Cocaine and crack continue to flow in Brussels, leading to frequent shootings among rival gangs, particularly in the Saint-Gilles district.Drug-related violent crime is on the rise in the European Union’s capital, as record amounts of cocaine are seized in Europe.Gang violence, fueled by drug trafficking, has been a persistent issue…

Kuwait’s emir on Thursday dissolved parliament after a lawmaker reportedly insulted the ruler, the latest dissolution to strike the oil-rich nation’s legislature amid years of political gridlock.The state-run KUNA news agency announced the decree from the country’s ruling emir, Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber. It blamed “offensive and uncontrolled”…

Venezuela’s government on Thursday ordered the local U.N. office on human rights to suspend operations and gave its staff 72 hours to leave, accusing the office of promoting opposition to the South American country.Foreign Affairs Minister Yván Gil announced the decision at a news conference in Caracas, the capital. Gil’s…

Norwegian far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in a bombing and shooting rampage in 2011, on Thursday lost his second attempt to sue the state for what he claimed was a breach of his human rights.Breivik, who changed his name to Fjotolf Hansen, has been held in…

A “mass casualty exercise” in Okinawa, Japan, became more real than expected on Thursday after a vehicular accident threatened the lives of more than eight U.S. Marines. A Light Tactical Vehicle in the Okinawan Jungle Warfare Training Center rolled onto its side Thursday with multiple military personnel aboard. “There will be an…

Greece’s parliament is to vote late Thursday to legalize same-sex civil marriage in a first for an Orthodox Christian country and despite opposition from the influential Greek Church.As lawmakers debated the bill for a second day, opinion polls suggest that most Greeks support the proposed reform by a narrow margin.…

Truckers staged protests on busy highways outside of Mexico City on Thursday to protest the wave of killings of drivers during highway robberies.Trucks either drove very slowly or blocked some lanes of traffic. The protest was organized by the Mexican Alliance of Drivers’ Organizations, known by its initials as Amotac,…

Four Roman Catholic bishops met with Mexican drug cartel bosses in a bid to negotiate a possible peace accord, one of the bishops said, and President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Thursday he approves of such talks.The revelation by Bishop of Chilpancingo-Chilapa, José de Jesús González Hernández, in remarks at…

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Albania on Thursday to reaffirm relations with a key partner in the region and assure Western Balkan countries of Washington’s support for their integration into the European Union.Blinken met with top officials and focused on the future of the Western Balkans as Albania…

The U.S. will build up to five military bases for the Somali army in a project that seeks to bolster the Somalian national army’s capabilities amid ongoing threats from an extremist group.Somalia’s defense minister and the U.S. charge d’affaires signed a memorandum of understanding Thursday in Mogadishu, the Somali capital.ANTI-GANG…