Japan reportedly weighs summit with DPRK top leader

Japan is reportedly considering seeking a summit between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Kim Jong-un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as Tokyo struggles to stay relevant in fast-moving diplomacy with Pyongyang.

Merkel elected to 4th term as chancellor

BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel, bruised by half a year of postelection coalition haggling, was on Wednesday elected by parliament to her fourth and likely final term at the helm of Europe's biggest economy.

An eternal star of science

LONDON - Living with motor neurone disease for more than 50 years, Stephen Hawking transcended his disability to becoming one of science's brightest stars, harnessing technology to once again give voice to his ideas.

UK to expel 23 Russian diplomats

LONDON - British Prime Minister Theresa May announced measures on Wednesday against Moscow over its failure to respond to a demand by London to explain how a Russian-made nerve agent was used in a recent attack in Salisbury.

White House: No changes for China

The United States is talking with the European Union on the new steel and aluminum tariffs while indicating there is so far no change on the China front.

UK, allies point finger at Russia over poisoning

LONDON - Britain was scheduled to hold new emergency talks on Tuesday into the brazen nerve agent poisoning of a Russian former double agent on its soil, after the US and NATO backed London in implicating Moscow in the assassination attempt.

Xi sends messages over Nepal crash

President Xi Jinping on Tuesday sent messages of condolence to his Bangladeshi counterpart Abdul Hamid and Nepalese counterpart Bidya Devi Bhandari after a deadly passenger plane crash a day earlier left 49 dead and 22 injured.

Tillerson out as US top diplomat, to be replaced by CIA director

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he had replaced secretary of state Rex Tillerson with Central Intelligence Agency director Mike Pompeo, ousting the embattled top diplomat after a series of public rifts.

IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Nepal plane crash kills 50

KATHMANDU, Nepal - A passenger plane carrying 71 people from Bangladesh crashed and burst into flames as it landed on Monday in Kathmandu, Nepal's capital, killing dozens of people with others rushed to area hospitals, officials said.

Japan govt under fire over cover-up

TOKYO - References to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, his wife and Finance Minister Taro Aso were removed from documents related to a suspected cronyism scandal, according to documents, as concerns grew about a possible cover-up.

Report: US is still top arms exporter

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - The United States has extended its lead in global arms exports over the past five years, said the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute on Monday.