Gaza truce talks push into third day as midnight deadline looms

Indirect negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis for a truce in Gaza resumed on Wednesday, a Palestinian official said, as the clock ticked toward the midnight expiration of a three-day halt to hostilities.

Venezuela ships humanitarian aid

Venezuela shipped on Tuesday an initial 12 metric tons of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians affected by Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip, the Venezuelan News Agency said.

ROK stresses need for talks with DPRK

The Republic of Korea's presidential office stressed on Wednesday the need for discussing arms control and military trust-building with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to lay the groundwork for discussing a peace framework on the Korean Peninsula when conditions become ripe.

130 more US troops in Iraq to 'assess' situation

Another 130 US troops arrived in Iraq on Tuesday on what the Pentagon described as a temporary mission to assess the scope of the humanitarian crisis facing thousands of displaced Iraqi civilians trapped on Sinjar Mountain and evaluate options for getting them out.

Ukraine deaths double in 2 weeks

The estimated death toll in the Ukraine conflict nearly doubled to at least 2,086 as of Aug 10 from 1,129 on July 26, the United Nations human rights office said on Wednesday.

Obama promises investigation into shooting death

US President Barack Obama called the police shooting death of an unarmed black teenager a tragedy on Tuesday and urged a thoughtful response after two nights of violent protests, looting and arrests in the northern St. Louis suburb where the shooting took place.

IN BRIEF (Page 12)

A life dedicated to entertaining others

Robin Williams, a brilliant shape-shifter who could channel his frenetic energy into delightful comic characters like Mrs. Doubtfire or harness it into richly nuanced work like his Oscar-winning turn in Good Will Hunting, died on Monday in an apparent suicide. He was 63.

Obama offers his sympathy to family

US President Barack Obama called Robin Williams "one of a kind" who shared his talent "freely and generously with those who needed it most".

Career at a glance

Robin Williams' most distinctive roles

Italians learn to recognize corruption

Is helping a pal win a contract just being friendly? What's wrong with taking the kids to the beach in the office car? And why not linger over lunch at the trattoria if things aren't too hectic at work? These are the kinds of questions that city bureaucrats pondered recently in Florence in what has been billed as Italy's first anti-corruption class for public officials.

In Syria's starving Yarmuk camp, a pianist conjures hope

In the Yarmuk camp in southern Damascus, the notes escape a piano set in a scene of destruction, and the children in Ayham al-Ahmed's little group sing of hunger and suffering.