The number of furloughed workers claiming for unemployment insurance in the U.S. fell last week to the lowest level since Oct. 9, though wildfires increased the unemployment rolls in California, the Labor Department reported.

Four Americans were killed and six others injured when a US Blackhawk helicopter crashed in northern Italy, a fire brigade official said. He said all the Americans were members of the US military.

U.S. missile defense plans for Europe will be discussed with Russia at a high-level meeting in Washington in November, a Russian Foreign Ministry official said on Thursday.

The U.S. military says it will soon release nine Iranians detained in Iraq who are no longer a threat to Iraqi security. The official also says Iran has honored its pledge to stop the flow of munitions to extremists in Iraq.

This year has proved to be the deadliest year for US troops in Iraq so far, with the death toll now the highest since the March 2003 invasion.

The United States Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, has urged China to take firm action against Iran's nuclear program, saying China stands to lose from any instability in the Middle East. The U.S. is pushing for new sanctions against Iran, but China has been reluctant to support the move.

Turkey's president called on the United States to engage more fully in his country's fight against Kurdish rebels in North Iraq.

China and the United States agreed on measures on Monday to boost defense cooperation, including setting up a hotline, but clear differences remained over Beijing's military buildup.

President Bush wants opposition legislators to approve his choice for the nation's next top law enforcement official. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, Democrats say the president is not spending enough to care for military veterans.

Barack Obama prefers mild measures to sanctions – he said that if elected a president, he would not start the war, but would personally negotiate with Iran, offering economic incentives and a chance for peaceful relations if Iranian leaders would forego pursuit of nuclear weapons and support of terrorists.

Russia has accused the United States of accelerating attempts to deploy anti-missile defences in central Europe, despite Russia's request for a freeze on the project.

A former U.S. secretary of state is urging his government to open talks with Iran over its nuclear programs. Henry Kissinger, who made the comments in a New Delhi, is regarded as a hardliner when it comes to U.S. security interests.