BEIRUT / AP Talks to reunify ethnically-split Cyprus suffered another blow after the leader of breakaway Turkish Cypriots backed out of a scheduled meeting aiming to push negotiations forward, officials said on Wednesday. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades expressed regret that Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci told United Nations officials that he won’t attend Thursday’s meeting. “I’m ready to continue ...

  KUALA LUMPUR / AP The two women suspected of fatally poisoning a scion of North Korea’s ruling family were trained to coat their hands with toxic chemicals then wipe them on his face, police in Malaysia said Wednesday, announcing they were seeking a North Korean diplomat in connection with the attack. But the North Korean embassy ridiculed the police ...

  Bloomberg French women are starting to picture their next president as a divorced mother of three. The anti-euro, anti-immigrant candidate Marine Le Pen has been playing up her gender as she seeks to convert a likely first-round victory into an overall majority in the run-off on May 7 — and it’s paying off. The 48-year-old National Front leader has ...