Kim to Meet With Official From SouthNorth...

Kim to Meet With Official From South

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is to meet with the South’s top official dealing with Pyongyang, his first meeting with a leading South Korean official in the northern capital in more than three years.

South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong Young has pressed the communist nation to peacefully resolve the standoff over its nuclear program.

He is visiting the North to celebrate the fifth anniversary of a landmark summit between the divided Koreas.

Three Found Guilty of Helping ‘Shoe Bomber’

A top French court found three men guilty of terrorist conspiracy for helping “shoe bomber” Richard Reid, who narrowly failed to destroy a U.S. airliner over the Atlantic in 2001.

The court found that they had helped Reid during his stay in Paris before his attempt to destroy an American Airlines flight with a bomb hidden inside one of his shoes.

The men had pleaded not guilty. One received a five-year sentence. The two others received four years with one year suspended, and were released for time served.

Reporter Slips Into Prince Harry’s School

Britain’s defense minister ordered an investigation into security at the military school where Prince Harry is training after a newspaper said one of its journalists, who had a camera and a fake bomb, gained access.

The Sun tabloid said one of its reporters posed as a student to get permission to use the library at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Surrey, where Harry is an officer cadet.

The paper said the journalist spent eight hours wandering the grounds.

Interim Leader Tsang Declared Winner of Vote

Career civil servant Donald Tsang was officially declared the winner of a vote to become Hong Kong’s new leader, a victory critics said was undemocratic.

Tsang won about 85% of the nominations from a 796-member election committee that picks the leaders in this former British colony. The election panel is dominated by members loyal to Beijing.

China’s State Council, or Cabinet, is expected to give final approval next week.

Lula’s Top Aide Quits Amid Bribery Scandal

Brazilian Cabinet chief Jose Dirceu resigned as the worst scandal to hit the government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva claimed its first victim.

The opposition had been calling for Dirceu, widely considered to be Lula’s second-in-command, to resign since the ruling Workers’ Party was accused last week of paying bribes to lawmakers to ensure their support.

Dirceu was credited with shifting the Workers’ Party to the center from the left, securing its 2002 election win. He ran or was involved in all four of Lula’s presidential campaigns. He said he would resume his post as a lower-house deputy.