World datelines

S. Korea: New unit in North

SEOUL — North Korea has recently created an army division in charge of newly developed intermediate-range missiles capable of striking U.S. forces in Japan and Guam, a South Korean news agency said Tuesday.

The report came as North Korea is stepping up its war rhetoric against the U.S. and South Korea after the allies started their annual drills Monday aimed at improving their defense capabilities.

Israel: Indirect talks OK

JERUSALEM — Israel and Palestine agreed to begin indirect, American-brokered talks, the U.S. Mideast envoy announced Monday — ending a 14-month deadlock in peacemaking and representing the Obama administration's first substantive diplomatic achievement here.

The announcement, however, came just hours after Israel enraged Palestinians by announcing new West Bank settlement construction on the same day U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden landed in the region to promote negotiations.

Cyprus: Corpse found

NICOSIA — Cypriot police acting on a tipoff found a body at a Nicosia cemetery that they believe could be the stolen corpse of former president Tassos Papadopoulos, a spokesman said on Monday.

Michalis Katsounotos wouldn't say in what state the corpse was or whether it was buried.

Canada: Feeding on seal

TORONTO — The Canadian Parliament's restaurant will be serving seal meat this week as a gesture of support for hunters battling a European Union ban on seal products.

Liberal senator Celine Hervieux-Payette said Monday that Wednesday's lunch menu will offer seal meat hors-d'oeuvres and main courses.

Hervieux-Payette says the fare will allow politicians to demonstrate their backing for the hunt.

The EU ban on seal imports was imposed last July on the grounds that the annual hunt was cruel and inhumane.

New Zealand: Ghost sale

WELLINGTON — The rare spirits that went under the gavel at a recent online auction in New Zealand weren't aged brandies or hard-to-find liqueurs.

Instead, two glass vials purportedly containing the ghosts of two dead people sold for $1,983 at an auction that ended Monday night.