- Japan: Sergeant suspected of rape to be turned over
The Bush administration has agreed to Japan’s demands that it turn over an Air Force sergeant suspected of raping a Japanese woman in Okinawa, U.S. officials said Thursday. U.S. Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker was to inform Japanese authorities of the decision on Friday, and the actual transfer of the suspect, identified as Air Force Sgt. Timothy Woodland, was to take place a short time later. U.S. officials have sought assurances that Sgt. Woodland would have legal representation and an interpreter while in custody.
- East Timor: Deal to share oil profits with Australia is signed
Australia and East Timor signed a treaty to share revenue from a rich oil deposit Thursday in a deal that will guarantee the fledgling nation a much-needed stream of hard currency. Under the deal, East Timor will receive 90 percent of the royalties from the oil and natural gas from the Timor Gap field – which lies under waters between Timor Island and Australia – with the remaining 10 percent going to Australia, said U.N. official Peter Galbraith, the chief negotiator for East Timor, a poor state of about 800,000 people.
- Russia: Most of radio station’s top management quits
Most of the top management of Russia’s most prominent independent radio station resigned Thursday after a court decision put the broadcaster under the authority of the government-controlled gas company. The station, Echo of Moscow, was part of embattled tycoon Vladimir Gusinsky’s Media-Most holding, and stood in recent weeks as one of the last outposts of media independence in Russia. In a series of moves that critics said were aimed at stifling the independent media, other Media-Most properties, including NTV television network, this year came under control of the natural gas monopoly Gazprom. The Russian government holds the majority of seats on the Gazprom board.
- North Korea: Bush OKs $20 million to deliver fuel to nation
President Bush has authorized the release of $20 million for fuel deliveries to North Korea. Mr. Bush made known the action in a memo to Secretary of State Colin Powell that the White House released Thursday. Under a 1994 agreement, the United States has promised to deliver 500,000 tons of fuel annually to help North Korea meet its energy needs while the country makes a transition to light-water nuclear reactors.
- Singapore: U.S. trains Asian forces to battle heavy piracy
A U.S. Coast Guard team is training Southeast Asian maritime forces in methods to combat piracy as the problem continues to dramatically increase in the region. Drawing on its experience battling drug smugglers and illegal immigrant traffickers, the Coast Guard is teaching skills ranging from boarding and searching suspected pirate ships to hand-to-hand combat. A record 469 piracy incidents were reported worldwide in 2000, up 56 percent from 1999 and more than four times the number reported in 1991. More than two-thirds of the attacks were in Southeast Asia.
