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Xinhua world news summary at 1600 GMT July 18

Xinhua, July 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with European Union (EU) foreign affairs ministers here on Monday morning wherein he reiterated the need for strong unity with the bloc, saying on Twitter, it was "critical we stand together."

"Our cooperation is essential to promoting international peace, stability, security and prosperity," said Kerry at a joint press conference with EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini following the meeting. (U.S.-Kerry)

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MOSCOW -- Russia seeks "parity" in arms sales to Armenia and Azerbaijan amid a deteriorating situation in Nagorno-Karabakh region over which the two neighboring countries have been in dispute for decades, a Russian official said on Monday.

"The conflict begins, despite that one side is armed better or worse. It's necessary to seek for parity," said Alexander Fomin, director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation in an interview with Russian newspaper Izvestiya. (Russia-Arms Sales)

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DHAKA -- A special tribunal in Bangladesh sentenced three persons including several Islamist party leaders to death on Monday and five others life in prison for crimes against humanity during the country's war of independence in 1971.

The International Crimes Tribunal-1, led by its Chairman Justice Shahinur Islam found Ashraf Hossain, Sharif Ahammed and Abdul Bari guilty of the charges brought against them.

The charges include rape, murder, confinement and torture of unarmed civilians. (Bangladesh-Islamist)

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BERLIN -- The introduction of the death penalty in Turkey would consequently end the European Union (EU) accession negotiations, said German government spokesman Steffen Seibert on Monday in Berlin.

"Germany and the EU have a clear stance: we fundamentally reject the death penalty," he said, adding a country which had the death penalty could not be a member of bloc. (Germany-Turkey) Endi