BAGHDAD (AP) — Kidnappers of Egypt’s top diplomat in Iraq threatened to kill him Wednesday because Egypt has allied with “Jews and Christians,” according to a statement on a website linked to Al Qaeda in Iraq. Pictures of the envoy’s ID cards were posted as proof he was held by …

TEHRAN (AP) — Iran’s top nuclear negotiator will remain in place at least until the country’s new hardline president takes office, his spokesman said Wednesday, denying a report from the state news agency that said he had resigned. But the report throws into doubt the future of Hasan Rowhani — …

MORONI — Amid persistent poverty and a shaky federal union between its three islands, the coup-plagued Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros celebrated independence on Wednesday with a Cabinet reshuffle. Announced on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Comoros’ July 6, 1975 independence from France, the changes saw the …