N. Korea OK's group talks, U.S. says
North Korea has indicated a willingness to break the diplomatic stalemate over its nuclear weapons program by participating in multilateral talks with the United States and its Asian neighbors, Bush administration officials confirmed Thursday.
( BY KARL SCHOENBERGER, Knight Ridder News Service, 08/01/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

ITALY'S SHRINES BESIEGED
Tourist refuse clutters holy sites
Visitors can no longer use the splendid entrance at Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major -- it's sealed off because drunks and lovers had made it a hangout.
( BY FRANCES D'EMILIO, Associated Press, 08/01/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

U.N. court sentences Bosnian Serb to life for war crimes
The U.N. war crimes tribunal for Yugoslavia imposed its harshest punishment to date Thursday, sentencing a Bosnian Serb politician to life in prison for exterminating or deporting thousands of Muslims and Croats in 1992.
( BY ANTHONY DEUTSCH, Associated Press, 08/01/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Iraqi attacks shatter calm, killing 2 soldiers from U.S.
'04 elections called possible
Iraqi insurgents killed two U.S. soldiers and wounded at least seven others in a series of attacks late Wednesday and Thursday, dashing hopes that two days of relative calm would continue.
( BY DREW BROWN AND HANNAH ALLAM, Knight Ridder News Service, 08/01/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

State probe of corporations unsettling Russia's economy
INVESTIGATION'S TARGET MOSCOW -- Criminal investigations into the oil-and-banking empire of Russia's wealthiest tycoon have shocked the capital, sent the stock market into a nose dive and even stirred up worries about the fragility of the country's fledgling democracy.
( BY MARK McDONALD, Knight Ridder News Service, 08/01/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

$30 million approved for tip on Hussein sons
The Bush administration approved a $30 million payment Thursday to the informant who led U.S. troops to Saddam Hussein's two sons while two of the ousted dictator's daughters took refuge in Jordan in a sign of further pressure on remnants of the defeated regime.
( BY NIKO PRICE, Associated Press, 08/01/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Caribbean Roundup
Worried that bad manners may be hurting Guyana's tourism, government officials launched an anti-rudeness campaign complete with ''police'' to maintain politeness.
( From Herald Wire Services, 08/01/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

International Roundup
Hans Blix said Thursday he did not believe President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair lied to the public before launching an attack on Iraq.
( From Herald Wire Services, 08/01/2003 03:01 AM EDT)