The latest short-form news audio from FSN Bureaus worldwide
The United States has called on Russia to allow regular visits to a former US Marine being held on spying charges. Paul Whelan was arrested in December while visiting Moscow. His family has said he was in Russia for a friend's wedding. Lucy Taylor reports.
South Korea and the U.S. have delayed announcing the official start of annual spring military drills. It's an apparent move by the allies to maintain a peaceful mood ahead of the upcoming summit between President Donald Trump and leader Kim Jong-un.
Bruce Harrison reports from Seoul.
IN: " Seoul's Yonhap News "
OUT: SOC
DUR: 0:30 sec
GENERIC: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/wargamesannouncement-bh-generic.mp3
Seoul's Yonhap News reports the military exercises won't be announced until after the second Trump-Kim summit.
The leaders will meet on February 27th and 28th in Vietnam.
But according to Yonhap, the drills are still tentatively scheduled to begin March 4.
To avoid provoking Pyongyang, the allies have also renamed one of the exercises.
And they're reportedly considering renaming a second drill and scaling it down.
North Korea has long claimed the spring war games are a rehearsal for invasion.
SOC
The United States is making plans to withdraw all American forces from Syria by the end of April, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
The report cites unnamed current and former US officials.
US Correspondent Rachel Silverman has details.
IN: According to
OUT: SOC
DUR::35
GENERIC: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/0207syria-rs-generic.mp3
France has recalled its ambassador to Italy from Rome for consultations, after a series of attacks on the French government by Italian politicians.
The latest came on Tuesday - when deputy prime minister Luigi di Maio met Yellow Vest protesters who are running in the European elections outside of Paris.
Elena Casas reports from Paris.
IN: It started…
OUT: SOC
DUR: 50s
http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/0207ambassador-ec.mp3
South Korea and the U.S. are said to be nearing the end of negotiations on sharing the cost to keep U.S. troops in South Korea. The U.S. president maybe not be getting the deal he hoped for.
Bruce Harrison reports from Seoul.
IN: " A South Korean lawmaker … "
OUT: SOC
DUR: 0:34
GENERIC: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/costsharingdeal-bh-generic.mp3
A South Korean lawmaker told reporters the talks are in their final stage.
A decision on sharing the bill for U.S. troops in South Korea has been delayed for months.
Seoul officials have said the Trump administration had demanded South Korea pay twice its current share.
South Korea paid roughly 850 million dollars last year.
According to Yonhap News, the lawmaker says a new one-year deal will cost roughly 890 million dollars.
It's a jump of around eight percent, but not the high-price tag President Trump had pursued.
Trump has suggested in the past that America's allies are freeloading.
SOC
The French prime minister's office has admitted tipping off prosecutors about possible leaks to the website Mediapart - whose offices police attempted to search on Monday.
It's generated a major row about the journalists' right to keep their sources private - in a case that could prove very embarrassing to the French President.
Elena Casas reports from Paris.
IN: The attempted police search…
OUT: SOC
DUR: 50s
The United States has said it is 'deeply concerned' about a Danish man in Russia, who has been jailed for six years for being a Jehovah's Witness. The case is the first in more than a hundred criminal cases against members of the group, which Russia's Supreme Court calls 'extremist'. Lucy Taylor reports.