JAPAN-NOKOR TALKS: Talks between Japanese and North Korean officials aimed at re-establishing diplomatic relations have been suspended, just hours after they began in the Vietnamese capital. The North Korean Embassy in Hanoi did not say why the talks were canceled. A Japanese official told VOA it is unclear whether they will resume. The talks had been scheduled to run through Thursday.
VIETNAM-BIRD FLU: Vietnamese veterinary officials say bird flu has infected chickens on two farms in the capital, Hanoi. Officials say authorities have slaughtered the surviving chickens after a number of birds died on the farms in Hanoi's Dong Anh district. Authorities say some of the dead chickens tested positive for the often-fatal H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus. Today's (Wednesday's) announcement follows one from Ha Tay province, where a bird flu outbreak was reported Tuesday.
THAILAND-ITV: Thai officials say ITV, one of the country's few independent television stations, will continue to broadcast during a government takeover. The announcement reverses a previous government decision to close the station today (Wednesday) at midnight. Thailand's military-installed government says it is taking over ITV because the station has failed to pay nearly three billion dollars in license fees.
US CIA LEAK TRIAL: U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney says he is very disappointed by Tuesday's guilty verdict against his former chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, in a case tied to the U.S. justification to go to war in Iraq. Libby was found guilty on four of five counts of lying, perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with the investigation into who leaked the identity of former covert CIA officer Valerie Plame. She is married to former ambassador Joseph Wilson, who accused the Bush administration of manipulating intelligence reports to justify the 2002 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
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