International relations

Yonhap News AgencyJune 17, 2013 18:32

By Lee Chi-dong WASHINGTON, June 17 (Yonhap) -- The United States sees no difference between North Korea's latest offer of bilateral talks and its previous ones because a serious intent is apparently lacking about denuclearization, the State Department said Monday. It emphasized that the international community has been very consistent and clear that Pyongyang should verifiably end its nuclear program and engage in "authentic and credible negotiations that produce concrete denuclearizataion actions."

G-8 summit kicks off to discuss world economy, Syria

Kyodo News InternationalJune 17, 2013 12:00

The leaders of the Group of Eight countries gathered for a summit in Northern Ireland on Monday to discuss ways to spur world growth, with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe explaining his economic policies to fellow leaders and making his policies an international commitment. Syria, where more than two years of civil war has sparked a humanitarian crisis, is expected to top the agenda on regional affairs to be discussed by the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States the same day.

Canada isn't sweating over start of free-trade talks between U.S., EU: official

The Canadian PressJune 17, 2013 17:33

ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland - The start of free-trade talks between the European Union and the United States are no cause for great concern to Canadian negotiators trying to reach their own deal with the EU, a senior official says. "I wouldn't say there's a concern there," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the matter publicly. "I mean, we're down into the final rounds of discussion, and it's always difficult at the end."

US, Cuba seek to restore mail services

Agence France-PresseJune 17, 2013 17:33

Officials from the United States and Cuba will meet this week to restore direct mail services frozen since 1963, the State Department said Monday. "Representatives from the Department of State and the United States Postal Service will meet with representatives from the government of Cuba for a technical discussion on re-establishing direct transportation of mail," spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

Obama says he and Putin optimistic on Iran talks

Agence France-PresseJune 17, 2013 17:00

US President Barack Obama said Monday that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin both had "cautious optimism" that Iran's new president would promote progress in nuclear talks. Obama and Putin met on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Northern Ireland, and the US leader said they hoped it would be possible to "move forward with dialogue" after the election of Hassan Rowhani as president. col/gj/gd

AFP 1900 GMT news advisory

Agence France-PresseJune 17, 2013 16:30

Duty editor: Dave Clark Tel: +1 202 414 0541 -- TOP STORIES -- + Obama and Putin meet amid Syria tension ahead of G8 + US and EU launch talks of trans-Atlantic trade pact + Iran presdient-elect rules out nuclear halt + US leaker Snowden vows to spill more secrets + Turkey threatens to deploy army against protests G8-summit,WRAP ENNISKILLEN, United Kingdom

Syria no-fly zone not on NATO's agenda: U.S. envoy

Thomson ReutersJune 17, 2013 14:32

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States is not asking NATO to back a no-fly zone in Syria and the issue is not currently on the alliance's agenda, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to NATO said on Monday. The purpose of such a move would be to prevent Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from using air power against rebel forces, thereby addressing a critical imbalance in the civil war. But it would be costly to enforce, and could mean entering the conflict by destroying Syria's Russian-built air defences.

Iran nuclear program advances despite sanctions: IAEA chief

Thomson ReutersJune 17, 2013 14:30

By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran is making "steady progress" in expanding its nuclear program and international sanctions do not seem to be slowing it down, the U.N. nuclear agency chief told Reuters on Monday. Yukiya Amano's comments underlined the difficult challenges facing world powers in seeking to persuade the Islamic state to scale back nuclear activities they suspect could be used to make atomic bombs, a charge Tehran denies.

US firm contests Romanian rail freight sale bid

Agence France-PresseJune 17, 2013 14:00

OnmiTRAX, a private US rail firm, on Monday slammed the sale of Romania's rail freight operator as "non transparent" and called for an extension of the deadline. "OnmniTRAX emphasises non transparent aspects of the process and a privatisation calendar which did not allow bidders to submit legitimate bids because it only allowed one week to conduct due diligence on over 10,000 documents," the company said in press release.

British spying claims outrage Russia, Turkey

Agence France-PresseJune 17, 2013 14:00

Russia, Turkey and South Africa expressed outrage on Monday over revelations that Britain and the United States spied on foreign delegates at G20 meetings in London in 2009. The Turkish government summoned Britain's charge d'affaires to explain a newspaper report that London put Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek under surveillance during the talks. Moscow meanwhile expressed concern that US spies had intercepted communications made by then president Dmitry Medvedev while he was in Britain, and some Russian lawmakers warned it could harm US-Russian ties.