BEIRUT -- Chemical weapons inspectors collected samples from Syria's Douma on Saturday, two weeks after a suspected gas attack there followed by retaliatory strikes by Western powers on the Syrian government's chemical facilities.

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea said Friday it has suspended nuclear and long-range missile tests and plans to close its nuclear test site ahead of a new round of negotiations with South Korea and the United States. There was no clear indication in the North's announcement if it would be willing to deal away its arsenal.

HAVANA -- Raul Castro handed over Cuba's presidency Thursday to a hand-picked 57-year-old successor he said would hold power until 2031, a plan that would place the state the Castro brothers founded and ruled for six decades in the hands of a Communist Party official who remains little known to most people on the island.

The United States, France and Britain launched military strikes in Syria on Friday.

BEIJING -- Investors and China watchers welcomed President Xi Jinping's pledge Tuesday to open his country's market wider to foreign competition, hoping it will ease a trade dispute with Washington that has unsettled financial markets and could jeopardize a global economic expansion.

WASHINGTON -- Trump administration officials consulted with global allies Tuesday on a possible joint military response to Syria's alleged poison gas attack, as President Donald Trump canceled a foreign trip in order to manage a crisis that is testing his vow to stand up to Syrian President Bashar Assad.

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- The family of prominent Palestinian protester Ahed Tamimi on Monday released excerpts from a video in which an Israeli interrogator threatens the then-16-year-old with the arrest of her relatives if she refuses to cooperate.

BEIRUT -- Suspected poison gas was used to attack the last remaining foothold for the Syrian opposition in the eastern suburbs of Damascus, killing at least 40 people, including families found in their homes and shelters, opposition activists and local rescuers said Sunday.