Brigitte Bardot, who has died at 91, often said that the hounding she received from the world's press in her years as a sex symbol of the 1960s made her identify with hunted and abused animals.

Clashes have erupted on Syria's coast between Alawite protesters from the Alawite religious minority and counterprotesters.

Brigitte Bardot, the French 1960s sex symbol who became one of the greatest screen sirens of the 20th century and later a militant animal rights activist, has died.

Voters in the Central African Republic are electing a new president and federal lawmakers.

Guineans are voting to elect a new president in the country’s first election since a 2021 coup.

President Donald Trump will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to try to close out a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia that would end nearly four years of war.

Voters in Myanmar are participating in the first phase of the country’s general election, held under military rule amid a civil war.

Barefoot children played on chilly sand as Gaza’s thousands of displaced people prepared threadbare tents for another round of winter rain.

A Brazilian judge has issued house arrest orders for 10 people involved in a plot to keep former President Jair Bolsonaro in power after his 2022 election loss.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has warned it will respond immediately to any military movements of separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates that undermine de-escalation efforts in the south.

Hundreds of mourners have gathered outside a mosque in Homs, Syria, after a bombing killed eight people and wounded 18.

Thailand and Cambodia have signed a ceasefire agreement to end weeks of fighting over border disputes.

Millions of Afghans are struggling as international aid cuts sever a lifeline many relied on for food and heating.

Venezuelan migrants transferred to a prison in El Salvador by the U.S. government are demanding justice.

Perry Archangelo Bamonte, longtime guitarist and keyboardist for the influential goth band The Cure, has died.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says several key issues remain unresolved in negotiations with the United States over a framework to end Russia’s war.

A U.S. airstrike that targeted an alleged camp of the Islamic State group in Nigeria has caused panic in the village of Jabo, close to where the strike hit.

Cambodia says that Thailand hit a site in the country's northwest with an airstrike on Saturday even as the two sides pursue talks to end clashes.

Police say that two people have been killed and at least two more injured in northern Israel in a car-ramming and stabbing attack by a Palestinian man.

As 2025 wraps up, The Associated Press has curated a list of memorable stories and enjoyable reads published this year.

A bombing at a mosque in Homs, Syria, during Friday prayers has killed at least eight people and wounded 18 others.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that he will meet on Sunday with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that he will meet on Sunday with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida.

Separatists in southern Yemen are accusing Saudi Arabia of targeting their forces with airstrikes.

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has been sentenced to 15 years in prison and must pay 13.5 billion ringgit ($3.3 billion) for his role in the 1MDB corruption scandal.

South Korea’s government says it plans to end the waning foreign adoptions of Korean children.

The United States airstrikes targeting militants affiliated with the Islamic State group in northwestern Nigeria are a major escalation of an offensive that Nigeria’s overstretched military has struggled with for years.

Stocks closed slightly lower as investors returned from the Christmas holiday.

Graphite mines in the United States are seeing renewed interest after being largely closed for decades.

Myanmar will hold the first phase of a general election on Sunday, its first vote in five years and an election framed by the ruling military as a return to multi-party democracy.

Japan’s Cabinet has approved a record defense budget plan exceeding 9 trillion yen for the coming year.

President Donald Trump says the U.S. launched a deadly strike against Islamic State forces in Nigeria, after spending weeks accusing the West African country's government of failing to rein in the persecution of Christians.

Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel takes aim at U.S. President Donald Trump in a message to U.K. viewers.

A Russian court has sentenced pro-war activist Sergei Udaltsov to six years in prison for justifying terrorism.

Mariela Gómez and thousands of Venezuelan immigrants have faced a challenging Christmas after Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.

The Kremlin is in talks with French authorities about French scholar Laurent Vinatier, who is serving a three-year sentence in Russia and reportedly faces new espionage charges.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's family says he's underwent double hernia surgery at a hospital in the country's capital.

Three Palestinians have been arrested on suspicion of setting fire to a Christmas tree and damaging a Nativity scene at a Catholic Church in the West Bank city of Jenin.

Pope Leo XIV, during his first Christmas Day message, has urged the faithful to shed indifference toward those who are suffering.

The son of a former Bangladesh prime minister has returned to the country after more than 17 years in exile.

Asian shares are mixed in thin holiday trading, with most markets in the region and elsewhere closed for Christmas.

Saudi Arabia has called on separatists in southern Yemen to withdraw from two governorates they now hold.

King Charles III has urged people to focus on kindness instead of conflict in his annual Christmas address.

A bomb has exploded during prayers at a mosque in Nigeria's northeastern city of Maiduguri, killing five people.

Trump-backed candidate Nasry Asfura has won Honduras’ presidential election, according to electoral authorities.

The president of Turkish sports club Fenerbahce has been taken into custody in Istanbul as part of a drug investigation involving entertainment and media figures.

An explosive device has detonated in Gaza and wounded one Israeli soldier, prompting Israel to accuse Hamas of violating the U.S.-brokered ceasefire.

Families in north-central Nigeria have joyfully reunited with schoolchildren held for a month after a mass abduction.

On Christmas Eve, thousands of people flocked to Bethlehem's Manger Square and other Holy Land sites, after two years of subdued Christmas celebrations because of the war in Gaza.

The European Union's executive is warning of possible action against the U.S. after travel bans were imposed on five Europeans accused of pressuring American technology firms to censor viewpoints.

Guineans are set to vote Sunday in their first presidential election since a military coup four years ago.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end Russia’s war, if Moscow also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized zone monitored by international forces.

French prosecutors say a pro-Russian hacking group has claimed responsibility for a major cyberattack on France’s national postal service.

Russian investigators say that an explosion in Moscow has killed three people, including two police officers.

Search teams in Turkey have recovered the cockpit voice and flight data recorders from a jet crash that killed eight people, including Libya’s military chief.

US stocks drifted higher to more records on a holiday-shortened day of trading.

Iran and the United States have reaffirmed their commitments to diplomacy at a contentious meeting of the U.N. Security Council.

Bolivia’s new government has issued a decree that will allow global satellite internet companies such as Starlink or Kuiper to provide internet access across the Andean nation as it tries to upgrade its technology and speed up its notoriously slow connectivity rates.

President Donald Trump’s newly appointed envoy to Greenland says the Republican administration is looking to begin a conversation with residents of the semi-autonomous Danish territory about the best way forward for the strategically important island.

The State Department is barring five Europeans it accuses of leading efforts to pressure U.S. tech firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints.

Pope Leo XIV says he's “very disappointed” that his home state of Illinois has approved medically assisted suicide.

Venezuela's National Assembly has approved a measure criminalizing activities that hinder navigation and commerce, like the seizure of oil tankers.

A private jet carrying Libya’s military chief and four other military officers has crashed after takeoff from Turkey’s capital, Ankara, killing all on board.

Venus Williams and Andrea Preti are married.

British authorities have brought new charges of rape and sexual assault against comedian Russell Brand.

President Donald Trump says he will be extending invitations to next year’s Group of 20 summit to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Yemen’s government and Iran-backed Houthi rebels have agreed to release 2,900 detainees in the largest swap during the 11-year civil war.

France's parliament has approved an emergency bill to prevent a government shutdown next week.

A former close aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that immediately following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, he was ordered to figure out how the premier could evade responsibility for the security breach.

Afghanistan’s annual buzkashi tournament has concluded, with Sar-e-Pul defeating Badakhshan 7-0 in the final.

Officials say Russia fired more than 650 drones and three dozen missiles at Ukraine in a large-scale attack that began during the night and stretched into daylight hours Tuesday.

Gaza’s tiny Palestinian Christian community is trying to capture some of the Christmas spirit under a fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

An Australian state leader says a man accused of killing 15 people at Sydney’s Bondi Beach faced a lengthy gun license delay due to bureaucracy, not suspicion.

Wall Street closed at another record following a surprisingly strong report on economic growth over the summer.

The U.S. military says it has conducted another strike against a boat it said was smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing one person.

Sudan’s prime minister is proposing a wide-ranging peace initiative to end a nearly 1,000-day war with a rival paramilitary force.

The Department of Homeland Security has dropped its plan to deport a Chinese national who entered the country illegally after his plight raised public concerns that the man, if deported, would be punished by Beijing for helping expose human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region.

A federal judge ruled Monday that the Trump administration must give legal due process to Venezuelan migrants flown to a notorious prison in El Salvador, either by providing court hearings or returning them to the U.S. Judge James Boasberg ordered the government to come up with a plan within two weeks.

The Federal Communications Commission says it will ban new foreign-made drones, a move that will keep new Chinese-made drones out of the U.S. market.

Nigerians have welcomed back 130 children and teachers who were released after being seized in one of the largest mass abductions in the country’s history.

The U.S. government has signed health deals with at least nine African countries.

President Donald Trump has announced a bold plan for the Navy to build a new, large warship that he is calling a “battleship” as part of a larger vision to create a “Golden Fleet.”.

Atmospheric rivers are long and relatively narrow bands of water vapor that form over an ocean and flow through the sky.

Brown University has placed its campus police chief on leave as it reviews security policies following a tragic shooting.

A court in Ecuador has sentenced eleven soldiers to 34 years in prison for the abduction and torture of four children last year.

Banksy appears to confirm a new mural in London is his latest work.

Grupo Frontera is heading to the 2026 Grammys with two nominations.

President Donald Trump has delivered a new warning to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Apple says it will appeal a $116 million fine from Italy's antitrust authority.

Chris Rea, the singer-songwriter best known for “Driving Home for Christmas,” has died at 74.

Russia has accused Ukraine of carrying out a number of high-profile attacks against prominent Russians since Moscow invaded its neighbor nearly four years ago.

U.S. proposals for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia meet many of Kyiv's demands, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Clashes have erupted between Syrian security forces and Kurdish fighters in the city of Aleppo.

A suspected cyberattack has knocked France’s national postal service and its banking arm offline during the busy Christmas season.

China has announced provisional tariffs of up to 42.7% on dairy products imported from the European Union.

The leaders of Denmark and Greenland are insisting that the U.S. won’t take over Greenland after President Donald Trump announced the appointment of a special envoy to the semi-autonomous territory.

A car bomb has killed a Russian general.

India and New Zealand say they have reached a free trade deal to deepen economic ties amid global trade uncertainties.

NATO-nation intelligence services believe Russia is developing a weapon to target Starlink satellites.

A former Hong Kong reporter at the Wall Street Journal has begun testifying against the newspaper which she alleges terminated her due to her union activities in a trial Monday.