World

European Union ponders better way to deal with migrants

BRUSSELS — The European Union took its first steps Wednesday toward a fundamental reform of its defective migration policy, which has heaped huge pressure on some nations like Greece as over a million migrants and refugees surged into the continent over the past year.

Russia's new National Guard will be tasked to suppress riots

MOSCOW — The National Guard being formed in Russia will be given broad powers to suppress riots, according to a presidential decree released Wednesday.

Analysts said President Vladimir Putin's decision to create the National Guard could reflect Kremlin fears of possible anti-government protests — or even a coup attempt — amid an economic downturn. The Russian economy last year was dragged into recession by plummeting oil prices and Western economic sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine.

Ford to build small-car factory in Mexico, adding 2,800 jobs

DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co. plans to build a new $1.6 billion auto assembly plant in Mexico, creating about 2,800 jobs and shifting small-car production from the U.S. at a time when moving jobs south of the border has become a major issue in the U.S. presidential campaign.

Senator blasts administration's fight against Islamic State

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration's fight against the Islamic State is at risk of becoming a "grinding failure for our nation," an influential Republican senator said Tuesday in a broadside that illustrated the mounting frustrations in Congress with the U.S. strategy to defeat the extremist group.

In a brief but pointed letter to Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said U.S. military commanders are being hamstrung by an overly cautious Obama administration.

Billions in US remittances a lifeline for many in Mexico

MEXICO CITY — The billions of dollars in U.S. remittances that Donald Trump is threatening to block to force Mexico to pay for a border wall are a financial lifeline for the Latin American country's economy and millions of individuals who are supported by relatives up north.

For families across Mexico, the transfers help put food on the table and clothe children. They can make it possible to start a small business, put an addition on a cinderblock home or buy a secondhand truck to use on a farm.

Iceland's leader is first victim of offshore holdings leak

LONDON — The leak of millions of records on offshore accounts claimed its first high-profile political casualty Tuesday as Iceland's prime minister stepped aside amid outrage over revelations he had used such a shell company to shelter large sums while Iceland's economy was in crisis.

Icelandic leader Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson is the first major figure brought down by the publication of the names of rich and powerful people linked to the leaks, dubbed the Panama Papers.

Global military spending nearly $1.7T amid Mideast conflicts

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Global military spending rose in 2015 to nearly $1.7 trillion, the first increase in several years, driven by conflicts including the battle against the Islamic State group, the Saudi-led war in Yemen and fears about Iran, a report released Tuesday shows.

The study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute also noted that the Chinese expansion in the South China Sea and Russia's annexation of Crimea and support of Ukrainian separatists also accounted for nudging spending up 1 percent in real terms, compared to 2014.

EU begins shipping migrants in Greece back to Turkey

ATHENS, Greece — A controversial European Union plan to stem the flow of refugees began Monday with the deportation of more than 200 people from Greek islands to Turkey, despite concerns over human rights and criticism that Europe was turning its back on refugees.

Destruction, razed monastery left behind by IS in Syria town

QARYATAIN, Syria — Syrian troops fired their guns in celebration amid smoldering buildings inside the town of Qaryatain on Monday, hours after recapturing it from retreating Islamic State militants who had abducted and terrorized dozens of its Christian residents.

An Associated Press crew was among the first journalists to enter the town and witnessed the destruction wrought on the once-thriving Christian community and its fifth-century monastery, which was bulldozed by the extremist group last summer.

Data trove offers glimpse of how the rich hide their money

FRANKFURT, Germany — A leak of 11.5 million documents from a Panama-based law firm offers a glimpse into the shadowy world where the rich and powerful hide their money, raising sharp questions about the use of shell companies that obscure the identities of their true owners.

Leaders of the Group of 20 — representing about 80 percent of the global economy — have vowed to crack down on the practice, which is blamed for helping conceal money laundering, corruption and tax evasion.