James Baker to visit Western Sahara: Former Secretary, of State,James Baker, the newly designated special UN envoy op Western Sahara, said Wednesday he,will travel soon to North Africa to explore ways of resolving the decades-old territorial dispute. AP reports from United Nations.
Baker said he will travel to the region as soon as he can make arrangements with the parties involved. Western Sahara lies between Morocco and Mauritania, and is claimed by Morocco and the rebel group Polisario Front which seeks independence for the territory, parts of which are rich in minerals.
Elephants kill 3 in Indonesia: Elephants rampaging through cultivated land in the Indonesian province of Lampung have killed three people, the official Antara News Agency reported yesterday. Reuter reports from Jakarta.
"In the last month, in our region we have had three citizens killed when they were attacked by wild elephants." north Lam-pung's Army Commander. Lieutenant-Colonel S. Maksum. was quoted as telling reporters on Wednesday. Maksum said two people were killed on Sunday and a third person was killed two weeks ago.
3 hurt as quake rocks Japan: Three people were injured when an earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter Scale rocked Japan's southern island of Kyushu early yesterday, police said, Reuter reports from Tokyo.
The tremor struck Kagoshima prefecture on Kyushu Island at 4.33 am yesterday (1933 GMT on Wednesday), the Meteorological Agency said. A police spokesman in Kagoshima said the earthquake injured at least three people, including a nine-year-old boy hit by furniture knocked over by the tremor. The spokesman said the tremor caused landslides at 10 locations.
US secret service chief resigns: The head of the secret service, which protects the president and US diplomats, has resigned, the White House said Wednesday. AFP reports from Washington.
A White House official said that EIjay Bowron, 46. resigned for family reasons. President Bill Clinton Issued a statement thanking Bowron. whose most well known decision was the 1995 move to bar vehicular traffic from Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House. The controversial decision was made to prevent a possible car bombing of the president s home and office.
Journalist found dead in Russia: The body of a Journalist for a major Russian newspaper was found near train tracks in the Tver region northwest of Moscow, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported Wednesday, citing sources in the local prosecutor s office, AP reports from Moscow.
Valentin Karkavtsev. a reporter for the daily Komsomolskaya Pravda, died after a traumatic fall near a rail track, the news agency reported, citing the sources. Papers found on the body indicted that he was traveling to St. Petersburg on a reporting assignment, the report said. Investigators are working to determine the cause of death.
Frenchman killed in Cambodia:
A Frenchman was shot to death in front of the popular restaurant he owned, officials said Thursday. AP reports from Phnom Penh.
Math Lyroun Skadavy. the chief of the International police agency Interpol in Cambodia, said officials were still investigating the Wednesday night killing of Eric Ambroise. Police did not speculate on a motive and did not reveal if there were any suspects. Crime has been soaring in Phnom Penh, fueled by corruption among police and widespread availability of weapons. Police have been implicated in several killings. A number of criminal gangs, both local and foreign, operate with impunity in the city.
Noted Japanese producer Tanaka dies: Tomoyuki Tanaka, a prolific movie producer who shaped Japan s post-Hiroshima nightmare into a fearsome giant lizard that the world came to know as Godzilla, has died. He was 86, AP reports from Tokyo.
Tanaka, one of Japan's best-known producers and chairman of the movie house Toho Co. died Wednesday of a stroke at a Tokyo hospital. Among his more than 200 films were such titles as "Mysterians" and "H-Man." movies beloved by science fiction and special-effects buffs. But it was with Godzilla, known as Gojira tn Japan, that Tanaka made his name. The original 1954 movie depicted a reptile awakened from its long slumber by hydrogen bomb testing in the South Pacific. The last movie he directed was "Godzilla vs. Destroyer" in 1995.
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