MOSCOW Russia's foreign minister says Moscow will work with the U.S. and European Union to fight pirates.

BAGHDAD A spokesman says Iraq's presidential council has agreed on a law that paves the way for U.S.-backed provincial elections to be held by the end of January.

SEOUL, South Korea–The chief U.S. nuclear envoy stayed on in North Korea for an unexpected second day of talks Thursday to persuade Pyongyang to resume dismantling its nuclear program in exchange for energy aid.

MOGADISHU, Somalia–A Somali pirate spokesman says his group will not release a hijacked Ukrainian cargo ship loaded with arms for less than $20 million.

BAGHDAD Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Monday that the government is ready to compromise to reach a security accord with the United States because Iraq still needs American troops despite the drop in violence.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates A U.S. Navy spokesman says a weapons shipment on a Ukrainian ship hijacked by Somali pirates was headed to Sudan, not Kenya.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan Pakistan warned U.S. troops not to intrude on its territory on Friday, a day after the two anti-terror allies traded fire along the volatile border with Afghanistan.

BEIJING An industrial chemical that made its way into China's dairy supplies and that authorities blame in the death of four babies has turned up in numerous Chinese-made exports abroad — from candies to yogurt to rice balls.

UNITED NATIONS Zimbabwe's president is only four Cabinet posts away from carrying out a power-sharing agreement with the opposition, he said in an interview ahead of his Thursday address to the U.N. General Assembly.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan Pakistan's army says its troops fired warning shots when two foreign helicopters crossed the Afghan border and the helicopters returned fire before re-crossing the frontier.