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 that flew up on the Dragon as part of a genetic study.Rubins and Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi used the

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 borders Syria.There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which was the latest in a s

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 first buses carrying evacuating rebels and their families emerged from the devastated town, accompanied

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.The ruling, due at 3:00 pm (1300 GMT), is likely to set a precedent for around 30 French towns which hav

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 was announced just hours after he spoke at a press conference in Beijing on China's economy.In a statem

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 as part of a new U.S. bid to enlist Russia as a partner in Syria as the fighting becomes more volatile 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.Some crumbled buildings in Amatrice cracked even further after the biggest aftershock of the morning str

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 success on appeal"."The application for leave to appeal against the sentence is dismissed with costs," 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 Postiglione, head of the Civil Protection agency's emergency unit, indicated there had been no survivors fo

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-terrorism at the US State Department."My understanding is that they have looked at existing groups across

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 social discord and affecting state affairs, at a time when North Korea's test-firing of a submarine-launc

President Park Geun-hye on Friday reiterated her calls to develop the agricultural sector into a future growth engine by incorporating cutting-edge technologies, cultural content, tourism and other creative ideas.During an agricultural fair in Seoul, Park, in particular, pledged to support the "sixth industrialization" of agriculture, a term referring to the integration of primary, secondary and tertiary industries to create greater value-added agricultural goods and services."The government wil

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.Prosecutors said such activities should be deemed as an election campaign prior to the legitimate ele

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 meeting Tuesday with members of the French Presidential Press Association. Hollande was referring to Trump's

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 team event, preventing their Asian rivals from winning their fourth straight gold. With two carryovers f

Samsung Electronics Co. is in advanced talks to buy some or all of the operations of auto-parts maker Magneti Marelli from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, according to people familiar with the matter.Samsung is particularly interested in Magneti Marelli’s lighting, in-car entertainment and telematics business and could consider an acquisition of the whole company, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private. The deal could be worth more than $3 billion with a goal o

BEIRUT (AFP) -- Syrian regime forces bolstered by Russian air strikes recaptured territory overnight in the southwest suburbs of the battleground city of Aleppo, rolling back the short-lived gains of a rebel offensive. Rebels and their jihadists allies launched an assault Sunday in a bid to ease a more than two-week government siege of opposition-held districts of the city. But regime fighters have put up a fierce fightback, retaking several positions from beleaguered rebel forces, a monitor sai

BEIJING (AFP) -- China's troubled but beloved Jade Rabbit lunar rover has whirred its last, state media said Wednesday, after it bid humanity farewell on social media.The device, designed for a lifespan of a mere three months, surveyed the moon's surface for 31 months, the official Xinhua new service said, overcoming numerous technical problems and design flaws to become a national icon.But the machine has stopped operations, Xinhua cited the State Administration for Science, Technology and Indu

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Donald Trump is openly taunting the leaders of his own party by refusing to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Sen. John McCain of Arizona in their GOP primaries. Yet thus far, McCain, Ryan and other Republicans who've reluctantly declared that they plan to back Trump for president appear to be sticking with him.  Trump's stunning slap at two of the nation's most prominent Republicans dramatically escalated GOP turmoil barely a week after a convention intended to

NEW YORK (AP) -- Not even "Hamilton" can keep up with these numbers.The script to the London stage production "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two" sold more than 2 million print copies in North America in its first two days of publication, Scholastic announced Wednesday. That's well below the 8.3 million copies sold in 2007 for the first day of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," J.K. Rowling's then-presumed finale for her fantasy series. But it's still among the fastest-sel