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Iran talks stall over nuclear enrichment (World, 34 articles)
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The talks between Iran and the European Union's chief negotiators in Geneva failed to reach an agreement Sunday on Tehran's nuclear program, but the sides agreed to resume talks on suspending uranium enrichment in two weeks. For the first time, a senior United States diplomat also attended the talks, but Tehran remained steadfast on its insistence to continue its drive toward nuclear capability, ruling out freezing its uranium enrichment program. The United States said on Saturday after inconclusive international talks with Iran's nuclear envoy that Tehran must choose between cooperation or confrontation and give up sensitive nuclear work. Jalili said that in any next round of talks Iran was not ready to discuss a freeze in enrichment proposed by the sextet in return for the UN Security Council halting further sanctions measures. Iran s foreign minister said on Friday that his country was open to discussing the establishment by the Bush administration of the first American diplomatic presence in Tehran since relations were severed nearly three decades ago. The Bush administration's decision to send a senior American official to participate in international talks with Iran this weekend reflects a double policy shift in the struggle to resolve the impasse over the country's nuclear program.
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Bush, al-Maliki agree to set 'time horizon' - (World, 7 articles)
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On a visit to Baghdad, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said plans are being made to scale back troops in Iraq, but refused to consider an "artificial timetable" for withdrawing Britain's remaining 4,000 soldiers. No specific troop withdrawal figures have been made public, but a senior British military officer has predicted substantial troop cuts in Iraq next year. The troops, mostly based outside the southern city of Basra, no longer have a combat role and are involved mostly with training Iraqi security units.
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Other stories about Iraq, Iraqi and Maliki:
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Pope apologizes for church abuse in Australia (World, 16 articles)
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Pope John Paul II led the world's Roman Catholics since he was the surprise choice of the College of Cardinals on Oct. 16, 1978. Support groups for victims of church abuse in Australia, whose numbers are not known but who activists say are in the thousands, had demanded the pope make a full and open apology for clergy abuse and do more to prevent future abuse. The pontiff is in Australia to lead hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in the church's World Youth Day, a celebration meant to inspire a new generation of Catholics.
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U.S., EU optimistic on trade talks despite banana row (World, 9 articles)
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Prospects for a global agreement to slash subsidies and tariffs are dim as trade ministers and other officials from 30 leading member-states of the World Trade Organization prepare for a crucial meeting in Geneva next Monday. Government ministers, farmers and car manufacturers on Friday piled pressure on the European Union's trade negotiators to stand firm or even harden their position in next week's crucial round of talks in Geneva. The initiative represented a timely offer to Africa on the eve of the Geneva talks, which are regarded as a make-or-break moment for governments to strike a deal in the Doha negotiations on liberalising trade in agriculture, industry and services.
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Pakistani Taliban threaten to kill hostages (World, 5 articles)
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The Pakistani Taliban have taken dozens of hostages, including police officers, paramilitary fighters and even state bank officials, and threatened on Friday to begin killing them unless the government released four of their comrades captured last week. KOHAT, Pakistan - A Pakistani army helicopter killed five Taliban militants yesterday in a restive northwestern town, taking the death toll in three days of fighting to 13, government and military officials said. An offensive was launched late Wednesday in the Hangu district after militants killed 15 soldiers in an ambush last weekend and threatened to execute about 50 troops and government officials being held hostage by Pakistani Taliban.
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Samir Kuntar: I'm yearning more than ever to confront Israel (World, 13 articles)
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The images were jarring: A young woman standing in the embrace of the prime minister of Israel, her outstretched hand placed atop the flag-draped coffin of her soldier husband. With solemn speeches and military salutes, thousands of mourners on Thursday buried the two Israeli soldiers whose remains were returned in a long-awaited exchange with the Lebanese militia Hezbollah on Wednesday. The funeral of Sgt. First Class Ehud Goldwasser took place in Nahariya, the soldier's hometown on the northern coast, within view of the Lebanese border crossing where the exchange took place.
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Tribunal indicts Sudan's leader - (World, 4 articles)
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Human rights groups welcomed the prosecutor's move but cautioned it could provoke a violent backlash from Sudan, while offering little prospect that al-Bashir will be arrested and sent for trial to The Hague. The court, which began work in 2002, has no enforcement arm and relies on governments to act as its police force. In an interview, Sudan's ambassador to the United Nations, Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamed, said al-Bashir was weighing all options, including a military response.
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Zimbabwe to introduce 100 bln dollar bank note (World, 4 articles)
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Worsening shortages of basic goods, and the deadly political and economic turmoil surrounding the national elections March 29 and a disputed presidential runoff vote June 27, helped spur the spike in inflation in recent months. Zimbabwe Reserve Bank Gov. Gideon Gono announced the new figure of 2.2 million percent at the launch of a program to sell subsidized food through selected shops and a system of coupons issued to the needy, state radio reported Thursday. The bank attributed black market inflation to shortages of hard currency that pushed the black market exchange rate to at least 90 billion Zimbabwe dollars for a single U.S. dollar, compared to the official bank exchange of 20 billion to dollar.
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China bars flights during Olympics opening :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Beijing 2008 (World, 4 articles)
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HONG KONG - With three weeks until the start of the Olympics, Beijing officials are imposing increasingly stringent security rules there while Hong Kong, the host of all six Olympic equestrian events, is promising a more relaxed approach. Mainland Chinese officials have sharply restricted the issuance of visas, installed thousands of outdoor surveillance cameras, clamped down more than usual on possible demonstrators and even disclosed plans to search large numbers of vehicles entering the greater Beijing area every day. HONG KONG Tibetan flags will be banned from all Olympic equestrian events in Hong Kong under rules aimed at heading off political propaganda and protests inside competition venues, organizers said Friday.
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India lobbies on nuclear safety (World, 4 articles)
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NEW DELHI - A deepening friendship with the Bush administration has pushed the elected government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the brink of its own demise. With a confidence vote in Parliament scheduled to begin this week, the government's scramble to stay in power and its rivals' efforts to oust it have set off an intense and often brazen round of political bargaining. Indian officials have met members of the world nuclear regulatory body in Vienna to discuss plans to safeguard India's civilian nuclear facilities.
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More troops, rhetoric in Thai-Cambodia temple row (World, 4 articles)
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Some 300 more Cambodian soldiers and 100 Thais were seen by Associated Press reporters arriving near the Preah Vihear temple late Friday, although commanders declined to confirm those numbers. Gen. Chea Keo said Thai troops have deployed an artillery piece about half a mile northeast of Preah Vihear temple - the latest escalation ahead of Monday's meeting aimed at averting a military confrontation. The diplomatic sparring between Bangkok and Phnom Penh has intensified ahead of high-level talks on Monday involving the two countries' defense ministers.
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blaster@cs.columbia.edu
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