U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says he expects Syria to take part in long-proposed peace talks, despite comments from Syrian officials who say negotiations cannot take place if they require President Bashar al-Assad to step down.

Kerry reiterated Tuesday at a news conference in Warsaw, Poland, that there is no military solution for the Syrian crisis, and said he hopes the government lives up to its "already stated promise" to negotiate.

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says "legitimate questions" about U.S. surveillance efforts should not affect upcoming trade talks between the United States and the European Union.

Kerry said Tuesday during a visit to Poland that the United States is reviewing its surveillance activity and will work closely with its allies to make sure the path forward is "understood and is mutually agreed upon."

"We want to hear from our allies.  We want to have this conversation," he said. "President Obama welcomes this opportunity to work with our allies, and ultimately if we get it right, which we will, we can not only alleviate concerns, but we can actually strengthen our intelligence relationships going forward, and we can all be more secure and safer as a result as well as protecting the privacy of citizens."

Kerry said the potential trade deal is about jobs and global competition, and could lead to increased standards in the way the world does business.  

This week a U.S. Court opens a hearing into a U.S. Navy bribery scandal involving millions of dollars in excess charges for servicing American ships at Asian ports. The charges against two Singapore-based businessmen, a Navy commander and senior Navy investigator have raised eyebrows in the region as the case also suggests breaches of military security.

A military security Daniel Schearf has the report.

A Federal court in San Diego on Friday holds a pre-trial hearing for Navy commander Michael Misiewicz, Navy investigator John Beliveau, and defense contractors Leonard Francis and Alex Wisidigama. The men are facing charges of conspiracy to commit bribery. All have pleaded not guilty.

The four men charged could face up to five years in prison if convicted. But the corruption case could expand further. Court documents allege other Navy personnel accepted gifts from Francis but no names or details have been released.

Daniel Schearf,SEOUL

A rebel group that has fought the Democratic Republic of Congo government for more 18 months says it is laying down its arms and is ready to negotiate.

The leader of the M23 movement, Bertrand Bisimwa, said in a statement Tuesday the group will demobilize and only pursue its goals through political means.

The move came hours after government forces pushed rebel fighters from the last two areas in eastern Congo under their control.

Congolese Information Minister Lambert Mende confirmed soldiers had retaken the areas, and declared victory over the rebels.

U.S. special envoy for the Great Lakes region and Africa,Russ Feingold, welcomed the news.

India has launched a space probe bound for Mars, seeking to become one of only a few nations with missions that reached the Red Planet.

The India Space Research Program said its unmanned spacecraft went into the Earth's orbit 44 minutes after launch from the southeastern island of Sriharikota, on the start of a 300-day journey to Mars.

The orbiter will gather data to help determine how weather systems work on Mars. It also will investigate what happened to the water that is believed to have existed on the planet.

A court in Bangladesh has sentenced 152 people to death for participating in a border guard mutiny in which 74 people died, including more than 50 military commanders.

Dhaka's Metropolitan Sessions Court handed down the sentences on Tuesday, along with sentences of life in prison for 157 other participants. Acquittals were handed down for 271 others.

Asia-Pacific stock markets closed down today.

I'm David Deforest.More news on the internet at www.geilien.cn.