SEOUL, South Korea – North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told a Chinese envoy that his government will return to six-party nuclear disarmament talks if the United States shows “sincerity,” the communist state’s official news agency said today. The announcement – the latest in more than two years of conflicting statements over North Korea’s nuclear program – came less than two weeks after North Korea said it had nuclear weapons and would boycott the talks. “The United States remains ready to resume the six party talks at an early date without preconditions,” a U.S. State Department spokesman said.
Italy: Alitalia attendants strike
Alitalia flight attendants staged a one-day strike Monday, forcing Italy’s flagship carrier to cancel 176 flights, while Air France flights began to return to normal in the midst of a four-day walkout by its runway crews. The Alitalia strike was staged by Sult, one of several labor confederations representing the airline’s staff in contract renewal negotiations. Alitalia said flight attendants would also continue their “sandwich strike” – refusing to serve in-flight snacks and drinks – until Saturday.
Indonesia: Deadly garbage collapse
A 30-foot-tall heap of garbage collapsed onto a neighborhood Monday, killing 19 people and crushing dozens of houses, officials said. More than 100 people were missing in the collapse near the West Java town of Bandung, which came after days of torrential rains, police said. Residents and scavengers who eke out a living by sorting through the refuse and reselling recyclable items also were believed to have been caught in the collapse.
Mexico: Schools get drug ballads
Mexico’s school libraries are stocking a book that includes the lyrics of “narcocorridos” – folk songs that glorify drug traffickers – causing a storm of criticism in a country where the drug market and its violence have become part of life in thousands of communities. Opposition activists are livid that the administration of President Vicente Fox, which has declared a “war on all fronts” against drug gangs, allowed tens of thousands of copies of the book “100 Corridos: The Heart of Mexican Song” to slip into grade-school libraries.
Philippines: Troops begin exercise
More than 300 U.S. troops and 650 Filipino soldiers started a major military exercise in the Philippines’ rural northeast Monday, brushing off a threat by Marxist rebels to attack the Americans if they venture into guerrilla strongholds. The two-week deployment of U.S. forces is part of annual military maneuvers – dubbed “Balikatan” or “shouldering the load together” – aimed at promoting the ability of U.S. and Filipino troops to work together in a potential security threat.
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