Iran rules out negotiations with US

Preconditions from Iran and the United States make it unlikely the two countries will return to the negotiation table, said Chinese experts, after Teheran reiterated its firmness in not talking with Washington.

Taliban offensive makes key Afghan city a 'ghost town'

KABUL, Afghanistan - Hundreds of people have fled four days of fierce fighting between Afghan forces and the Taliban over the key provincial capital of Ghazni that has killed about 120 security forces and civilians, the defense minister and witnesses have said.

Turkey crisis risks military ties with ally

ANKARA - The crisis in US-Turkish relations, which already has put Turkey's economy under massive strain, also risks souring military ties between the two NATO allies, unleashing unknown geopolitical consequences.

Man held after 'terror attack' near Houses of Parliament in London

A man in his twenties has been arrested in London on suspicion of terrorism offenses after a car crashed outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster on Tuesday morning, in what police are describing as a terrorist incident.

'Tens of victims' in bridge collapse

MILAN - A bridge over an industrial area in the Italian city of Genova partially collapsed during a sudden and violent storm on Tuesday, with reports of fatalities as vehicles were crushed in the rubble below.

Neighbors agree to hold third summit

Pyongyang and Seoul agreed on Monday to hold the third summit between Kim Jong-un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea in Pyongyang in September, a decision seen as the latest progress in the diplomatic thaw on the Korean Peninsula.

UK short of staff amid EU slowdown

Companies are suffering from staff shortages because of a fall in EU nationals coming to the UK, according to new research.

Erdogan calls lira plunge a political 'plot'

ANKARA - The plunge of Turkish lira is "a plot against Turkey" and the country will seek new partners and markets if the United States does not back down on its hostile policy, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

Russia to ditch holdings of US securities in response to sanctions

MOSCOW - Russia will further decrease its holdings of US securities in response to new sanctions against Moscow but has no plans to shut down US companies in Russia, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on state TV on Sunday, RIA news agency reported.

IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Abe election rival vows to regain trust

The Liberal Democratic Party's former secretary-general Shigeru Ishiba has thrown down the gauntlet to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for the party's leadership in an election slated for September.

NASA launches spacecraft to 'touch sun'

TAMPA - NASA on Sunday blasted off a $1.5 billion spacecraft toward the sun on a historic mission to protect the Earth by unveiling the mysteries of dangerous solar storms.