Afghan peace deal hinges on Taliban

KABUL - Any peace agreement with the Afghan Taliban depends on the declaration of a permanent cease-fire and a commitment to end the country's long war, Zalmay Khalilzad the US special envoy for peace in Afghanistan, said on Sunday.

IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Spanish PM's Socialists win snap election

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's Socialist Workers' Party won the country's general election on Sunday, but will have to figure out how to form a coalition after it failed to secure enough votes for a majority in the parliament.

Crashes fuel fear-of-flying cure

Flying terrified Jim Reyer. He conjured images of a flaming crash and a TV reporter on site intoning: "No survivors."

8 shot, 1 fatally, in latest Baltimore shooting

A gunman fired indiscriminately into a crowd that had gathered for Sunday afternoon cookouts along a west Baltimore street, killing a man and wounding seven other people, authorities and reports said, according to The Associated Press.

Scottish teens warned over 'money mule' traps

Police in Scotland are writing to secondary schools to highlight the growing problem of youngsters being targeted as "money mules" by criminals that use children's bank accounts to move money.

Putin says US jailing of Maria Butina 'outrage'

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday made his first comments on a US court sentencing admitted Russian foreign agent Maria Butina to 18 months in prison, calling her treatment a travesty of justice, Reuters reported.

Unions, left-wing parties join 'yellow vest' march

Thousands of trade unionists and left wing activists joined yellow vest protesters in Paris on Saturday in rejecting French President Emmanuel Macron's proposed tax cuts as too little too late, Agence France-Presse reported.

Japan kicks off unprecedented long holiday

Japan on Saturday kicked off an unprecedented 10-day holiday, including celebration days for the imperial transition, as airports were packed with a record number of travelers while people queued at teller machines in the cash-dominated nation, Agence France-Presse reported.

Mines, unexploded devices continuing to kill, maim civilians in Afghanistan

KABUL - Thousands of villages and hamlets in Afghanistan have turned into ghost towns, as land mines and explosive devices continue to claim the lives of civilians in one of the world's most heavily mined countries.

IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Churches shut, Sri Lankans turn to TV

AMPARA, Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka's Catholics on Sunday awoke to watch Mass in their homes by a televised broadcast as churches across the island nation remain shut over fears of militant attacks, a week after the Islamic State group claimed Easter suicide bombings killed more than 250 people.