George Jahn

The migrant crisis is "probably the biggest challenge for the European Union in its history," Germany's foreign minister declared Friday — but at least four Central European nations firmly rejected an EU proposal for mandatory refugee quotas.

Police arrested several people believed to be part of a human smuggling operation in connection with the deaths of 71 migrants who likely suffocated in a refrigerated truck found abandoned on Austria's main highway.

Overcoming decades of hostility, Iran, the U.S. and five other world powers struck a historic accord Tuesday to check Tehran's nuclear efforts short of building a bomb. The agreement could give Iran access to billions in frozen assets and stave off more U.S. military action in the Middle East.

Disputes over attempts to probe Tehran's alleged work on nuclear weapons unexpectedly persisted Monday, diplomats said, threatening plans to wrap up an Iran nuclear deal by midnight — the latest in a series of deadlines for the negotiations.

The Iran nuclear talks turned Friday from talk of progress to a blame game, with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accusing the United States of shifting its demands. He dismissed a warning that the U.S. is ready to quit the negotiations as counterproductive.

Edging toward a historic compromise, the U.S. and Iran reported progress Monday on a deal that would clamp down on Tehran's nuclear activities for at least 10 years but then slowly ease restrictions on programs that could be used to make atomic arms.