FP morning post 4/2

Hu to attend Washington summit

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Top news: Chinese President Hu Jintao has agreed to attend this month's nonproliferation talks in the United States after weeks of increasingly strained ties between Beijing and Washington. Hu's attendance of the summit on April 12 is a promising development for President Barack Obama's efforts to implement new U.N. sanctions against Iran, although China has cautiously declined to commit to new sanctions. Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi also met on Thursday with Iranian Chief Nuclear Negotiator Saeed Jalili to discuss "certain issues which are of interest to both parties."

Obama spoke by phone with Hu on Thursday night and argued "the importance of working together to ensure that Iran lives up to its... obligations," according to U.S. officials. After weeks of tensions related to arms sales to Taiwan, Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama, accusations of currency manipulation, and Web censorship, Hu reportedly called for "healthy and stable" U.S.-China relations but also stressed that the "Taiwan and Tibet issues concern China's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and China's core interests."

Iran certainly won't be the only issue on the table for Hu's visit. An advisor China's Central bank suggested that a successful trip could lead to an adjustment of China yuan policy, which some U.S. officials have long called for. Li Daokui, a member of the central bank's monetary policy committee told Reuters, "If the talks are successful, we could made an adjustment based on China's own conditions."

Oceans: The British government has created the world's largest marine reserve near the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean.

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Asia Afghan President Hamid Karzai accused the west of organizing fraud to deny him outright victory in last year's election. South Korea says it has not ruled out that a torpedo sank one of its ships near the North Korean border last week. China agreed to buy a large number of air defense systems from Russia. Middle East Israeli planes launched at least seven missile attacks on Gaza. Hezbollah members have been questioned by the U.N. investigation into the death of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, according to leader Hassan Nasrallah. A Lebanese TV presenter convicted of sorcery in Saudi Arabia has been spared execution for now. Africa A boycott by opposition parties in Sudan has thrown next month's elections into chaos. Kenya's parliament passed a new constitution. Army officers briefly seized then released the prime minister in Guinea Bissau. Americas Cuba's foreign minister met with U.S. State Department officials to coordinate aid for Haiti. Colombia's FARC rebels turned over the remains of a police officer who had died in their custody. Mexican authorities have asked for more cooperation from U.S. authorities on border security. Europe Russian newspapers report that the 17-year-old widow of a slain Caucasus militant carried out this week's subway bombing in the Moscow. German carmaker Daimler pleaded guilty to bribery charges in the United States. The war crimes tribunal at the Hague rejected former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Kaaradzic's appeal to delay his trial.   -By Joshua Keating

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