WASHINGTON

North Korea agrees to halt n-tests in exchange for food

North Korea raised hopes Wednesday for a major easing in nuclear tensions under its youthful new leader, agreeing to suspend uranium enrichment at a key facility and refrain from missile and nuclear tests in exchange for a mountain of critically needed U.S. food aid.

It was only a preliminary step but a necessary one to restart broader six-nation negotiations that would lay down terms for what the North could get in return for abandoning its nuclear weapons program. Pyongyang pulled out of those talks in 2009 and seemingly has viewed the nuclear program as key to the survival of its dynastic, communist regime, now entering its third generation.

But the announcement, just over two months after the death of longtime ruler Kim Jong Il, also opened a door for the secretive government under his untested youngest son, Kim Jong Un, to improve ties with the U.S.

President honors military with dinner at White House

President Barack Obama is paying tribute to the million-plus members of the U.S. military who served in Iraq with a formal White House dinner for a select few.

The president welcomed 200 guests to the East Room on Wednesday night, and told them the dinner was an opportunity “to express those simple words that we can never say enough: thank you.”

The dinner guests included members of the armed service from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. Many of the guests served multiple deployments in Iraq, and a number of them suffered serious injuries.

OMAHA, Neb.

Ex-Sen. Kerry will seek the seat he recently gave up

Former Sen. Bob Kerrey said Wednesday he will seek the Democratic nomination for the Nebraska seat he once held, reversing course just weeks after publicly rejecting a run.

Kerrey earlier this month opted out of the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson, saying not running was best for him and his family. “It just felt wrong,” Kerrey, 68, said during a telephone call to declare his candidacy. “I wasn’t happy with the decision.”

CAIRO

Egypt lifts travel ban for seven Americans on trial

Egypt on Wednesday lifted a travel ban on seven Americans who were on trial with 36 other civil society workers on charges of illegally receiving foreign funds, the first sign that a case that’s chilled Egyptian-U.S. relations may be nearing a resolution.

The lifting of the travel ban signaled to Egyptian legal experts that U.S. officials had succeeded in persuading the country’s ruling military council to back off and mend bilateral relations, which have frayed since the ouster a year ago of then-President Hosni Mubarak, one of Washington’s closest Arab allies.

Wednesday’s move came a day after a judge who’d been presiding over the case withdrew amid rumors of political pressure that compromised his independence.

ROME

Vatican puts 100 items from ‘secret archives’ on display

The papal order in which Martin Luther was excommunicated and a letter by England’s King Henry VIII asking for an annulment of his first marriage are among 100 items from the Vatican Secret Archives to go on display on Wednesday in Rome.

Titled “Lux in Arcana (Light in the Secret) –The Vatican Secret Archives Reveals Itself,” the exhibition is being held at the city’s Capitoline Museums.

It contains manuscripts, parchments and registers which are usually only viewed by scholars who have obtained special permission from the Vatican.

The exhibition includes written exchanges between a long succession of popes and various world leaders and famous historical figures, including Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo, French Enlightenment author Voltaire and U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.

— From news service reports