World in brief

Arms control, N. Korea on lawmakers’ agenda

U.S. lawmakers and their Russian counterparts have met to discuss arms control, North Korea and other international issues, setting the stage for President Barack Obama’s visit to Moscow next week. Few details were announced of Monday’s talks between a U.S. House Foreign Relations Committee delegation and Russian foreign affairs officials. Obama visits Russia July 6-8.

U.N. chief accepts invitation to Myanmar

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will return to Myanmar later this week on a diplomatic bid to win the release of Aung San Suu Kyi just as the imprisoned pro-democracy leader’s trial resumes, U.N. officials announced Monday. The U.N. chief decided at the last minute to accept an invitation from Myanmar’s military junta for a two-day visit on Friday and Saturday.

Casinos to shut down in Moscow, other big cities

Russian gamblers are placing their final bets before casinos close down for good in Moscow and other big cities. A new law that comes into effect Wednesday says gambling must now be confined to four far-flung special zones. Although the law was signed in 2006, many casino owners did not expect the closures to actually take place. Critics say the move will merely push gaming underground, leaving 400,000 people without legal jobs amid the country’s economic crisis.

Radioactive-waste agreement reached

Officials from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan say they have agreed to work together in cleaning up millions of tons of radioactive waste left over from uranium mining during the Cold War. Igor Chudinov, prime minister of the Kyrgyzstan, says the four countries signed a declaration to set up common programs to deal with the problem of radioactive and toxic waste in the region. The U.N. says Central Asia, which was the biggest supplier of uranium to the former Soviet Union, still holds more than 800 million tons of radioactive and toxic waste.

Holocaust survivors’ care of ‘utmost urgency’

An international conference in Prague, the Czech Republic, assessing efforts to return property and possessions stolen by the Nazis to their rightful owners or heirs said Monday that caring for Holocaust survivors is a matter of the “utmost urgency.” In a declaration approved by 46 countries, delegates said they were aware that Holocaust survivors and other victims of Nazi persecution have reached an advanced age and that meeting their social welfare needs must be prioritized.

Election close between Democrats, Socialists

Albania’s governing party was in a close race with the Socialist opposition on Monday as the votes were slowly counted in the country’s parliamentary election. The conduct of the ballot is seen as a crucial test of the Balkan country’s hopes of EU membership, and a preliminary report by international election observers found signs of both improvement and violations. Exit polls from Sunday’s vote indicated that Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s Democratic Party had won another term in office. But official results from 57 percent of the ballot boxes counted by 3 p.m. EDT Monday showed Albania’s 12 electoral districts equally split between the Democrats and the Socialist Party.

No court action over Parthenon sculptures

Greece’s culture minister said Monday he was not planning to go to court to get back the Parthenon sculptures from Britain. Antonis Samaras said the new Acropolis Museum that opened this month will boost Greece’s bid for the works, which British diplomat Lord Elgin took from the site 200 years ago.