MOSCOW (AP) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday in a July Fourth message to President Barack Obama that he hopes ties between the two countries will get back on track.Relations between Moscow and Washington hit a post-Cold War low in 2014, when Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and threw its weight behind separatists in eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin, however, has recently sought rapprochement with the United States.In the Independence Day message released by the Kremlin, Puti

LONDON (AFP) -- Leading Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage on Monday stepped down as leader of the UK Independence Party as the shockwaves from Britain's decision to quit the EU continued to rock the political order."I have decided to stand aside as leader of UKIP," he told a London press conference. "The victory for the 'Leave' side in the referendum means that my political ambition has been achieved."The 52-year-old vowed watch Britain's renegotiation process with the EU "like a hawk" as he contin

RIYADH (AFP) -- A suicide bomber blew himself up near the American consulate in Saudi Arabia's western city of Jeddah in the early hours of US Independence Day on Monday, wounding two security officers.The Saudi interior ministry said the two officers suffered minor injuries, while the American embassy in Riyadh said there were no casualties or injuries among US consulate staff. The ministry did not specify if the bomber intended to target the consulate, saying an investigation was underway.The

BEIJING (AP) -- A former top presidential aide and consummate Chinese political insider was sentenced Monday to life in prison for taking bribes, illegally obtaining state secrets and abusing his power in a downfall set off by an alleged cover-up of his son's death in a speeding Ferrari.A court in the northern port city of Tianjin delivered the verdict against Ling Jihua nearly one month after the trial, which was held behind closed doors because the case involved state secrets, the official Xin

TOKYO (AP) -- Japanese police arrested an American serviceman for alleged drunken driving on Okinawa early Monday morning, days after the lifting of an off-base drinking ban imposed after other alcohol offenses and the arrest of a former Marine in a high-profile murder case.Tech Sgt. Christopher Platte, 27, stationed at Kadena Air Base on the southern island, was arrested after a police officer spotted him driving erratically on the road in the town of Chatan on Okinawa's central region. Police

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraqi authorities on Monday raised the death toll to 149 from Sunday's devastating truck bombing at a bustling Baghdad commercial street as Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered new security measures in the country's capital. The bombing, claimed by the Islamic State group, was the deadliest terror attack in Iraq in a year and one of the worst single bombings in more than a decade of war and insurgency. It underscored the IS group's ability to strike the Iraqi capital despite a

NEW DELHI (AP) -- Bangladesh's prime minister visited a stadium where the bodies of three of the 20 slain hostages were taken after a weekend attack in the capital, while security officials Monday questioned some of the people rescued and pursued information on the possible masterminds.An official involved in the investigation said authorities were still holding five of the 13 people rescued when commandos stormed the restaurant in Dhaka's diplomatic zone Saturday morning, killing six of the att

Park Yu-chun, the troubled member of popular K-pop boy band JYJ, lodged a counterclaim against one of the women who filed complaints against him last month, saying she falsely accused him of raping her, police said Monday.The 30-year-old singer-actor's legal representatives filed the case with the Gangnam Police Station in southern Seoul, which is handling a series of allegations raised against Park. Park has been mired in a scandal as four different women, all working at local bars, lodged comp

The leader of South Korea's second-largest umbrella labor union received a five-year jail term Monday for last year's violent rallies in downtown Seoul.The Seoul Central District Court found Han Sang-gyun, head of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, guilty of orchestrating a massive antigovernment protest in November that led to clashes with the police and a dozen other rallies between 2012 and 2015. The court also ordered the 53-year-old to pay 500,000 won ($436) in fines.On Nov. 14, tens

South Korea's government said Monday it has permitted the entry of 26 Syrians who are seeking refugee status here.The Ministry of Justice said out of 28 Syrians who have been staying at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, all except two have been allowed into the country. The two who were not given entry are being questioned about an alleged theft.The move came a few weeks after a local court ruled in favor of nine Syrians who filed a suit against the local immigration office for denyi

INCHEON (Yonhap) -- A 57-year-old executive of the South Korean unit of U.S. carmaker General Motors Co. has been indicted on charges of receiving some tens of millions of won in kickbacks in return for business favors, prosecutors said Wednesday.The Incheon District Prosecutors' Office said the executive in charge of labor management cooperation, whose identity was withheld, allegedly gave favors to a certain company when purchasing gifts for employees in 2015. Prosecutors suspect he received 3

TOKYO (AFP) -- The boss of SoftBank Group on Wednesday admitted his desire to hang on to power a little longer had pushed away the former Google executive seen as his heir apparent.Masayoshi Son told an annual shareholders meeting he had changed his mind about the timeline for stepping down to make way for right-hand man Nikesh Arora.The India-born executive quit the telecoms corporation Tuesday, just two years after being plucked from a high-profile job at the US tech giant, with SoftBank sayin

BAGHDAD (AFP) -- Iraqi forces in Fallujah are facing resistance from holdout Islamic State group fighters in just two northern neighbourhoods of the city, the operation's overall commander said on Wednesday."The northern and central parts of Fallujah have almost been cleared of Daesh," Lieutenant General Abdulwahab al-Saadi told AFP, using an Arabic acronym for IS."There are few IS fighters left, only in the Al-Muallemin and Jolan neighbourhoods in the north of the city," he said."The militants

BRUSSELS (AFP) -- The European Union has reached agreement to set up a new border and coastguard force that could intervene in front-line countries like Greece and Italy to curb the influx of migrants.Negotiators for the 28 EU member states and the European Parliament said Wednesday they had endorsed a proposal from the European Commission, the bloc's executive, to set up the force by the summer.The parliament is expected to vote on the issue in a key committee next week, and if it clears that h