Congolese militia leader as the court considers whether opening statements in the case can be made in Congo. Bosco Ntaganda is charged with crimes including murder, rape, sexual slavery and using child soldiers in the …

HELSINKI – Sweden says that two of its nationals, held hostage in Syria, have been released and are reunited with their families. The Swedish Foreign Ministry in Stockholm says in a statement it worked closely with several authorities and were particularly grateful to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who was …

PARIS – A 15-year-old French Muslim girl has missed school for two days this month in a dispute over her long black skirt, seen as going against France’s law guaranteeing secularism. A popular Twitter hashtag #jeportemajupecommejeveux (I wear my skirt as I like) popped up on Wednesday after the dispute …

MEXICO CITY – Political analysts say the increasingly powerful Mexican drug cartel known as Jalisco New Generation was showing off its muscles in a spasm of violence that killed seven people and forced down a military helicopter in western Mexico. Jalisco state is relatively calm Saturday after the previous day …