India and Pakistan held their first official talks Thursday since the 2008 Mumbai siege, with both sides saying they wanted to rebuild trust shattered in that attack but acknowledging that the meeting was just a first step.

The four-hour meeting between the nuclear-armed rivals ranged from shared water resources to the status of the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. But terrorism was the focus of the discussions - an emphasis Pakistan quickly made clear would only slow further talks.

Expectations were extremely low for Thursday's talks, which were seen as little more than a symbolic first meeting and which India had billed as "talks about talks." Both sides indicated little of substance had been achieved.

Italy Oil-spill sludge moves down vital Po River ROME - Sludge from an oil spill snaked down the Po River on Thursday to reach the province of Parma, raising fears that the home of Italy's famed prosciutto, parmesan cheese and other agricultural staples might be at risk of water contamination.

Italian farm lobby Coldiretti insisted Italy's food chain was safe since the Po is not being used for irrigation these days.

But another group of farm owners, Confagricultura, warned that the spring planting season - particularly for water-intensive rice crops - might be at risk unless clean water is ensured.

The Po River valley, which extends 27,400 square miles across several northern regions, produces a third of Italy's agricultural output and represents 40 percent of the country's GDP.

Syria

Assad rebuffs US call to slacken ties with Iran

DAMASCUS - President Bashar Assad defied U.S. calls to loosen ties with Iran on Thursday, saying his long-standing alliance with Tehran remains strong despite overtures from Washington intended to shift his loyalties.

The U.S. has reached out to Syria in recent months by nominating the first U.S. ambassador to Damascus since 2005 and sending top diplomats to meet with Assad.

But with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by his side in Damascus, Assad said Thursday that America should not dictate relationships in the Middle East.

Russia

9 neo-Nazis imprisoned for killing 6 non-Slavs

MOSCOW - Nine young men who formed a neo-Nazi group and killed six non-Slavs were sentenced to prison Thursday, as Russian officials battle a surge in racist assaults, hate crimes and xenophobia.

The Moscow City Court said in a statement that 12 mostly underage neo-Nazis who called themselves "White Wolves" were charged with committing 11 murders and one assault since April 2007. A jury found nine of them guilty of six murders and one assault.

The group was formed on Adolf Hitler's birthday to "exterminate" non-Russians and was active until early 2009, when its members were arrested. Palau8 Pacific island nations to form a tuna cartel KOROR - Leaders from eight Pacific island nations whose waters provide a quarter of the world's tuna announced plans Thursday to form a regional tuna cartel to increase their share of the profits from the big fish.

The move - by the mostly poor nations with little land but controlling a stretch of equatorial ocean 1 1/2 times the size of the United States - is intended to increase their share of the $2 billion generated annually from tuna caught in their waters. More than 85 percent of the revenues currently go to fishing companies and others based in the U.S., Japan, Taiwan and other Asian countries.