The traditional centrist leaders of Europe have been assailed from the nationalist, anti-immigration far-right and the environmental activist left in polarized, continentwide elections that will force pro-European moderates into forging new alliances.

Right now, the main issue uniting those occupying Europe's center ground is their refusal to work with far-right groups whose ranks are made up of nationalist parties led by the likes of Matteo Salvini in Italy and Marine Le Pen in France, whose parties celebrated landmark triumphs as results emerged Sunday night and into Monday morning from four days of voting for the 751-seat European Parliament.

Voters in Slovakia, Malta, Latvia and the Czech Republic are casting ballots Saturday in European Parliament elections.

The U.S. will bolster its military presence in the Middle East with an additional 1,500 troops, President Donald Trump said Friday amid heightened tensions with Iran.

Trump said the troops would have a "mostly protective" role. He spoke to reporters on the White House lawn as he headed out on a trip to Japan.

John Walker Lindh, the U.S. Muslim convert who came to be known as the "American Taliban" after being captured while fighting in Afghanistan in 2001, was released Thursday after serving 17 years in a federal prison.

Dutch and U.K. polls opened Thursday in elections for the European Parliament, starting four days of voting across the 28-nation bloc that pits supporters of deeper integration against populist Euroskeptics who want more power for their national governments.

A half hour after voting started in the Netherlands, polls opened across the United Kingdom, the only other country voting Thursday, and a nation still wrestling with its plans to leave the European Union altogether and the leadership of embattled Prime Minister Theresa May.

Looking for ways to hit back at Washington as a tariff fight escalates, President Xi Jinping and his economy czar visited a Chinese factory that processes rare earths — exotic minerals used in electric cars, mobile phones and other technology.

Rare earths are "an important strategic resource," the official Xinhua News Agency cited Xi as saying.

State-run Iraqi media is quoting Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi as saying that Baghdad will send delegations to the U.S. and Iran to help end tensions between the two countries.

Abdul-Mahdi, whose country has close ties to both Iran and the U.S., said Tuesday that Iranian and U.S. officials have informed Iraq that they have "no desire in fighting a war."

A Washington-based Syrian watchdog says thousands of documents collected from abandoned Syrian government offices reveal the reach of President Bashar Assad's security agencies, offering a rare glimpse into the inner workings of his secretive apparatus.

The documents include handwritten notes from top commanders to "do what is necessary" to quell anti-Assad protests.

As questions mount over President Donald Trump's tough talk on Iran, top national security officials are heading to Capitol Hill to brief Congress. But skeptical Democrats have asked for a second opinion.

The competing closed-door sessions Tuesday, unusual and potentially polarizing, come after weeks of escalating tensions in the Persian Gulf that have raised alarms over a possible military confrontation with Iran. Lawmakers are warning the Trump administration it cannot take the country into war without approval from Congress, and the back-to-back briefings show the wariness among Democrats, and some Republicans, over the White House's sudden policy shifts in the Middle East.

After years of assassinations, bombings and militia firefights, Libya's eastern city of Benghazi finally feels safe again — but security has come at a heavy cost.

Uniformed police are out at major intersections, cafes and restaurants stay open late into the night, and local groups hold art exhibitions and festivals. But the city center lies in ruins, thousands remain displaced, and forces loyal to commander Khalifa Hifter, who now controls eastern Libya, have cracked down on dissent.