GOMA, Congo (Agence France-Presse) — Talks to secure peace in conflict-torn eastern Congo opened Sunday amid warnings by the Roman Catholic Church against a "Balkanization" of the vast African country.
(Agence France-Presse) CYPRUS: NEW GREEK-TURKISH TALKS -- New talks aimed at ending the division of Cyprus have resumed in Geneva, without much hope of a breakthrough.
(Agence France-Presse) AFRICA IVORY COAST: TALKS ON ELECTION -- Ivory Coast's ruler, Gen. Robert Guei, headed into talks in Abidjan with seven African presidents trying to defuse a political crisis before the presidential election next month.
However, a former prime minister, François Fillon from the UMP, told Agence France-Presse: "We cannot talk of national unity and exclude several million French people [who vote FN]." France's political class ridiculed the FN's complaints of rejection, saying all were welcome at the demonstration of unity.
His party's general secretary, Maria Rauch-Kallatoldold today's Die Presse newspaper that she expected talks with the FPO to begin today, "in order that new elections and an unstable situation can be avoided".
Mr. Salaheddine, the peace adviser to Sudan's president, Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir, said it was "impossible for anyone to dictate a date" for finishing the talks, Agence France-Presse reported.
(Agence France-Presse) THE AMERICAS MEXICO: REBELS REJECT TALKS The Zapatista rebel leader, Subcommander Marcos, rejected an offer from President Vicente Fox to meet to discuss the possibility of restarting talks aimed at ending the seven-year conflict.
Hamas Leader Suggests Talks LONDON (Agence France-Presse) — The leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, on Monday invited the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to Gaza for unconditional talks on the two factions' divisions.
While the official point of the visit was a cultural exchange, the actress Annette Bening said she hoped the presence of the Americans would help kick-start talks between the countries, Agence France-Presse quoted her as saying.
[Mr. Arafat arrived in Paris early Wednesday for the talks with Dr. Albright, Agence France-Presse reported.] Announcing that the Israeli and Palestinian leaders had accepted his invitation, Mr. Mubarak told reporters today that he intended to leave them "alone in a room, to work things out".
(Agence France-Presse) CZECH REPUBLIC: SAFETY AT NUCLEAR PLANT -- After talks to calm an angry dispute with Austria over the Temelin nuclear plant, 30 miles from Austria, Prime Minister Milos Zeman agreed to new safety checks sponsored by the European Union.
