SINGAPORE / AP Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, hosting a visit by his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Monday his country believes in a “two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Lee explained his stand at a joint news briefing with Netanyahu, who does not endorse the two-nation approach. Lee said he realizes a two-state solution is difficult ...

  MOSCOW / AP The Kremlin says its decision to recognize passports and other documents issued by separatist authorities in eastern Ukraine is a response to Ukraine’s blockade of rebel regions. The weekend’s move by Russian President Vladimir Putin has drawn sharp criticism from Ukraine, which called it a violation of a two-year-old peace deal. Ukrainian forces have been fighting ...

  TEHRAN / AP An Iranian semi-official news agency is reporting that the country’s elite Revolutionary Guard has launched sophisticated rockets during military exercises. The Monday report by Tasnim, an agency considered to be close to the Revolutionary Guard, said the launch of “smart and advanced” rockets came during an annual three-day maneuver which began on Monday in Iran’s central ...

  KUALA LUMPUR / AP North Korea’s top envoy in Kuala Lumpur on Monday denounced Malaysia’s investigation into the apparent killing of the exiled half brother of North Korea’s ruler, calling it politically motivated and demanding a joint probe into the death. The comments from Ambassador Kang Chol came amid rising tensions between North Korea and Malaysia over the death, ...

  MANILA / AP A retired Philippine police officer said on Monday that President Rodrigo Duterte, when he was a mayor, ordered and paid him and other members of a so-called liquidation squad to kill criminals and opponents, including a kidnapping suspect, his family and a critical radio commentator. Human rights lawyers who presented Arthur Lascanas at a news conference ...

  ALGIERS / AP German Chancellor Angela Merkel is visiting Algeria as she seeks to enlist North African countries in Germany’s efforts against extremism and illegal migration. She’s expected to meet ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the prime minister and business leaders, and tour a girls’ school during the visit on Monday and Tuesday. Key concerns for Merkel are better cooperation ...

  Reuters Profit-taking swept across most stock markets in the Middle East on Monday, with United Arab Emirates bourses particularly hard hit by slides in construction company Arabtec and energy business Dana Gas . Dubai’s Arabtec dropped by its 10 percent daily limit to a five-year low of 0.90 dirhams, falling below technical support at its December 2015 low of ...

  Bloomberg European stocks were little changed amid deal activity, as gains in telecommunications firms led by Deutsche Telekom AG offset a slide in Unilever NV. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added less than 0.1 percent at 11:45 a.m. in London, trimming earlier gains of as much as 0.5 percent. The volume of member shares traded was a fifth lower ...

  Bloomberg The biggest gasoline market in the US is bursting at the seams. Traders are lining up to export gasoline and diesel from New York Harbor, an area that normally relies on fuel imports from Europe and eastern Canada, shipping data compiled by Bloomberg show. While at least 6 cargoes that were headed to New York from Europe in ...

  Bloomberg Growing optimism about the next iPhone has propelled Apple Inc. to record highs. Halfway around the globe, a lesser-known Taiwanese company is riding that same wave of euphoria. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the main assembler of the US company’s smartphones, has gained 29 percent in the past year, with its shares touching a decade-high on optimism about ...