US reports progress in N. Korea talks

The United States and North Korea said they made good progress in talks yesterday on resolving a deadlock over a disputed inventory of the communist nation's nuclear programs. "I would say it was a good discussion," said US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the top US negotiator with North Korea. Hill said he and Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan had "a full discussion on all issues" and agreed to report back to their respective capitals. "I think, depending on what we hear back from the capitals by tomorrow, there will be some further announcements very soon," he said. (AP)

MOSCOW - Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia said yesterday that Moscow will do all it can to prevent the former Soviet republics of Ukraine and Georgia from joining NATO. Lavrov warned that the bids by Russia's two neighbors to join the Western alliance could worsen the Kremlin's relations with the countries supporting them. "We will do all we can to prevent Ukraine's and Georgia's accession into NATO and to avoid an inevitable serious exacerbation of our relations with both the alliance and our neighbors," Lavrov said on Ekho Moskvy radio. A NATO summit last week rejected starting Ukraine and Georgia on the path to membership despite strong support from the United States. (AP)

KATMANDU - A Communist Party candidate was shot and killed yesterday just two days before Nepalese elect an assembly that will rewrite the constitution, a key step toward cementing democracy in this troubled nation. Clashes also broke out yesterday between former communist rebels and police in a southwestern town, leaving one person dead. The former rebels tried to attack a former minister in Satbariya village, and officers responded with gunfire, said Police Chief Naresh Shrestha. (AP)

MEXICO CITY - At least 70 police officers were hospitalized after so-called Africanized bees swarmed a police shooting range in southern Mexico, authorities said yesterday. The attacked occurred Monday in Tapachula, Chiapas, after one of the policemen hit the bees' hive with a bullet, local police officer Miguel Serrano said yesterday. At least 10 of the 70 officers stung were in serious condition, he said. "We tried as hard as we could, but we weren't able to avoid getting stung," Serrano said. "Some of us hit the ground, but that didn't help." "It was really bad. I haven't seen anything like it, even in the movies," he said. (AP)

BOGOTÁ - France called off a humanitarian mission yesterday to treat and possibly free ailing hostage Ingrid Betancourt after Colombian rebels said they wouldn't unilaterally release any more captives. The rebel statement seemed intended to force Colombia's president, Alvaro Uribe, to make the next move. It also leaves Betancourt and dozens of other high-profile hostages languishing in jungle prisons, and makes the prospect of peace talks ever more remote. (AP)