Briefly

TURKIYE

US, Russia meet for talks on embassies

US and Russian delegations met in Istanbul on Thursday for a second round of talks on restoring normal operations of their diplomatic missions. The talks are led by Russia's new Ambassador to the United States Alexander Darchiev and US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Sonata Coulter, Russia's Foreign Ministry said. The main focus is to address issues affecting the functioning of the embassies and consulates in each other's country.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Death toll in nightclub disaster rises to 218

The death toll after a roof collapsed at a nightclub in the Dominican Republic has climbed to 218, the head of rescue operations said on Thursday. Rescuers had worked frantically since the collapse in the early hours of Tuesday to dig out survivors from the rubble of the Jet Set club in Santo Domingo. "Unfortunately and with regret, (there are) 218 people dead as per preliminary data," said Juan Manuel Mendez, director of the Emergency Operations Center. An official statement said earlier that "all reasonable possibilities of finding more survivors" had been exhausted, and the focus of the operation will turn to recovering bodies.

SOUTH KOREA

Opposition leader Lee opens presidential bid

South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, the front-runner in opinion polls to be the country's next leader, declared his bid for the presidency on Thursday. The presidential election will be held on June 3, after the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk-yeol was upheld on April 4. Han Dong-hoon, former leader of the ruling People Power Party, also said on Thursday that he was running.

Agencies - Xinhua