Four United States soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan; hours after the US announced direct talks with the Taliban. The soldiers were killed by indirect fire from insurgents at Bagram air base. Bagram, near the Afghan capital Kabul, is the largest military base for US troops in Afghanistan. A condition for the talks, due to begin tomorrow in Qatar, was for the Taliban to renounce violence. In comments made before the attack, US President Barack Obama said the announcement of talks is an important first step toward reconciliation.

Mali's government has signed a peace deal with Tuareg rebels to help pave the way for elections next month. Officials said the accord calls for an immediate ceasefire and for government troops to return to the rebel-held northern town of Kidal. The rebels captured Kidal after a French-led offensive forced militant Islamists out of the town in January. The Tuaregs have been fighting for autonomy in the north since Mali gained independence from France in 1960.
They said they are marginalized by the government in the capital, Bamako.

The leaders of the G8 nations are set to begin a summit in Northern Ireland, with Syria's crisis likely to dominate. British Prime Minister David Cameron met Russian leader Vladimir Putin - Syria's key ally - on Sunday. They will both hold separate talks with President Barack Obama, who has indicated he will arm the rebels. But Mr Cameron, the host, is also keen to focus on global economic issues. He hopes to oversee the launch of talks for an EU-US free trade deal and achieve progress on tax transparency.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas has announced that he will resign today after days of political turmoil. His ruling coalition will try to form a new government led by someone nominated by his Civic Democratic Party. Pressure had been growing on Mr Necas to quit since prosecutors on Friday charged his chief of staff Jana Nagyova with corruption and abuse of power. Two former MPs, an ex-minister and the current and former heads of military intelligence have also been detained. All except one have been remanded in custody.

United States President Barack Obama has urged Congress to pass immigration reform by the end of summer, as the legislation cleared a major procedural hurdle. President Obama said if lawmakers were serious about fixing immigration, this is the vehicle to do it. At the legislation's core is a 13-year path to citizenship for immigrants who came to the US illegally. Hispanic voters' growing political clout has encouraged many in Congress to take up immigration reform.