Opposition lawmaker Nagata apologizes for e-mail uproar
February 28, 2006Opposition lawmaker Hisayasu Nagata apologized Tuesday for disrupting the Diet by alleging, without hard evidence, that Livedoor founder Takafumi Horie had ordered a payment to the son of a top ruling party official, in an effort to end the uproar that has shaken the largest opposition party's own credibility. ''I apologize from the bottom of my heart'' for disrupting the Diet with the allegation that had been investigated insufficiently and then for the delay in explaining the matter, Nagata, a member of Democratic Party of Japan, told a press conference.
Japan sends forensics specialist to Philippine landslide site
February 28, 2006Japan sent a police officer who specializes in forensics to Leyte Island in the Philippines on Tuesday to aid the local police efforts to identify the victims of a deadly landslide, the Foreign Ministry said. The officer, who has already been working with the Philippine National Police after being dispatched by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, will be at work on the island until Friday, according to government officials.
Indonesia police say al-Qaida funded at least 3 suicide bombings
February 28, 2006The al-Qaida network helped fund at least three suicide bombings in Indonesia including the 2002 attacks on the resort island of Bali, which killed 202 people, a senior police officer said Tuesday. ''It was from the head of al-Qaida,'' Petrus Reinhard Golose, deputy chief of the Detachment 88 anti-terror police task force, said, implicitly referring to al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden.