■ Japan
Mad cow discovered
The country's 26th mad cow disease case was confirmed by the Agriculture Ministry yesterday. Meat inspectors in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido found on Thursday that a dairy cow tested positive for the disease, the ministry said in a statement. A panel of Agriculture Ministry experts confirmed the infection yesterday, according to ministry official Akiko Suzuki. "All meat, internal organs and parts from this cattle will be incinerated, and there is no danger that they will be circulated in the market," the ministry statement said.
■ Uzbekistan
US urges massacre inquiry
The US on Friday renewed its call on Uzbekistan to allow an international inquiry into a massacre of anti-government protesters a year ago and raised the possibility of sanctions against Tashkent. The State Department said eyewitness reports of security forces shooting dead several hundred men, women and children in the eastern Uzbek province of Andijan on May 13 last year "have not been adequately addressed." Washington also urged Tashkent "to cease immediately the crackdown on civil society, and to take steps to uphold Uzbekistan's international human rights commitments," spokesman Sean McCormack said.
■ Japan
Burglar massages victim
A burglar gave a 35-year-old woman a shoulder massage for several hours after breaking into her apartment in central Tokyo and tying her up, police were quoted as saying on Friday. He stole ¥210,000 (US$1,900) in cash and her bank cash card, though he later mailed the card to her as she requested after withdrawing 980,000 yen from her account, Kyodo news agency said. It said Lee Jin-se, 29, a South Korean, admitted the burglary and told police he lingered in the woman's apartment and gave her the massage "to relax her." Police believe Lee waited there until business hours began for bank cash machines, virtually none of which operate around-the-clock in Japan, Kyodo said.
■ United States
UN plans Myanmar visit
A senior UN official is planning a visit to Myanmar in the near future to press for a return to democratic rule and for respect for human rights, a UN spokesman said on Friday. Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the visit by Under Secretary General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari was still being finalized. "The UN remains committed to encouraging a return to democracy and respect for human rights in Myanmar," the spokesman noted, adding that Gambari's visit "would seek to further those objectives." Meanwhile US Ambassador John Bolton said he agreed to the Gambari visit on condition that concern about detained opposition leader and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi as well as about human rights violations be conveyed to Myanmar authorities.
■ South Korea
Rail links to break the ice
The two Koreas agreed yesterday to test run rail links across their heavily fortified border, possibly paving the way for the first train services between the Cold War rivals for more than five decades. The south's unification ministry officials said a train carrying some 100 people -- including both North and South Koreans -- would test the Seoul-Shinuiju line in the west that links the two capitals. The train will run on 27.3km of newly laid track from the South's border city of Munsan to the north's Kaesong.
■ United Kingdom
Tortoise makes a run for it
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