Two suspected rebels and a civilian were killed in a gun battle in Indian Kashmir that lasted more than 15 hours, police said on Monday.

The shooting began Sunday when government forces cordoned off a village on a tip-off that armed militants were hiding there.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter on a visit to Berlin Monday touted Washington's bid to station heavy military equipment in eastern Europe as an "important" move to help counter any Russian threat.

Amid mounting fears about Russia's actions and intentions in the former Soviet bloc, Washington has announced it is poised to move heavy equipment to the region to support training efforts, prompting Moscow to hit back with a threat to boost its own nuclear arsenal.

A top Iranian official said he hopes a meeting Monday with three European foreign ministers will address key disagreements in nuclear talks, noting that "this marathon is nearing its end".

Abbas Araghchi, a negotiator, said Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is due in Luxembourg for discussions with his British, French and German counterparts on the potentially historic accord that could resolve a 12-year dispute over the Islamic republic's atomic program.

The World Expo in Milan is all abuzz about a giant aluminium hive that hums in harmony with 40,000 bees making honey 870 miles (1,400km) away in Nottingham, England.

Artist Wolfgang Buttress's innovative work is the centrepiece of a bee-themed British pavilion that is pulling in nearly four times as many visitors as anticipated and has become one of the must-sees of the six-month world fair in Italy's economic capital.

At least two civilians were killed and 10 wounded after Pakistani soldiers fired on internal refugees displaced by a military operation against the Taliban, an official said Monday.

The incident on Sunday evening comes a year after the army began a major offensive in North Waziristan tribal area to wipe out militant strongholds, which it has hailed as a resounding success.

Japan's chief whaling negotiator confirmed Monday its ships would return to the Antarctic this year, despite a call by global regulators to provide more evidence that the hunt has a scientific purpose.

Joji Morishita said the whole debate about whether or not Japan should be killing the mammals had long since moved away from science and into politics.

An announcement by an Arab Israeli lawmaker that he plans to join a pro-Palestinian flotilla seeking to break Israel's blockade on Gaza caused outrage Monday among the country's political class.

Basel Ghattas, an MP with the Joint Arab List, sparked controversy after he announced he would join other parliamentarians and public figures from around the world in the latest attempt to reach Gaza by ship later this month.

Austrian brothers Jurgen and Gerald Melzer were drawn against each other in the opening round of qualifying for Wimbledon on Sunday in what will be the siblings' first professional clash.

Jurgen, 34, is a former world number eight and made the French Open semi-finals in 2010 and whose best performance at Wimbledon was a run to the last 16 in 2010 and 2013.

The European Central Bank (ECB) again increased emergency liquidity funds for Greece's banks Monday, according to a Greek bank source who said the ECB may renew the hike "at any time" if necessary.

The new increase of the ECB's Emergency Liquidity Assistance was the third since Wednesday and came as Greek savers continued withdrawing their money in large volumes from the country's banks.

Burundi's government and opposition on Monday traded blame for grenade attacks that killed four people and wounded around 30 in ongoing violence a week ahead of key parliamentary elections.

The troubled central African nation has been in crisis since late April over President Pierre Nkurunziza's controversial bid to stand for a third consecutive five-year term, a move branded by opponents as unconstitutional and a violation of a 2006 peace deal that ended 13 years of civil war.