Greenhouse gases that are more powerful than carbon dioxide are the focus of a global gathering this week in Africa. Experts say cutting hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, is the fastest way to reduce global warming. The United States is among the countries that want the world to quickly phase out the use of HFCs, and Secretary of State John Kerry is arriving Thursday to encourage a deal. Here's a look at a potential global climate agreement that has been described by the National Resources Defense Council as "the world's biggest climate protection achievement in the year after Paris."

IT'S NOT ABOUT THE OZONE LAYER

Iran broke up an Islamic State plan to bomb commemorations marking the Shiite religious mourning period of Ashoura, state media reported, the latest alleged militant plot to target the country.

Iran's official IRNA news agency quoted Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi as saying several foreign nationals were detained with some 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of explosives. State television also reported the arrests.

A growing number of people are heading to the streams and rivers in search of gold. There is plenty to be had, experts say, but probably not enough for you to quit your day job.

To find the specks of gold or even a nugget or two, you will need to the right equipment and keen sense of where to find it. A few tips from the experts:

Marijuana legalization has chefs trying out pot pairings, and pot growers seeking new aromas and flavors. Colorado now has a few private dinners where guests can try different flavors of marijuana and see how they match with food.

But legal obstacles remain for businesses that want to combine marijuana and dining, even in legal weed states. Ballot measures being considered this fall could change that, though.

Insurgent groups like Hezbollah and the Islamic State group have learned how to weaponize surveillance drones and use them against each other, adding a new twist to Syria's civil war, a U.S. military official and others say.

A video belonging to an al-Qaida offshoot, Jund al-Aqsa, purportedly shows a drone landing on Syrian military barracks. In another video , small explosives purportedly dropped by the Iran-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah target the Sunni militant group Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, formerly known as the Nusra Front.

Whoever occupies the White House next, he or she will inherit one of the most complex and brutal crises in the world: the war in Syria.

With Syrian President Bashar Assad and his allies Russia and Iran dug in, neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump has articulated a comprehensive or realistic proposal that would address the multiple strands of the conflict.

Turkey's state-run news agency says a local official from the ruling party has been killed in an attack in a mainly Kurdish town in southeast Turkey.

Anadolu Agency said Tuesday authorities believe the attack against Deryan Aktert, the ruling party's top official in the town of Dicle, was the work of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. There was no immediate responsibility claim.

The Israeli military says it has demolished the home of a Palestinian convicted of being an accomplice to a deadly attack on Israelis last year.

The home in the West Bank city of Nablus was demolished early Tuesday. Amjad Elewi is serving two life sentences for assisting in the "planning and execution" of a shooting attack that killed two Israelis who were driving their car in the West Bank.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is visiting Ethiopia and plans to meet with its prime minister on issues including the country's newly declared state of emergency.

This East African country, one of Africa's best-performing economies, declared its first state of emergency in a quarter-century Sunday, after months of protests demanding wider freedoms.

Ethiopia's government on Monday blamed Egypt for supporting outlawed rebels and forcing the declaration of a state of emergency.

There is "ample evidence" that Egypt provided training and financing to the Oromo Liberation Front, labeled a terrorist organization by Ethiopia, government spokesman Getachew Reda told journalists in the capital, Addis Ababa. "We know for a fact that the terrorist group OLF is receiving all kinds of support from Egypt."