U.S., NORTH KOREA RESOLVE DISPUTE ON FROZEN FUNDS

U.S., North Korea resolvedispute on frozen funds
BEIJING -- The United States and North Korea have resolved a dispute over 25 million in frozen North Korean funds in a Macau bank that had threatened to hold up nuclear disarmament negotiations, a top U.S. official said today. Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Daniel Glaser said the funds would be transferred to a Bank of China account in Beijing to be used for education and humanitarian purposes in North Korea. The North Korean deposits have been frozen in the Banco Delta Asia since Washington blacklisted the tiny, privately run Macau-based bank 19 months ago on suspicion the funds were connected to money-laundering or counterfeiting. Washington promised to resolve the issue by mid-March as part of an agreement last month on North Korea's nuclear disarmament. On Saturday, North Korea's nuclear envoy said Pyongyang would not shut down its main nuclear reactor until the funds were released.
Israel: Talks with newgovernment impossible
JERUSALEM -- Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday that peace talks with the Palestinian coalition government would be impossible as long as it refuses to renounce violence and recognize Israel's right to exist. In a break from the Israelis, the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem said the U.S. wouldn't rule out contact with non-Hamas members of the new government. The Israeli Cabinet endorsed Olmert's hard line, urging the West to maintain harsh economic sanctions imposed with last year's election of the militant Islamic Hamas. Palestinians had hoped the new alliance between the moderate Fatah and Hamas would lead Israel and Western countries to lift the sanctions, urging the international community to give their new government a chance. "We can't have contact with members of a government that justifies resistance, or in other words, terror," Olmert said, according to meeting participants.
YouTube to recognizebest user-created videos
NEW YORK -- Lonelygirl15, OK Go and other YouTube sensations will get an opportunity to walk down a virtual red carpet. The video-sharing Web site announced today that it will hold the first YouTube Video Awards to recognize the best user-created videos of 2006. The awards will be handed out in seven categories: most creative, most inspirational, best series, best comedy, musician of the year, best commentary and "most adorable video ever." The nominees, picked by YouTube, are compiled in a gallery at www.youtube.com/YTAwards. YouTube community members can vote on their favorites beginning today and concluding Friday. The winners, as chosen by the community, will be announced Sunday. Each will be prominently featured on YouTube and receive a trophy, the design of which will be revealed later. Success on the site has previously been defined largely by rankings of the most-viewed or most-discussed videos. "We wanted to call out some of the most popular videos and let the users choose which ones deserve some additional recognition," said Jamie Byrne, head of product marketing at YouTube.
Boy Scout missing
TRAPHILL, N.C. -- Search teams combed mountain terrain Sunday for a 12-year-old Boy Scout who disappeared during an outing. About 10 Scouts and the adult leaders of Troop 230, from Greensboro, noticed that Michael Auberry was missing at lunch Saturday in Doughton Park, which is part of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The troop had gone on a hike earlier Saturday, and the boy stayed behind with an adult because he wanted to sleep in, said David Bauer, a parkway ranger. After the troop returned and ate lunch with Michael and the adult, the troop noticed the boy was missing from camp. Searchers found part of his mess kit less than a mile away overnight Saturday, Bauer said. "At this point we're looking at every possibility," Bauer said. "The most probable thing is that he walked away, went out in the woods and went to investigate." Michael's parents joined the search. "We're really hopeful," his father, Kent Auberry, told the Winston-Salem Journal.
Associated Press