Iraqi security forces on Tuesday retook a town next to the militant-held city of Tikrit as they pressed their offensive against Islamic State militants, two military officials said, while the town’s mayor hopes it can become a launchpad for a larger attack. A Reuters photographer reported seeing dozens of families, …

BEIRUT – A spokesman for Syria’s main Kurdish force has called on the U.S.-led coalition to attack Islamic State group positions in northeastern Syria where the jihadis are on the offensive. The call by Redor Khalil came as activists said dozens of Kurdish and IS fighters were killed this week …

CAIRO – A Libyan militia official says four nurses from the Philippines have been kidnapped in broad daylight from a hospital in the city of Sirte, while several others were evacuated. The official who belongs to the 166 Battalion, a militia which is battling the local Islamic State group branch …

MEXICO CITY – One of the founders of the vigilante self-defense movement in western Mexico says he is running for congress on the ticket of a small party. Hipolito Mora was the first leader to come out publicly in favor of an uprising against the Knights Templar drug cartel in …

BEIJING – International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde says China’s economic slowdown is legitimate and Beijing can contribute to global prosperity. Lagarde welcomed Beijing’s efforts to boost investment outside China, referring to the new Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. She was speaking Sunday at the opening of China Development Forum …

KATHMANDU, Nepal – A Nepalese mountaineering official says a Finnish climber and his local guide died while descending from the summit of Mount Annapurna in the first casualties of the mountaineering season in the Himalayan nation. Gyanendra Shrestha said attempts were being made to bring the bodies of Samuli Mansikka …

CAIRO – Egypt and Saudi Arabia are cooperating militarily to thwart a power grab in Yemen by Shiite rebels, but the agreement on how to deal with the region’s complex and intertwined conflicts may stop there. The two countries’ diverging interests were evident at the Arab summit over the weekend, …

KINSHASA, Congo – Economists from around the globe are gathering in Congo for a forum on boosting economic growth in the African country as large as Western Europe. Congo has some of the largest mineral deposits in the world yet, according to the United Nations, at least 63 percent of …

ISTANBUL – Turkey’s state-run news agency says authorities were questioning six people, including some foreigners, in connection with a suicide bombing at an Istanbul police station. Last week’s attack killed an officer and wounded another. The female bomber was also killed. The Anadolu Agency said the suspects were being questioned …

MOSCOW – Russian markets are trading sluggishly as the country braces for the possibility that its credit rating may be downgraded to “junk” level later Friday for the first time in a decade. Both the ruble and the MICEX benchmark were down less than 0.5 percent in early trading. Russia’s …