Thursday’s global agenda: Senate marks up North Korea bill

• UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon meets Secretary of State John Kerry at the State Department and is expected to hold a press conference afterwards;

• Kerry will also meet with High Representative of the European Union Catherine Ashton, at the Department of State;

• Vice-President Joe Biden hosts a lunch meeting with President Giorgio Napolitano of Italy at Blair House. Napolitano, who is on his farewell tour as president, also meets with House minority leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) before meeting with President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry on Friday;

• And Acting Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin meets today with European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Michel Barnier. 

In other news: 

{mosads}A proposed US-EU trade deal could pave the way for closer trans-Atlantic cooperation on defense and other issues. [The Wall Street Journal]

The U.N.’s nuclear watchdog failed to reach a deal with Iran on its alleged nuclear program during Wednesday’s talks. [The New York Times]

Iran recently purchased tens of thousands of highly specialized magnets used in centrifuge machines, a sign that the country may be planning a major expansion of its nuclear program, according to a report from the Institute for Science and International Security. [The Washington Post]

Lobbying and regulations: 

The United States Global Change Research Program, in cooperation with the Department of State, is requesting expert review of the Second Order Draft of the 2013 Supplement to the 2006 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands.

Global Affairs news you might have missed: 

Kerry says he’s weighing new options against Syria‘s Assad

UN chief briefs Congress on North Korea, Syria

Rubio, Risch demand information on Benghazi suspect

Do you have an event or upcoming report you’d like to share? Any comments / complaints / suggestions?

Please contact me at: jpecquet@digital-staging.thehill.com / 202-628-8527

Follow me on Twitter @JPecquetTheHill