Iran Nuclear: Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki says Tehran will not give up its right to enrich uranium, as Washington demands, but is ready to hold talks with the United States. Responding to a conditional U.S. offer to join multi-party nuclear talks with Iran, Mottaki said Tehran supports "fair talks." He adds that Washington needs to "change its behavior" if it wants new relations with Iran.
NOKOR-US: North Korea has invited the chief U.S. envoy to six-party talks on its nuclear program to visit Pyongyang, provided Washington meets certain conditions. North Korea's official news agency quotes a foreign ministry spokesman as saying the invitation is conditional on Washington proving its commitment to an agreement reached during six-party talks last September.
Iraq: The U.S. military in Iraq has ordered American commanders to conduct core values training on legal, moral and ethical standards on the battlefield. The order came as the military investigates whether U.S. Marines intentionally killed as many as 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians last year in the town of Haditha.
Indonesia Quake: The United Nations says Indonesian hospitals on Java island remain overwhelmed with survivors of Saturday's earthquake. Indonesia said today (Thursday) the death toll from the six-point-three magnitude quake has risen to more than six-thousand-200. Indonesian authorities are trying to relieve overcrowding at hospitals in Yogyakarta province by transferring patients to other cities and urging others to return home.
Vietnam APEC: Asia-Pacific trade ministers have gathered in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City for a two-day meeting aimed at making progress in global trade talks, which stalled earlier this year. The meeting, which began today (Thursday), involves 21 trade ministers from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, or APEC.
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