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United States, N. Korea meet in talks

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published December 20, 2006

BEIJING

U.S. and North Korean diplomats met face to face Tuesday to discuss international efforts to get the communist regime to give up its nuclear arms program and the North's demand for Washington to stop trying to freeze it out of the global banking system.

U.S. officials gave no indication of any progress after two days in the latest round of six-nation talks, which have failed over more than three years of meetings to dismantle the North's atomic weapons program - or prevent its first nuclear test explosion Oct. 9.

"We don't have really any breakthroughs to report," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said.

MONTREAL

Authorities break up ring targeting seniors

Authorities arrested more than 30 suspects and broke up a phony telemarketing scheme used to allegedly bilk millions of dollars from American and Canadian senior citizens, police said Tuesday.

The suspects, detained in the Montreal area, took in as much as $11-million a year since 2003, they said.

One of the more lucrative phony pitches involved the suspects posing as officials and demanding tax payments on lottery winnings.

Police said as many as 500 people fell victim every week, with most from California, Texas and Pennsylvania. Losses ranged from $1,300 to $56,000 per person.

BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN

Government resigns over dispute

Kyrgyzstan's government resigned Tuesday in a dispute with Parliament. The resignation was accepted by President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who has faced intensive political infighting since coming to power after March 2005 demonstrations drove longtime ruler Askar Akayev into exile.

Prime Minister Felix Kulov said he and his Cabinet resigned because constitutional amendments adopted last month made it impossible for the government and Parliament to work together.

Deputy Parliament Speaker Kubanychbek Isabekov said that Parliament sees no grounds for its dissolution and that 38 of the 75 lawmakers decided to work as normal.

DUBLIN, IRELAND

Ex-prime minister got secret payments

Former Prime Minister Charles Haughey received more than $15-million in secret payments from more than two dozen sources and lied about his knowledge of the funds, according to an official report released Tuesday into Ireland's biggest political scandal.

Haughey served four scandal-marred terms from 1979 to 1992 - then spent a decade battling investigations into his mysterious wealth. Haughey, 80, died in June.

The investigation, which has cost nearly $32.5-million, plans to release at least two more reports on secret payments involving other politicians and businessmen.

[Last modified December 20, 2006, 00:34:26]