Rice pushes N Korean diplomat on nukes

SINGAPORE – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pushed North Korea yesterday to accept terms to verify the dismantling of its nuclear weapons programme, as the two countries held cabinet-level talks for the first time in four years.

6.9 Quake hits Japan’s main island * WASHINGTON – A powerful magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit the northern part of Japan’s main Honshu island yesterday, the United States Geological Survey reported. Pakistan won’t allow militant plots * ISLAMABAD – Pakistan said yesterday it would neither allow Islamist militants to plot attacks on its soil nor let foreign troops take military action on its territory.Medvedev slams ‘sale’ of Russian jobs * MOSCOW – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hit out yesterday at the corrupt sale of official jobs, saying it was an “outrageous” practice that discredited the state and held back Russia’s development.Israel cuts Al-Jazeera ties * JERUSALEM – Israel’s government press office cut all contacts with pan-Arab Al-Jazeera television yesterday, accusing its Beirut bureau of throwing a party for a freed Lebanese militant who committed a triple murder in Israel.Court sentences ‘dead’ man * LONDON – A British man who faked his own death in a canoeing accident and his wife were sentenced to prison yesterday after a trial which heard how they mounted the scam to collect insurance money.John Darwin was jailed for six years and three months, while his wife Anne Darwin was given six years and six months after the trial in Teesside Crown Court in northeast England.Libya acts against Switzerland * GENEVA – Libya has been taking “worrying retaliatory measures” against Switzerland since the arrest of the youngest son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for allegedly beating two of his servants, the Swiss Foreign Ministry said yesterday.’Vigilantes’ stone 3 to death * DURBAN – A third body was found at an informal settlement in Durban’s Umlazi suburb, police said yesterday.Two bodies were found at the same Q Section settlement on Monday night.Pakistan won’t allow militant plots * ISLAMABAD – Pakistan said yesterday it would neither allow Islamist militants to plot attacks on its soil nor let foreign troops take military action on its territory.Medvedev slams ‘sale’ of Russian jobs * MOSCOW – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hit out yesterday at the corrupt sale of official jobs, saying it was an “outrageous” practice that discredited the state and held back Russia’s development.Israel cuts Al-Jazeera ties * JERUSALEM – Israel’s government press office cut all contacts with pan-Arab Al-Jazeera television yesterday, accusing its Beirut bureau of throwing a party for a freed Lebanese militant who committed a triple murder in Israel. Court sentences ‘dead’ man * LONDON – A British man who faked his own death in a canoeing accident and his wife were sentenced to prison yesterday after a trial which heard how they mounted the scam to collect insurance money.John Darwin was jailed for six years and three months, while his wife Anne Darwin was given six years and six months after the trial in Teesside Crown Court in northeast England.Libya acts against Switzerland * GENEVA – Libya has been taking “worrying retaliatory measures” against Switzerland since the arrest of the youngest son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for allegedly beating two of his servants, the Swiss Foreign Ministry said yesterday.’Vigilantes’ stone 3 to death * DURBAN – A third body was found at an informal settlement in Durban’s Umlazi suburb, police said yesterday.Two bodies were found at the same Q Section settlement on Monday night.