Uruguay: No match

MONTEVIDEO — DNA testing has determined that skeletal remains found last year in an Uruguayan cemetery do not belong to the daughter-in-law of Argentine poet Juan Gelman. A forensic examiner had recommended that the remains be examined. But Supreme Court spokesman Raul Oxandabart says tests done in Spain and Argentina came up negative. Argentine officials say Maria Claudia Garcia was abducted in 1976 and sent to Uruguay, where she disappeared under the custody of dictatorship-era security forces. Gelman family lawyer Jose Luis Gonzalez said Thursday that the news caused "anguish" and dashed hopes for a resolution.

Afghanistan: Screened

The U.S. military in Afghanistan acknowledged Thursday that it pays a private company to produce profiles on journalists covering the war. But despite a report showing the company rated some reporters on their work, officials denied that the information is used to decide which media members travel with military units. Pentagon officials are on the defensive after a recent series of stories in the Stars and Stripes newspaper that said journalists were being screened by a Washington-based public relations firm under a $1.5 million contract with the military.

Israel: Less rigid

The Obama administration appears to be backing down on its insistence that Israel halt all settlement activity as a condition for restarting peace talks with the Palestinians. While U.S. officials insist their position on the matter has not changed, they are now hinting that a less blanket moratorium would be acceptable provided the Palestinians and Arab states agree. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Thursday that the U.S. "would be flexible on pre-negotiation conditions for all the parties involved.

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Mexico: Shot dead

CIUDAD JUAREZ — Gunmen killed the aide of a Mexican federal agent investigating the death of a crime reporter — a month after the first agent assigned to the case was shot dead, authorities said Thursday. The bullet-riddled body of Pablo Pasillas, 33, was found Wednesday next to a car in Ciudad Juarez, said Angel Torres, a spokesman for the federal Attorney General's Office. Pasillas was secretary to the agent recently appointed to investigate the Nov. 13 killing of Armando Rodriguez, a veteran crime reporter for the newspaper El Diario, Torres said.

Korea: Visits likely

SEOUL — North and South Korea were close to agreement on a schedule for reuniting families long separated by the Korean War, in rare talks being held amid Pyongyang's push to reach out to Seoul and Washington, reports said today. Red Cross officials from the two sides were expected to wrap up three days of talks with an accord to hold six days of temporary reunions involving a total of 200 families from Sept. 26, according to reports in local media accredited to cover the talks.

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