Russia and China discussed resuming six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program this week, while a South Korean diplomat said five of the participants had agreed on conditions to present to Pyongyang for restarting the negotiations.
President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he was ready to sign bipartisan legislation to change the formula for reimbursing Medicare physicians, while the U.S. Senate's top Democrat appeared open to allowing a vote on the measure.
Voice recordings from the German jet that crashed in the Alps showed one of the pilots left the cockpit and could not get back in before the plane went down, killing all 150 onboard, the New York Times reported.
Warplanes from Saudi Arabia and Arab allies struck Shi'ite Muslim rebels fighting to oust Yemen's president on Thursday, a gamble by the world's top oil exporter to check Iranian influence in its backyard without direct military backing from Washington.
