Russia says resumption of Syria peace talks delayed indefinitely and other top stories.

• Russia says resumption of Syria peace talks delayed indefinitely

  MOSCOW Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday a Western failure to rein in violent Islamists in Syria had indefinitely delayed the resumption of peace talks.Shoigu said that rebels backed by Western governments had been attacking civilians in the Syrian city of Aleppo, despite a pause in Russian and Syrian air attacks."As a result, the prospects for the start of a negotiation process and the return to peaceful life in Syria are postponed for an indefinite period," Shoigu said.R..

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• China and Malaysia sign agreement on navy vessels

  

  BEIJING China and Malaysia signed 14 agreements on Tuesday, including one on navy vessels, after a meeting between Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.The agreement on the joint development of the vessels, known as littoral mission ships, was announced at a signing ceremony at Beijing's Great Hall of the People.Last week, Malaysia's defence ministry said in a posting on social media that the country would sign a contract to purchase patrol vessels from China dur..

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• Mosul: Iraqi forces on city's doorstep

  

  Photos: Mosul operation: Iraqi-led forces push toward key cityIraqi forces run for cover after a mortar shell struck near the village of Bazwaya, on the eastern edges of Mosul, Iraq, on Monday, October 31. An Iraqi-led offensive is underway to reclaim Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city and the last major stronghold for ISIS in the country. Photos: Mosul operation: Iraqi-led forces push toward key cityAn Iraqi soldier receives treatment after being injured during clashes with ISIS fighters near B..

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• French President: No More Migrants Allowed at Calais Camp

  

  PARIS — French President Francois Hollande says migrants won't be allowed to resettle at a now-razed camp in Calais that had become a vast, lawless slum.Authorities cleared the last of the camp's makeshift shelters Monday night after evacuating 5,000 migrants to temporary housing around France.In an interview published Tuesday in La Voix du Nord newspaper, Hollande is quoted as saying, "I promise (Calais residents) that there will not be a new settlement."He said more than 1,000 underage mig..

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• South Korea: President's confidante detained

  

  Prosecutors placed Choi Soon-sil, who has been described as a Rasputin-like character, under "emergency detention" late Monday, Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office tells CNN. Choi is South Korean President Park Geun-hye's friend and an informal adviser whose access to confidential government documents has led to noisy demands for Park's ouster, with thousands taking to the streets last weekend demanding that she step down.According to South Korean criminal law, an individual can be placed..

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• Venezuela's Currency Is Collapsing on the Black Market Again

  

  Venezuela’s currency is so weak, shopkeepers have taken to weighing it. In 2015, the black-market bolivar frequently fell more than 10 percent a month. In the six months through September the black-market currency actually appreciated, even as prices for unregulated goods began to skyrocket. The calm ended in October, when the bolivar lost almost a third of its value compared to the U.S. dollar in a matter of weeks. “There are a combination of things going on, as the stability we saw for most o..

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• Pakistan's opposition leader calls off 'million men' march

  

  By Associated Press November 1 at 7:16 AM ISLAMABAD — Pakistani opposition leader Imran Khan has called off a mass protest aimed at shutting down the capital and forcing the resignation of the prime minister. Khan, a former cricketer, announced Tuesday he was calling off his “million men” rally, a day before it was due to take place in Islamabad. He says his supporters should instead “celebrate victory” on the streets on Wednesday because Pakistani courts are holding Prime Minister Nawaz Sha..

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• India, Pakistan Trade Border Fire in Kashmir, 7 Killed

  

  SRINAGAR, India — Seven civilians were killed and nine others wounded by Pakistani shelling in Kashmir on Tuesday, Indian officials said, as cross-border firing by the two countries' troops escalated in the disputed region.A police officer said five people, including two children, were killed by Pakistani shelling in Ramgarh sector. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with department policy.Civil administrator Pawan Kotwal said two women also died in Rajouri sector in cros..

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• Explosion at Pakistani Ship Breaking Yard Kills 7 Laborers

  

  KARACHI, Pakistan — An explosion at a ship breaking yard in southwest Pakistan on Tuesday killed at least seven laborers and wounded dozens of others, police said.An oil tank exploded while workers were dismantling an old ship, police official Mohammad Abdullah. Initial reports indicated that dozens of laborers remained trapped after the blast in the coastal town of Gadani, he said. Several other workers jumped overboard into the sea as the fire raged, he added.Abdullah said rescuers were tr..

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