TEHRAN, Iran (AP)-Iran's newly elected president says he will follow a ``path of moderation'' and urges his country not to be held back by past policies, emphasizing messages from Western leaders since his victory that have brought hope of new openings with Tehran. Speaking Monday at his first news conference since his surprise victory in Friday's vote, Hasan Rowhani described his election as opening a ``new era'' and said he would ``follow the path of moderation and justice, not extremism.'' Ir

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said he expects an overhaul of immigration rules to become law by the end of the year, but that the Senate's version "doesn't go far enough" to secure the U.S. border with Mexico or enforce the proposed new system."I've got real concerns about the Senate bill, especially in the area of border security and internal enforcement of the system. I'm concerned that it doesn't go far enough," Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, t

ISTANBUL (AFP) - Riot police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to retake an Istanbul protest square on Tuesday as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned he would show "no more tolerance" for the unrelenting mass demonstrations against his Islamic-rooted government.   Hundreds of police stormed the city's Taksim Square, the epicentre of nearly two weeks of deadly unrest, in the early morning and brought bulldozers to clear the makeshift barriers erected by demonstrators after police p

KABUL (AFP) - The Taliban have said they are willing to discuss how to reduce civilian casualties in the ongoing insurgency in Afghanistan, a top UN envoy said on Tuesday.Jan Kubis, the UN special representative for Afghanistan said that the militants had agreed to hold talks with the UN and discuss the issue of civilian deaths, which rose by 24 percent in the first half of 2013 compared to last year."I can confirm that we sent publicly and also through our channels a signal of our willingness t

Colombia's defense ministry later this month will sign a cooperation agreement with NATO, in hopes of joining the international military alliance, President Juan Manuel Santos said Saturday."In June, NATO will sign an agreement with the Colombian government, with the Defense Ministry, to start a process of rapprochement and cooperation, with an eye toward also joining that organization," Santos said at a military promotion ceremony.Santos said the army could become an international player if his

Thousands of people protested Saturday in European cities against the "troika" of international powers whose financial crisis policies they blame for worsening their economic hardship.Police fired tear gas at protesters who marched to the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, while in Spain and Portugal -- two of the countries that have received financial help -- more demonstrators filled the streets in angry marches."United against the troika. We don't owe, we won't pay," read some of the slogans

An international hacking group that had previously claimed it hacked North Korean Web sites said on Sunday it launched more cyber attacks into about a dozen sites based in the communist state.The group called "Anonymous" said on its Twitter account (@AnonyOpsKorea) that it successfully hacked the Web site for the North Korean radio station called "Voice of Korea." Anonymous released the photo of the opening page of the Web site, with the "VOK" logo at the top right-hand corner and the word "Hack

VATICAN CITY (AFP) – Pope Francis on Sunday created the first saints of his reign, canonizing some 800 Italian martyrs who refused to convert to Islam in the 15th century, as well as a Colombian and a Mexican who founded congregations.Thousands of faithful gathered in St Peter's Square to attend the mass in which he formally bestowed the sainthoods, which had been approved by Francis's predecessor Benedict XVI.The new saints include Italian cobbler Antonio Primaldo, who was killed along with an