Rouhani vows better international ties

TEHERAN - Iran's incumbent moderate President Hassan Rouhani won the presidential election by garnering 57 percent of the votes, the Interior Ministry announced on Saturday.

New ROK president Moon names his presidential staff, cabinet members

SEOUL - Republic of Korea President Moon Jae-in on Sunday named top-level presidential staff and cabinet members on security, foreign affairs and economy.

Pacific Rim nations fight to save TPP

HANOI - Asia-Pacific trade ministers agreed on Sunday to try to revive a massive free trade pact, even though the United States reaffirmed its decision to pull out, as fears grow of a new global era of protectionism.

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Trump embarks on first foreign trip

WASHINGTON - With turmoil enveloping his administration at home, President Donald Trump was scheduled to head abroad on Friday for a trip the White House hopes will shift focus away from domestic controversies and on to his foreign-policy agenda.

Greece go-ahead for renewed austerity as violent protests erupt

ATHENS - Greece's government secured parliamentary approval on Thursday for a new batch of creditor-demanded measures that will impose further income losses on austerity-weary Greeks over the next three years but pave the way for a modest debt relief deal.

Emperor's abdication moves ever closer

TOKYO - The Japanese government on Friday approved a one-off bill allowing aging Emperor Akihito to step down from the Chrysanthemum Throne, in the first such abdication in two centuries.

Assange embassy exit likely after Sweden drops rape probe

Swedish prosecutors say they are closing their investigation of rape allegations against Julian Assange, and will not renew a European arrest warrant, clearing the way for the WikiLeaks founder to leave the Ecuadorean embassy in London.

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Returning a museum to past glories

KABUL - Afghanistan's embattled National Museum is finally looking ahead to a brighter future after decades of domestic turmoil and violence decimated its exhibits and artifacts.

Basquiat rarity sells for record $110.5m

NEW YORK - A little-seen painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat that sold for $19,000 in 1984 soared to an astounding $110.5 million at Sotheby's on Thursday, the second-highest price ever for a work of contemporary art.

Fans mourn grunge hero Cornell

SEATTLE, Washington - Grief-stricken Chris Cornell fans left flowers at memorials across Seattle for the musician whose forceful, somber songs helped cement the city's place in rock history.