By Mark Memmott

Good morning.

There's breaking news from South Korea of more "cyber attacks" on websites there. According to the Associated Press, Ku Kyo-young from the state-run Korea Communications Commission
said they began around 5:30 a.m. ET.

South Korea's Yonhap News Agency says "half a dozen websites operated by key government bodies, including the National Assembly, defense ministry, foreign ministry and the National Intelligence Service reported access delays and failures."

Officials in South Korea have pointed at North Korea as a likely suspect in attacks over the weekend. Those attacks also hit websites in the U.S., including at the Treasury Department and Secret Service. As NPR's Ari Shapiro reported on All Things Considered, they highlighted flaws in U.S. cyberdefenses.

Also in the news this hour: Suicide bombers in Iraq have killed more than 40 people today in Baghdad and Tal Agar; in Afghanistan, a bomb explosion in the central part of the country has killed at least 25 people, including school students.

As for other stories making headlines, they include:

-- G8 Leaders Continue Talks On Climate Change: The BBC notes that "tough negotiations lie ahead" as President Barack Obama and other leaders of the major industrialized nations sit down today with leaders from the so-callled emerging nations to discuss how to limit global warming. Yesterday, as NPR's Scott Horsley reported on Morning Edition, the major nations agreed to try to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 80% over four decades -- but India, China and other fast-growing nations haven't signed on:

-- Is The Stimulus Working? There are more stories today about whether the $787 billion economic stimulus plan pushed through Congress by the Obama administration is doing much good. The New York Times' headline is "Doubts About Obama's Economic Recovery Plan Rise Along With Unemployment."

On Morning Edition, both David Wessel of The Wall Street Journal and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said they don't think, though, that a second stimulus package will be passed anytime soon. The view on Capitol Hill, they say, is that it's better to wait to see how the first stimulus plan does.

Here's Morning Edition co-host Renee Montagne talking with Wessel:

And here's co-host Steve Inskeep speaking with Sen. Brown:

-- Ousted Honduran Leader Says He Isn't Negotiating: "Deposed Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya, ahead of planned discussions Thursday with the man who ousted him and the host country's president, vowed not to negotiate," CNN.com writes. Zelaya and provisional President Roberto Micheletti are to work with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez, who is acting as a mediator, at talks in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Meanwhile, as NPR's Juan Forero reported on Morning Edition, the Honduran news media stands accused of opening siding with Micheletti:

-- CIA Concealed 'Significant Actions' From Congress: Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee say they've been told by CIA Director Leon Panetta that his agency "misled members" of Congress about some classified actions during the eight years of the Bush administration. Just what those actions were hasn't been disclosed.

categories: Afghanistan, Foreign News, Morning Edition, Morning Roundup

7:45 - July 9, 2009

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