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It's 15 hours universal time and here is the news from the Voice of America.
I'm David Deforest from the VOA news center in Washington.

The governments of the United States and China are emphasizing areas of agreement on how to deal with North Korea and its nuclear ambitions. Officials from both nations say they favor the resumption of six-nation talks with North Korea and they both say they support the sanctions that the UN Security Council imposed on the North following its recent test of a nuclear weapon. That work comes following talks in Beijing between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing. Here is Secretary Rice.

"The minister and I have talked about the importance of a full implementation of resolution 1718 so that we can make certain that there is not a transident trade in illegal materials."

Rice said China has promised careful and thorough inspections along its border with North Korea but both agreed to avoid steps that would inflame the situation. Meanwhile South Korea's Yonhap news agency quotes a diplomatic source in Beijing as saying Kim Jong il, the North Korean leader, offered assurances of the North is not planning another nuclear test.

Iraqi authorities say fighting between Shiite militias and Iraqi security forces have left 15 people dead in the southern city of Alamara. Authorities said today at least 90 people have been wounded in straight fighting between police and armed fighters from Shiite Cleric Moktada al-Sadr's Mahdi army. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki sent an envoy to Alamara to try to quell the unrest. In other violence, Iraqi authorities say motor fire in the town of Balad has killed at least 9 people and wounded several others. The mainly Shiite town in the Sunni Arab heartland, north of Baghdad, has been a scene of sectarian violence over the past week.

Thousands of Iranians have marched in the streets of Tehran to protest the state of Israel and an annual show of anger against the Jewish State. Protestors marked Jerusalem day by waving banners and chanting anti-Israeli slogans in the Iranian capital today. Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Israel no longer has any reason to exist and will soon disappear. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem Bureau of the latest threats are adding to Israel's already deep concerns about Iran's nuclear program.

Israeli officials say the sabre-rattling from Iran is another warning to the international community that the Islamic regime must not be allowed to get a nuclear bomb. At a pro-Palestinian rally in Tehran, Iran's President said Israeli leaders are a group of terrorists and he threatened to any country that supports the Jewish State. He also said Israel is a fake regime that would soon disappear. It was a similar statement to one year ago when he threatened to wipe Israel / mad. Since then, Israel has watched the Iranian nuclear program was growing alarm. Israel believes the international community is moving too slowly to stop Iran and that the UN must change course and quickly impose sanctions. However, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visited Russia this week to urge a tougher stand on Iran but came away empty handed from talks with President Vladimir Putin. Robert Berger for VOA news, Jerusalem.

Mr Ahmadinejad reiterated that Iran will not abandon its right to nuclear technology.

Russian and European leaders are meeting in Finland today for an informal summit. Lisa Bryant reports.

Energy is expected to top the agenda of Russian and European Union leaders meeting North of Helsinki. The Europeans want stable oil and gas supplies from Russia and for Moscow to cut its prices. And they want Russia to remove stumbling blocks to European and investment in that country's energy sector. Russian officials have suggested they are unlikely to yield to such demands. According to /, Russian expert at P/ university, Russia is unlikely to open up its energy sector for 2 simple reasons. It doesn't want to and it does not have to.

"They are in the position to tell and to decide and even not to listen because there are still gas and oil."

Besides energy issues, the Europeans are reportedly concerned by what they say as a more authoritarian Russia. That includes Russia's tough handling of tensions with Georgia and critics in Europe fear a growing intolerance towards free expression in Russia. Lisa Bryant for VOA news, Paris.

And I'm David Deforest, VOA news.