PARIS / AP Floods inundating parts of France, Germany and Belgium have killed five people and trapped thousands in homes or cars, as rivers have broken their banks from Paris to Bavaria. And it isn’t over — more rain is forecast for the coming days in some regions, and authorities in the French capital predict the Seine River won’t reach ...

  Caracas / AFP Venezuela’s opposition learns on Thursday whether authorities will let them proceed with efforts to call a referendum on removing President Nicolas Maduro, whom they blame for the country’s fall from booming oil giant to basket case. The National Electoral Board (CNE) must accept or reject an initial petition with 1.8 million signatures endorsing a recall vote ...

  Kabul / AFP Gunmen on Thursday kidnapped at least 17 people travelling in civilian vehicles in northern Afghanistan, officials said, in the second group abduction within a week, underscoring the worsening security situation in the country. The passengers, all minority Hazaras, were pulled out of their vehicles in Sancharak district in Sar-e-Pul province and taken to a remote area ...