A roundup of today's other stories in brief.
No response from Iran on nuclear offer
BRUSSELS - Iran has rejected Western pressure for an immediate response to an international offer of incentives to suspend uranium enrichment, telling the EU the proposal lacked proper legal guarantees.
A meeting yesterday between chief Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana ended with no sign of progress, although they have agreed to keep in touch. - (Reuters)
Barroso urges G8 Africa fund
BRUSSELS - This week's G8 summit should set up a €1.6 billion fund to promote good governance in Africa, according to the European Commission president.
José Manuel Barroso said following through on aid commitments to Africa and increased international co-operation to protect security of energy supplies should be the priorities of this weekend's meeting in St Petersburg. - (AP)
Britons seek to block extradition
LONDON - Two British men wanted by the United States on terrorism charges have launched a bid to block their extradition, saying they fear mistreatment by US authorities if they are handed over.
Lawyers for Babar Ahmad and Haroon Aswat told Britain's High Court the men feared they would be treated as "enemy combatants" and faced a risk of "fundamental injustice and discriminatory treatment". - (Reuters)
Smoking could kill one billion
NEW YORK - Smoking will kill a billion people this century if current trends continue, health officials in the US have warned. That would be 10 times more deaths from tobacco use than in the 20th century. Tobacco accounts for one in five cancer deaths, or 1.4 million deaths worldwide each year, according to new guides from the American Cancer Society. - (PA)
Conservatives ahead in Mexico
MEXICO CITY - Mexico's conservative ruling party will hold the most seats in the next Congress after
the July 2nd elections but will not have a majority to pass legislation by itself.
The National Action Party will have 206 seats in the 500-member Chamber of Deputies, according to preliminary data. - (Reuters)
Morning sickness, diet link found
LONDON - Nausea and sickness during pregnancy are the body's way of protecting mother and baby against poisons and stomach bugs, according to research which brought together data from 21 countries.
The study shows a link between nausea and diet, suggesting that old ideas that sickness is due to the mother's ambivalence towards her baby or simply messed-up hormones are false. - (Guardian service)
June Allyson dies, aged 88
LOS ANGELES - June Allyson, the stage, film and television actress best known for her girl-next- door charm and winsomely husky voice in such 1940s MGM classics as Good News and Little Women, has died at the age of 88, her husband said on Monday. - (Reuters)