KL turns to other disputed island: Heartened by a recent World
KL turns to other disputed island: Heartened by a recent World Court decision awarding Malaysia two tiny islands also claimed by Indonesia, the government will now try to win a territorial tussle with neighboring Singapore, Malaysia's deputy leader said on Wednesday. Malaysia and Singapore decided in 1998 to submit their competing claims to the islet of Pulau Batu Puteh to the court, formally known as the International Court of Justice, in the Hague. They have contested ownership over the islet, also called Pedra Branca, since 1979. --AP
Russia regrets U.S. missile defense: Russia expressed regret on Wednesday at the U.S. decision to start deploying a missile defense shield, and urged Washington to abide by its pledge to give it a role in developing such a scheme. The Foreign Ministry said Moscow, which long opposed the scheme before reluctantly accepting it would be implemented, had noted "with regret" U.S. President George W. Bush's order to make some interceptor rockets operational from 2004. --Reuters
Ariane rocket launches satellite for New Skies: A European Ariane-4 rocket placed into orbit a communications satellite for global satellite operator New Skies Satellite after a textbook launch from French Guiana late on Tuesday. The launch from the European Space Agency launch center on South America's northeast coast came less than a week after a new generation Ariane-5 rocket exploded minutes after take-off. --Reuters
Bosnian Serb "Iron Lady" hears sentence call: War crimes prosecutors at The Hague said on Wednesday Bosnian Serb "Iron Lady" Biljana Plavsic should face a 15-25 year jail term after she pleaded guilty to a count of crimes against humanity in the Bosnian war. The former Bosnian Serb president, The Hague court's only female confessed war criminal, delivered an unprecedented "mea culpa" on Tuesday by admitting some responsibility for atrocities against non-Serbs in the 1992-5 conflict though she stopped short of an explicit apology to the victims. --Reuters
Popular ally renounces Roh on eve of vote: South Korea's popular soccer chief dealt a last-minute shock to ruling party presidential candidate Roh Moo-hyun on Thursday, breaking their electoral alliance after condemning Roh's views on North Korea and the United States. Three hours after Chung Mong-joon had stumped for Roh in central Seoul, Chung issued a statement saying he was withdrawing support for the liberal candidate after "inappropriate remarks" about a possible U.S.-North Korea armed conflict. --Reuters