Russia’s top election official appeared to rule out the possibility of President Vladimir Putin exploiting a legal loophole to run for a third term, a Moscow radio station reported.

US President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki agreed Monday to hold formal talks next year to decide the future of US forces in Iraq and other thorny issues, the White House said.

An Iraqi journalist said on Monday gunmen went on a killing spree in his Baghdad home, murdering seven children and four adult relatives, but Iraq’s interior ministry denied the attack took place.