U.S. beef returns to Japan supermarket (AP via Yahoo! News) U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer ate free samples of American beef Thursday at the first major Japanese supermarket to sell the meat after the lifting of a nearly three-year ban over worries about possible health hazards. [News Source]

Japan Rejects Bush Suggestion on Removing Beef Restrictions (Bloomberg.com) March 29 (Bloomberg) -- Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki rejected a suggestion by President George W. Bush that Japan remove restrictions on U.S. beef imports, saying food safety took precedence over commerce. [News Source]

New hopes of deal in SKorea-US trade talks (AFP via Yahoo! News) Hopes grew Thursday that a deal on a free trade agreement between South Korea and the United States could be reached by a weekend deadline. [News Source]