World

TIRANA, Albania – Albania has passed legislation that gives victims of the country’s former Communist regime access to the previously classified files of the hated Sigurimi secret police. The law that was approved Thursday with an 84-22 majority also stipulates that former Sigurimi members will be excluded from the civil …

UNITED NATIONS – South Sudan has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, an international human rights treaty meant to protect children’s rights to health, education and freedom from discrimination. The U.N. on Monday welcomed the move and said only the United States and Somalia have not ratified …

BUCHAREST, Romania – A teenager has died after she was electrocuted while taking selfies atop a parked train in northeast Romania. Anna Ursu, 18, was hospitalized in the St. Spiridon Hospital in the city of Iasi on Friday with severe burns after she apparently touched a high-voltage wire above the …

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria – A Nigerian official says Boko Haram extremists have seized back the northeastern border town Marte and are attacking villages, weeks after the military said it had contained the insurgents in a forest stronghold. Deputy Gov. Zannah Umar Mustapha of Borno state says hundreds of female suicide bombers …

KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan judge on Tuesday sentenced 11 policemen to one year in prison for their role in the mob killing of a woman in Kabul. Judge Safiullah Mojadedi, presiding in Afghanistan’s Primary Court, found the policemen guilty of dereliction of duty. Another eight were released for lack …

HAMILTON, Ontario – Adrian Robinson, the former Temple defensive lineman who recently signed with the Canadian Football League’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats, has died. He was 25. The Tiger-Cats and Robinson’s representatives announced the death Sunday. They didn’t provide details. “Adrian was a beloved father, son, brother, friend and teammate,” the Symmetry …

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis’ No. 2 says a new development model is needed to combat global warming, one that marries economic growth with sustainability. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, said in another prelude to Francis’ environment encyclical that both political and economic commitment will be required …

ANKARA, Turkey – An official says an opposition party candidate has been hospitalized after being shot in the knee while campaigning for Turkey’s general elections on June 7. Tuesday’s assault was the third violent attack on parties or politicians contesting the polls in the southern city of Adana. But Gov. …

MEXICO CITY – A judge in Mexico has freed four men accused of lobbing grenades into a crowd celebrating Mexico’s independence day in 2008, killing eight people. The Federal Judiciary Council said the judge declared the men innocent, ruling that three of them had been tortured into signing confessions. From …

MONTREAL – A judge has awarded more than $15 billion Canadian (US$12 billion) to Quebec smokers in a case that pitted them against three giant tobacco companies. The case is believed to be the biggest class-action lawsuit ever seen in Canada. Superior Court Justice Brian Riordan’s decision became public late …