Around The World

U.S. proposing aid in North Korea talks \nBEIJING -- U.S. negotiators presented the first detailed American proposal Wednesday on resolving the standoff with North Korea, offering the North energy aid and a security guarantee in exchange for dismantling its nuclear program. The proposal is meant to break an impasse in talks that began their third round after earlier negotiations brought no progress on Washington's demand for the North to scrap its nuclear program.\n Justice Department disavows memo \nWASHINGTON -- The Bush administration laid out its legal reasoning for denying terror war suspects the protections of international humanitarian law but immediately repudiated a key memo arguing that torture might be justified in the fight against al-Qaida. The release Tuesday of hundreds of pages of internal memos by the White House was meant to blunt criticism that President Bush had laid the groundwork for the abuses of Iraqi prisoners by condoning torture. The president insisted Tuesday: "I have never ordered torture."\n U.S. drops U.N. bid for war crime shield \nNEW YORK -- Facing strong opposition, the United States announced Wednesday it was dropping a resolution seeking to renew the exemption for American peacekeepers from international prosecution for war crimes. U.S. Deputy Ambassador James Cunningham made the announcement after key Security Council members rejected a U.S. proposal to limit the exemption to one final year.\n State Department announces terror rise \nWASHINGTON -- Significant acts of terror worldwide reached a 21-year high in 2003, the State Department announced Tuesday as it corrected a mistaken report that had been cited to boost President Bush's war on terror. Incidents of terrorism increased slightly during the year, and the number of people wounded rose dramatically, the department said.\n Nader to Kerry: pick Edwards \nWASHINGTON -- Democrat John Kerry is getting some advice on his choice for vice president from Ralph Nader. In an open letter sent Wednesday, the independent presidential candidate urged Kerry to choose John Edwards as his running mate, saying the North Carolina senator and former trial lawyer has been thoroughly vetted and is committed to protecting the right of consumers to sue corporations that harm them.