Iran

New round of nuclear talks

Iran's permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Ali-Asghar Soltanieh, said the Islamic republic and the UN nuclear watchdog have agreed to hold a new round of talks on Iran's nuclear issue on May 13 to 14, the official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday.

In an interview with IRNA, Soltanieh said the talks with the agency will encompass setting framework and modality for responding to some IAEA questions relevant to Iran's nuclear activities.

Myanmar

EU envoy visits NLD leader

Foreign Policy Chief of the European Union Catherine Ashton arrived on Saturday morning on a three-day official visit to Myanmar, aimed at establishing a close relationship with the country in light of its reform process.

Shortly after her arrival, Ashton met Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy. Ashton said her visit was to support the changes taking place in Myanmar, expressing the belief that such changes will bring development to the country.

France

Hollande nods to the far-right

Frontrunner Francois Hollande gave nods on Friday to far-right voters who could decide the outcome of France's presidential election, saying he would limit immigration and uphold a ban on women wearing Islamic veils in public.

Hollande, a Socialist, is on course to win a May 6 runoff against center-right President Nicolas Sarkozy. Sarkozy's only hope for victory is to win over the record number of voters who picked the far-right National Front in Sunday's first round. Sarkozy has swung hard to the right on immigration and Islam in the week since National Front leader Marine Le Pen won 17.9 percent of the first round vote. Hollande has been more reluctant to court National Front voters openly, but has said their anger should be heard.

Syria

Rebels attack from sea

Armed rebels in inflatable dinghies have attacked a Syrian military unit on the Mediterranean coast, leading to a gun battle in which several people from both sides were killed, the SANA official news agency said on Saturday.

"The fighting ... resulted in the death and wounding of a number of military personnel, while the number of those killed from the terrorist group was not known because they attacked the military unit at night," SANA said.

Ukraine

Ex-PM trial adjourned

A court in Ukraine on Saturday adjourned the tax evasion trial of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko until May 21 due to the ill health of the opposition leader, who is already in prison on an abuse-of-office conviction.

Xinhua-Reuters

(China Daily 04/29/2012 page4)