AP World News

Syria’s de facto leader has said it could take up to four years to hold elections in Syria, and that he plans on dissolving his Islamist group that led the country’s insurgency at an anticipated national dialogue summit for the country

Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of Turkey’s banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has said that he is willing to contribute to peace between Turks and Kurds, according to the pro-Kurdish DEM party

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating an incident involving a plane at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport, which one passenger described as a rough landing that sparked flames

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev says the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed last week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to have his prostate removed

An Israeli hospital says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has undergone successful prostate surgery

Former soccer player Mikheil Kavelashvili has been inaugurated as president of Georgia in what the opposition calls a blow to the country’s EU aspirations and a victory for former imperial ruler Russia

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says he will implement the “toughest” anti-U.S. policy, less than a month before Donald Trump takes office as U.S. president

Croatia’s left-leaning president, an outspoken critic of Western military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, is running for reelection in the Adriatic Sea state, but is unlikely to get an outright majority in the first round

An exit poll released by Croatia's state TV says Croatia’s incumbent President Zoran Milanovic has a sweeping lead in Sunday’s election and could win in the first round, despite earlier predictions that another round would be held