World

(SportsNetwork.com) – The Washington Nationals will try to force a decisive fifth game in their National League Division Series against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday, as they try to stave off elimination once again in Game 4 at AT&T Park. Washington snapped San Francisco’s 10-game postseason winning streak on …

CAIRO – An Egyptian court on Sunday ruled as unconstitutional a clause in the election law that draws voting districts, a verdict that is almost certain to delay parliamentary elections scheduled to start later this month. President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said in a statement that he has ordered the government to …

ATHENS, Greece – Greece’s new left-wing government is promising to spend 200 million euros ($234 million) this year on assistance programs for people pushed into “extreme poverty” by the financial crisis. In its first bill to parliament Tuesday, the government said it would spend the money on programs to distribute …

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – U.N. Security Council members are in Haiti for a three-day visit aimed in part at urging the government to hold long-delayed municipal and legislative elections. Council members arrived Friday and expect to meet with officials including President Michel Martelly during their stay. Martelly began ruling by decree …

PARIS – A 250-year-old book by the Enlightenment anti-establishment writer Voltaire is climbing best-seller lists in France weeks after the attacks by French-born Islamic extremists that left 20 people dead, including the gunmen. The “Treatise on Tolerance” is a cry against religious fanaticism and stemmed from Voltaire’s conviction that religious …

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – The African Union has joined regional and international organizations in threatening South Sudan’s warring factions with sanctions. The African Union’s Peace and Security Council said Saturday it will impose sanctions on all parties in South Sudan who continue to undermine the cessation of hostilities agreement. The …

MEXICO CITY – Mexican authorities have issued an alert for five states over the theft of a container of hazardous radioactive material used for industrial inspection in the country’s southeast. The container was reported stolen from a truck in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco on April 13, the Interior …

FRANKFURT, Germany – German investor optimism unexpectedly fell in April after five months of increases due to fears about the global economy. The ZEW research institute’s index eased to 53.3 points from 54.8 points in March. Analysts had expected 55.3 Germany’s economy is heavily dependent on exporting cars and industrial …

BEIRUT – Activists say Islamic State fighters have pushed into the Syrian town of Palmyra, home to famed 2,000-year-old ruins. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and activist Bebares al-Talawy say the militants were clashing with government troops in the northern part of the town on Saturday. The UNESCO world …

BRUSSELS – Experts say the European Union’s plan to disrupt the business of human traffickers and destroy their boats in the Mediterranean is a short-term, dissuasive measure that is likely to be dangerous, costly, and tough to implement. Faced with a rising death toll in the Mediterranean, the EU wants …