AFP, MADRID: Spain finally turned the page on a rollercoaster 10-month political crisis Saturday as lawmakers voted the conservatives back into power despite bitter divisions. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy won a parliamentary confidence vote, pledging to plough on with his economic policies, despite…

AFP, ROME: Italy’s most powerful earthquake in 36 years dealt a new blow Sunday to the country’s seismically vulnerable heart, sending terrified…

AFP, SEOUL: The woman at the heart of a lurid political scandal engulfing South Korean President Park Geun-Hye returned to the country Sunday to face…

AFP, SYDNEY: Australia moved Sunday to bar any refugee or asylum-seeker who arrives in the country illegally by boat from ever being able to apply for a visa, even as tourists or for business. The lifetime ban will be put to parliament this week, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull saying it was necessary…

AFP, ISTANBUL: Turkish authorities have fired over 10,000 additional civil servants as the government presses a crackdown over the failed July coup, the official gazette said. A total of 10,131 government employees were removed, mainly from the education, justice and health ministries, according to…

AFP, CAIRO: Four Egyptian soldiers have been killed in the Sinai Peninsula, where the local branch of the Islamic State group regularly attacks security forces, the army said on Sunday. The troops were killed during operations around El-Arish, close to the border with the Gaza Strip, army spokesman…