1) The Taliban in Afghanistan has set a new deadline at noon local time Wednesday for the exchange of 21 South Korean hostages for insurgence now in government custody. The kidnappers said the latest of many deadlines the day after they killed a second captive, who a Korean official identified as 29-year old Shim Sung-min.
Families of the South Korean hostages wailed in anguish Tuesday at learning that a second of the captives has been executed by Taliban insurgents. South Korea's Foreign Ministry confirms the insurgents shot and killed 29-year old Shim Sung-min.

South Korea Foreign Ministry spokesman Choo Kyu-ho says South Korea can't hide its anger against the Taliban for this merciless killing. Shim was among 23 South Korean Christian activists abducted by Taliban militants in Afghanistan more than a week ago. His death follows the militant`s execution Thursday after the group's 42-year old pastor. Even as the South Korea authorities were confirming Shim's death, the insurgents announced a new deadline of midday Wednesday Afghan time for meeting their demands. The captors want the Afghan government to free a number of fellow insurgents being held in Afghan prisons in exchange for the hostages.

2) U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates on a rare joint mission has held security talks with the America's Arab allies in Egypt. They met today in the resort of ...with top officials from Egypt, Jordan and the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council. The talks were aimed at reassuring Arab states about the U.S. commitment to the region and bolstering support for Iraq's government. Here is Secretary Rice.

"United States is determined to assure our allies. We are going to be reliable in helping them to meet their security needs."

The officials also discussed the proposed international meeting on Israeli-Pakistani conflict later this year. Egypt's Foreign Minister says the conference should be progress toward a two-state solution.

3) The U.N. Security Council may vote as early as today on the resolution that would authorize up to 19,000 new peace-keepers in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region. In a speech at U.N. headquarters British PM Gordon Brown said he hopes the resolution is adopted today. Mr. Brown said he and other leaders would work hard to deploy the force quickly.

4) An UN nuclear inspector says North Korea has cooperated fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency in its effort to monitor the shutdown of that country's main nuclear facility. The IAEA's Adel Tolba told reporters in China today that his team has completed the first stage of its mission in North Korea and he's returning to IAEA headquarters in Vienna for an evaluation. The ten-member IAEA team arrived in Korea earlier this month to monitor the shutdown of the the Yongbyon nuclear complex.

常用专有名词, (重复的部分请见0726文稿):
1) Foreign Ministry -- 外交部; Foreign Ministry spokesman  -- 外交部发言人
2) U.S. Secretary of State -- 美国国务卿 (相当于中国的外交部长)
3) Defense Secretary -- 国防部长 (中国国防部长英文作 Defense Minister)
4) Egypt -- 埃及(北非);  Jordan -- 约旦(中东)
5) Gulf Cooperation Council 海湾合作委员会(也作海湾合作理事会): 全称海湾阿拉伯国家合作委员会，于1981年5月在阿联酋阿布扎比成立，为海湾国家组成之区域性贸易组织，成员包括巴林、科威特、阿曼、卡塔尔、沙特阿拉伯与阿拉伯联合酋长国。
6) Arab allies -- 阿拉伯盟友
7) Israeli-Pakistani conflict -- 以(色列)巴(基斯坦)冲突
8) the U.N. Security Council -- 联合国安理会
9) Sudan -- 苏丹 (非洲东北部)
10) Darfur region/area 苏丹南部达尔富尔地区