CANBERRA, Australia – Australia’s prime minister says he still holds out hope that Indonesia will not execute two Australian drug traffickers on death row, saying mercy must play a part in the Indonesian justice system. Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were sentenced to death in 2006 for their leading roles …

YANGON, Myanmar – Myanmar’s government is accusing ethnic rebels of trying to scuttle a nationwide peace deal, as tensions soar in the northern state of Kachin. Sporadic clashes between the army and insurgents have left more than 1,800 civilians trapped in a village. Emotions are high in the state capital, …

FRANKFURT, Germany – A closely watched indicator of German business optimism rose for the third straight month in January, giving a positive signal from Europe’s biggest economy. The business climate survey from the Munich-based Ifo institute rose to 106.7 points from 105.5 points in December, beating expectations among market analysts …

SAO PAULO – A Brazilian judge has ordered that the bank accounts of a former president of Brazil’s state-run oil company be made available to prosecutors investigating allegations of overbilling. Judge Roseli Nalin accepted the request made last month by prosecutors for access to the bank accounts Jose Sergio Gabrielli, …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – The U.S. Geological Survey says an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 has struck central Argentina. The quake struck at 7:49 a.m. on Monday, with its epicenter about 87 kilometers (54 miles) from the city of La Punta, and about 314 kilometers (213 miles) from …

HARARE, Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe’s government said the country’s 90-year-old president did not fall down the stairs from a podium, saying President Robert Mugabe “managed to break the fall.” Information Minister Jonathan Moyo told the state-owned Herald newspaper Thursday that Mugabe tripped over a hump on a red carpet at Harare …

JERUSALEM – Israel’s prime minister has accused the publisher of an influential newspaper of carrying out a smear campaign against him. Benjamin Netanyahu took to Facebook on Monday, accusing Noni Mozes of the Yediot Ahronot of conducting the campaign to advance personal business interests. Yediot and its sister news site …

SEOUL, South Korea – The headline hogging “nut rage” episode reached a conclusion Thursday with a one year prison sentence for its chief protagonist, Korean Air heiress Cho Hyun-ah. A South Korean court found that she violated aviation law when she ordered a crew member off a Dec. 5 flight, …

BAGHDAD – An international rights group says Shiite militias allied with Iraqi security forces have escalated a campaign of abuse against Sunni residents in recent months. New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a statement issued Sunday that the militiamen, who are part of the fight against the Islamic State …

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay – Just two months ago, Uruguay welcomed six Guantanamo detainees for resettlement as a humanitarian gesture, and relations have already gotten a little testy. One of the former prisoners complained in a TV interview last week that he and his five colleagues had given up one jail only …