WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Bush administration still hopes to send an official to Moscow this year to discuss missile defense despite reports that the Kremlin has rejected the latest U.S. plan, the State Department said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President-elect Barack Obama has pledged a new focus on the war in Afghanistan, including more U.S. troops and possible talks with the Taliban, but the challenges are daunting.

PARIS (Reuters) – Russia could cancel its deployment of missiles near the Polish border if U.S. President-elect Barack Obama scraps plans for a missile defense system in central Europe, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said.

The UN has no more food to distribute in the Gaza Strip, the head of relief efforts in the area has warned.

A civilian cargo aircraft has crashed south of Falluja in central Iraq, almost certainly killing all seven people on board, officials have said.

The Egyptian government says it has placed a ban on Egyptian doctors going to work in Saudi Arabia in the wake of two medics being sentenced to jail.

A  Russian sailor is facing charges over a submarine accident that claimed the lives of 20 people.

The US says there has been no formal response from the Kremlin to fresh proposals aimed at easing Russia’s concerns over a proposed Europe-based missile shield.

Ukraine is no stranger to political turmoil. And extraordinary scenes in parliament suggest things could be going from bad to worse.

Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has urged the EU to accelerate Turkey’s membership bid and pledged to help Ankara gain accession.