Iranian and international negotiators are set to continue key talks Thursday that officials on both sides say could lead to an eventual deal limiting Iran's nuclear activities, in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.

The Geneva talks resumed as political leaders in Tehran and in the West sought to highlight their respective positions and assure their constituencies that their envoys will not compromise on basic demands.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an address Wednesday, said the Tehran government "will not step back one iota" from what it insists is an absolute right to enrich uranium.

Meantime en route to the general meeting in Geneva,Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed optimism for this round.

“I go to Geneva with the determination to come out with an agreement at the end of this round. I'm sure that, with the necessary political will, we can certainly make progress and even reach an agreement.”

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry vowed that the United States will not accept any deal that lets Iran buy time to increase its nuclear capability.

A car bomb targeting an army convoy exploded in the Sinai Peninsula with deadly results.
 
With Edward Yeranian in Cairo.
 
Witnesses say Egyptian Army helicopters carried out intense overflights in the northern Sinai, scouring the region where a car bomb went off early Wednesday, killing 10 soldiers.

Army spokesman Colonel Ahmed Mohamed Ali blasted what he called “black terrorism,” vowing that the military would pursue its “war” against Islamist militants. Interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi called the attack a “blatant sin” and said the government was studying ways to fight back.

Exact details of the bombing are sketchy because foreign correspondents are not allowed to travel to the northern Sinai.

Edward Yeranian VOA News,Cairo.

And there has been no claimed responsibility for the attack in the Sinai.

The US and Afghanistan have reached an agreement on the final text of a bilateral security pact that will determine the presence of U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai negotiated the agreement with U.S. officials, but a grand council of more than 2,500 Afghan elders must give its approval before the document goes to the Afghanistan parliament for a vote.

The United Nations says it has raised just one third of the money it needs to provide emergency aid in the central Philippines, which was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan.

Orla Fagan with the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Philippines tells VOA it will take a "concerted effort" to reach the world body's fundraising goal.

"It is 37 percent funded and 63 percent unmet. And that's for the immediate life-saving (needs), and has nothing to do with the long-term or any development that might need to come at a later stage."

The U.N. is requesting $301 million to cover six months of emergency aid, including food, shelter and medical care for the hundreds of thousands displaced by Typhoon.

Typhoon Haiyan is one of the strongest typhoons ever to hit land. Its powerful winds and tsunami-like waves destroyed entire villages, killing at least 4,000 people.

Indonesia is suspending military and intelligence cooperation with its traditional ally Australia, following allegations that Australian spies listened in on the phone calls of senior Indonesian officials.

The move was announced Wednesday in a nationally televised address by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, whose phone calls were among those reported to be intercepted.

Nigerian lawmakers have approved a six-month extension of the state of emergency in areas where troops are fighting Islamist militants.

President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in the northeastern states last May, as part of efforts to defeat militant group Boko Haram.

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