CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- A SpaceX Dragon capsule headed back to Earth on Friday with a load of science experiments and gear from the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Kate Rubins waved goodbye as the Dragon slowly flew away, aiming for a splashdown in the Pacific, just off Mexico's Baja California coast. It's loaded with 3,000 pounds of research and equipment, including 12 mice tha...

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- A Kurdish militant suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden truck into a checkpoint near a police station in southeast Turkey on Friday, killing at least 11 police officers and wounding 78 other people, the prime minister said. The attack struck the checkpoint 50 meters (yards) from a main police station near the town of Cizre, in the mainly-Kurdish Sirnak province that b...

DARAYA (AFP) -- Syrian rebels and civilians, many in tears, began Friday evacuating the Syrian town of Daraya after a four-year army siege, in a blow for the beleaguered opposition. The evacuation came after a deal struck by President Bashar al-Assad's government and opposition forces in the town, which is close to the capital Damascus and was one of the first to rise up against the regime. The...

PARIS (AFP) -- France's highest administrative court will decide Friday whether to overturn bans on wearing the full-body burkini swimsuit which have sparked controversy at home and abroad. The State Council has heard arguments from the Human Rights League and an anti-Islamophobia group which are seeking to reverse a decision by the southern town of Villeneuve-Loubet to ban the Islamic garment. ...

BEIJING (AFP) -- The "morally bankrupt" former head of China's statistics bureau, responsible for calculating the country's economic figures, has been expelled from the ruling Communist Party for actions including "superstitious activities" and "insatiably" trading power for sex, a watchdog said Friday. Wang Baoan headed the National Bureau of Statistics until January, when an inquiry into him w...

GENEVA (AP) -- The United States and Russia on Friday renewed efforts to secure a military and humanitarian cooperation agreement for war-torn Syria as conditions on the ground continued to deteriorate after months of hesitation, missed deadlines and failed attempts to forge a nationwide truce. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov were meeting in Geneva a...

AMATRICE, Italy (AP) -- Strong aftershocks rattled central Italy and shut down a key route into the hard-hit town of Amatrice on Friday as hopes dimmed that firefighters would find any more survivors from the earthquake that killed at least 267 people. The Italian government declared Saturday a day of national mourning and scheduled a state funeral to be attended by President Sergio Mattarella. ...

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) -- A South African judge on Friday rejected the state's appeal seeking a longer jail sentence for Paralympian Oscar Pistorius, who is serving a six-year term for killing his girlfriend three years ago. Thokozile Masipa -- the same judge who imposed the sentence last month -- said in the High Court in Johannesburg that she was not persuaded there was a "reasonable prospect of s...

AMATRICE, Italy (AFP) -- An increasingly forlorn search for victims of the earthquake that brought carnage to central Italy entered a third day Friday as a day of mourning was declared for victims of a disaster that has claimed at least 267 lives. Flags will fly at half-mast across the country on Saturday to coincide with the first funerals. Releasing the new confirmed death toll, Immacolata Po...

SINGAPORE (AFP) -- Islamic State jihadists are eyeing expansion into Southeast Asia by joining forces with local extremists, a senior US counter-terrorism official warned Friday. IS has a history of partnering with militant groups around the world, including in Egypt, Libya and Nigeria, and wants to broaden its reach in the region, according to Justin Siberell, acting coordinator for counter-ter...

The South Korean National Assembly's defense committee said Friday it will hold a special gathering with the country's defense minister next week to discuss the deployment of an advanced U.S. anti-missile system as well as North Korea's on-going provocations. The move came as the discussion centering on the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in the country is fueling so...

SEOUL/DAEJEON (Yonhap) -- The nation's top court on Friday returned to a lower court a ruling that convicted the mayor of Daejeon on charges of pre-electioneering before a local election in June 2014. Overruling the Daejeon High Court's decision, the Supreme Court said Kwon Sun-taik is not guilty of unlawfully participating in forum activities, which began with its establishment in November 2012...

PARIS (AP) -- French President Francois Hollande has strongly criticized U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, saying some of the things the Republican does make him sick. "Some excesses make your stomach turn, even in the United States, especially when _ as did Donald Trump _ he speaks ill of a soldier, of the memory of a soldier," Hollande said, according to three people present at a meeti...

RIO DE JANEIRO (Yonhap) -- In South Korea's bid for an archery gold medal sweep at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the U.S. men's team may just provide the stiffest challenge. And the three members of this year's American team say, while they reserve respect for the South Koreans, they fear no one. At the 2012 London Olympics, the Americans defeated the South Koreans in the semifinals of the men's...