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World News Quick Take

■ Japan
Koizumi firm on troops
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi insisted yesterday that Japan would send troops to help rebuild Iraq as domestic media reported that ministerial approval could be delayed after the death of two Japanese diplomats there. The troops would be sent "at the right time," Koizumi told a seminar in Tokyo. "Terrorists have been launching attacks indiscriminately and certainly we are fighting against terrorists," he said. "If there are fields in which the Self-Defense Forces [military] can take an active part, Japan must send them." He repeatedly stressed that the international community must not cave in to threats from extremist groups. "If we back down just because it is dangerous or everyone is targeted for attacks or there are no safe places, that will mean we give in to terrorists," he said.

■ India
Exit polls favor BJP
Exit polls of voters in four Indian states have predicted a strong showing by the Hindu nationalist party against its main rival, the Congress party, which had been projected to retain power in three of the states. Some 52 million people cast ballots in the four state elections on Monday. All four -- New Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh -- are governed by Congress, which is in the opposition in the national parliament. Sporadic political violence left five people dead and scores wounded after the voting, but it was a relatively peaceful election for India. Votes will be counted tomorrow. A strong showing by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, could tempt him to call early national elections next year. They're due in October.

■ China
Schroeder continues visit
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder headed to China's southern and western regions yesterday, after talks in Beijing in which both countries reaffirmed their commitment to building closer economic and strategic ties. Boosting trade between one of the world's biggest exporters, Germany, and the world's fastest growing major economy, China, was at the top of the agenda for Schroeder's fifth visit to China. But both sides also discussed ways to strengthen political ties during discussions between the chancellor and President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶). Schroeder indicated he agreed to work toward lifting an EU embargo against arms sales to China, German ZDF public television reported. Schroeder said "the time has come" to lift the embargo, and reportedly told Wen that he would encourage such a measure within the EU.

■ North Korea
Soldier's body returned
UN officials and South Korea's Red Cross returned the body of an apparent North Korean soldier to his homeland yesterday, nearly two months after the dead man was found floating in South Korean waters. UN honor guards handed over the wooden coffin to North Korean officials in a 5-minute ceremony in Panmunjom, the border village inside the Demilitarized Zone, the buffer separating the two Koreas. Several North Korean military officers briefly crossed the border line to inspect the coffin. Northern officials in white uniforms then took it away. The body was found on Oct. 8 near Yeonpyeong Island, about 120km west of Seoul. It was the first time the US-led UN Command and South Korea's Red Cross took part together in such an event.

■ United States
Bush calls Putin
US President George W. Bush conveyed his concern about the "rule of law and the future of democracy" in a telephone conversation with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, the White House said Monday. White House officials indicated that Bush's comments were prompted by the arrest earlier in the fall of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the seizure of his oil company's assets, as well as steps to restrict freedom of the press. An official noted that Bush raised concerns about suppression of human rights in the Russian campaign against the insurgency in Chechnya when he hosted Putin at Camp David in late September.

■ United States
Boy told not to say `gay'
A seven-year-old schoolboy was punished after he told a classmate about his lesbian mother, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) alleged on Monday. Marcus McLaurin was waiting for recess at Ernest Gaullet Elementary School on Nov. 11 when a classmate asked about Marcus' mother and father, the ACLU said in a complaint. Marcus responded he had two mothers because his mother is gay. When the other child asked for an explanation, Marcus told him: "Gay is when a girl likes another girl," according to the complaint. A teacher who heard the remark scolded Marcus, telling him "gay" was a "bad word" and sending him to the principal's office. The following week, Marcus had to come to school early and repeatedly write: "I will never use the word `gay' in school again."

■ United States
Police killing videotaped
A black man died after being clubbed repeatedly by Cincinnati police officers in a videotaped beating that raised new allegations of police brutality against blacks nearly three years after the city was rocked by riots. The mayor said on Monday that the videotape showed the nightstick-wielding officers were defending themselves. The cause of Nathaniel Jones' death on Sunday was under investigation. But preliminary autopsy results showed that the 41-year-old weighed 157kg and had an enlarged heart. His blood contained cocaine and PCP, or ``angel dust,'' both of which can cause bizarre or aggressive behavior, Hamilton County Coroner Carl Parrott said.

■ Venezuela
Chavez criticizes OAS head
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Monday criticized Organization of American States (OAS) chief Cesar Gaviria for contradicting his charges that his opponents committed fraud in an opposition signature drive seeking a referendum on his rule. Speaking to several thousand supporters at a
late night rally, the leftist president repeated an accusation made over the weekend that his foes cheated massively in the four-day signature campaign, which ended on Monday.

■ Nigeria
Rights group angry
The US-based Human Rights Watch accused Nigeria yesterday of torturing and killing several of its critics over the past two years and urged the Commonwealth to address the abuses at a summit later this week. The group said the government had cracked down on dissent in the run-up to a poll in April and had continued repression since then. It said abuses included the torture of people who had been opposed to a visit to Nigeria by US President George Bush in July.

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