India's Modi concedes defeat in key state elections

NEW DELHI - India's ruling party lost power in three key states on Tuesday, dealing Prime Minister Narendra Modi his biggest defeat since he took office in 2014 and boosting the opposition ahead of national polls next year.

Trump threatens shutdown during televised spat

WASHINGTON - In a wild Oval Office confrontation, US President Donald Trump heatedly threatened to shut down the government on Tuesday as he and Democratic leaders bickered over funding for his promised border wall and offered a grim preview of life in Washington the next two years under divided government.

Hunt on for gunman after market attack

STRASBOURG, France - Hundreds of French security forces were deployed on Wednesday in the hunt for a lone gunman who killed at least three people and wounded a dozen others at the famed Christmas market in Strasbourg, with the government raising the security alert level and reinforcing border controls.

IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Kiev to end key accord with Russia

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed legislation ending the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between Ukraine and Russia, the presidential press service said.

Surviving reef 'more resilient to heat'

SYDNEY - Corals on Australia's Great Barrier Reef that survived bleaching from rising sea temperatures were more resistant to another bout of hot conditions the following year, scientists said on Tuesday, a "silver lining" for the embattled ecosystem.

EU-Iran trade vehicle could be ready by year-end

BRUSSELS - The European Union's foreign policy chief has said that a system to facilitate nondollar trade with Iran and circumvent US sanctions could be in place by year's end.

NASA's probe crosses into interstellar space

WASHINGTON - Voyager 2, a NASA probe launched in 1977 and designed for just a five-year mission, has become only the second humanmade object to enter interstellar space as it continues its marathon trek billions of kilometers from Earth, scientists said on Monday.

Plant 3m trees: Milan's ambitious plans to get city cleaner and greener

MILAN - If Italy's fashion capital has a predominant color, it is gray not only because of the blocks of neoclassical stone buildings for which the city is celebrated, but also due to its often-gray sky, which traps pollution.

Macron to break silence amid protests

PARIS - Amid loud calls for him to end the "yellow vest" crisis gripping the country, French President Emmanuel Macron was expected to address the nation late on Monday as authorities count the cost of weeks of anti-government protests.

Ex-Nissan chief charged for underreporting pay

TOKYO - Japanese prosecutors have formally charged Carlos Ghosn with financial misconduct for underreporting his salary and also served a fresh warrant on separate allegations, local media reported on Monday, meaning the tycoon will likely spend Christmas in a cell.

Australian boxing troupe keeps on swinging

BIRDSVILLE, Australia - When Fred Brophy bangs a drum on the floodlit stage outside his boxing tent, the large crowd gathered in front of him falls silent in rapt attention.