World

The exemption enjoyed by ultra-Orthodox seminary students has long caused friction in Israel, where Jewish women and men are called up for military service at the age of 18.

Xi voiced hope that the talks will lead to "substantial progress" in the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and toward the normalisation of relations between the countries involved.

Shortly before the United Nations was due to discuss Syria, Macron said Moscow, a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, had not done enough to permit relief efforts into the rebel-held Damascus suburb of eastern Ghouta.

The ruling will pile further pressure on the Ahmadi community, who are not allowed to call themselves Muslim or use Islamic symbols in their religious practices, a crime punishable under Pakistan's blasphemy laws.

The riots, which began Monday after a man from the Sinhalese majority died from injuries sustained in an attack by Muslims last week, have left nearly 200 Muslim businesses and homes destroyed.

President Donald Trump also referred to a tweet by Tesla chief Elon Musk on the difference between import duty imposed by China and the US.

Washington's top diploma Tillerson, who is in Ethiopia on his first-ever Africa tour, said the signals from Pyongyang may be positive but stressed negotiations with Kim Jong Un's regime were not going to happen soon.

General Petr Pavel, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, said a number of high profile attacks in Afghanistan in the last couple of months were delivered by the Haqqani network.

Malaysia agreed in January to pay U.S. firm Ocean Infinity up to $70 million if it found the plane during an offshore search effort that is underway and expected to end in June.

Between 8 and 12 inches (20 and 30 cm) of wet, heavy snow, some of it accompanied by thunder and lightning, were forecast for New York City and surrounding New Jersey and Connecticut suburbs through Thursday morning.

In a personal defeat for Berlusconi, the far-right League surpassed his Forza Italia (FI) party in Sunday's elections, winning about 17 percent of the vote to 14 percent for FI.

Top economic adviser, Gary Cohn's departure comes amid a period of unparalleled tumult in the Trump administration, and aides worry that more staffers may soon head for the doors.

Workers removed the Trump logo from the entrance to the luxury complex, as police stood guard and a Panamanian court official looked on.

China on Monday unveiled an 8.1 percent rise in defence spending at the opening of parliament, fuelling an ambitious military modernisation programme and making its neighbours, particularly Japan and self-ruled Taiwan, nervous.

China has set goals to complete the basic modernisation of national defence and forces by 2035 and to transform its armed forces into world class by the mid-21st century.

Some of the Indian nationals living in the US, who received such call, brought to the notice of the Embassy that some fraudsters are spoofing Embassy of India telephone lines to make calls aimed at cheating people.