World

GENEVA – After failing six years ago to craft a global agreement to fight climate change, world governments are hoping that this year will mark a breakthrough in the slow-paced U.N. climate talks. In Geneva this week, negotiators from more than 190 countries are working on an early draft of …

TOKYO – Japan’s economy grew at a 2.2 percent clip in the last quarter on a sharp recovery in exports. The preliminary data released Monday show the world’s third-largest economy emerged from recession in October-December, as many economists had forecast. The government also revised upward data for earlier in the …

BERLIN – Germany has responded coldly to Greece’s request for a six-month extension to its rescue loan agreement without the associated spending cuts. German Finance Ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger said in a statement Thursday that a letter from the new Greek government “is not a substantial proposal for a solution.” …

ROME – Italy and Switzerland have signed an accord ending Swiss banking secrecy. The neighboring countries, in the agreement signed in Milan on Monday, pledged to exchange information for tax purposes in line with international standards. Italy hopes the arrangement will help it fight tax evasion. Under a recent law, …

SYDNEY – Two men from Malaysia and Hong Kong have been charged with smuggling more than 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of crystal methamphetamine, or ice, worth 65 million Australian dollars ($50 million) into Sydney in a shipping container from China, authorities said on Thursday. The men, whose names have not …

BEIRUT – Activists and local residents say intense clashes between a Western-backed rebel group and al-Qaida’s Syrian affiliate have killed at least 20 fighters on the outskirts of the northern city of Aleppo. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says fighters from the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front battled members of …

ATHENS, Greece – Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis will travel to Washington to meet with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde and unspecified US Treasury officials, the Greek government has announced. Varoufakis will meet Lagarde Sunday evening and the Treasury officials Monday. Greece is locked into difficult negotiations with …

NEW DELHI – Every evening, hundreds of millions of Indian women hover over crude stoves making dinner for their families. They feed the flames with polluting fuels like kerosene or cow dung, and breathe the acrid smoke wafting from the fires. The smoke, containing high concentrations of tiny particles known …

ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey’s military says Kurdish rebels have fired on troops in eastern Turkey, wounding four soldiers and touching off clashes between the military and the rebels. The military said the attack occurred Saturday near the village of Yukari Tutek, in Agri province, where troops were dispatched to police …

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia – A Sumatran elephant has been found dead in Indonesia’s Aceh province with its tusks cut off, raising suspicion it was killed by poachers. The carcass of the estimated 25-year-old male elephant was discovered Monday inside a palm oil plantation in Karang Hampa village in West Aceh …