IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Israeli authorities say a Palestinian was shot dead after he stabbed a guard at a West Bank checkpoint.

'Ghost schools' hide graft

Public funding and donations given to 300 institutions that have no pupils

Queen close to record as longest reigning monarch

Queen Elizabeth II, who rallied support for the monarchy despite presiding over what was once known as the world's most famous dysfunctional family, next month becomes Britain's longest-reigning monarch.

Farmer hopes for sweeter coffee market

Brazilian farmer Marcos Croce has woken up and smelled the coffee - embracing the organic trend and bucking Brazil's long-held status as a mass producer of poor quality beans.

Bombs in and around Baghdad kill dozens

IS claims responsibility for blast at used-car dealership that targeted the military

Airliner crashes in remote region

A Trigana Air plane that went missing with 54 people on board on Sunday crashed in Indonesia's eastern Papua region, a Transport Ministry official said.

Ex-spy chief tied to militants dead at 79

Tributes for Pakistan's late former military spy chief Lieutenant General Hamid Gul poured in on Sunday, words bound to infuriate Pakistan's neighbors after he spent a career promoting Islamic militancy in Afghanistan and India.

40 die as boat sinks off Italy

Victims found in vessel's hold had apparently suffocated, paper says

Telecom giant assisted NSA spying

Telecommunications powerhouse AT&T Inc has provided extensive assistance to the US National Security Agency as the spy agency conducts surveillance on huge volumes of Internet traffic passing through the United States, a newspaper reported.

IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Failed talks raise election prospects

The talks between Turkey's leading political parties on the formation of a coalition government failed on Thursday, increasing the likelihood of holding early elections in November.

IS suspected of using chemical weapons

The United States is investigating whether the Islamic State used chemical weapons, the White House said on Thursday, following allegations that IS militants deployed chemical weapons against Kurdish forces in northern Iraq.