Koizumi picked as politician of year
December 29, 2005Major Russian economic daily Vedomosti on Thursday picked Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi as its politician of the year. Koizumi ''refused to compromise with the opposition bloc (in his postal privatization drive) and won a landslide victory after dissolving the House of Representatives,'' it said. ''He showed the qualifications that are required of a capable politician.''
Gov't to expedite checking, improving quake resistance of residences
December 29, 2005The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry intends to set a target of having the earthquake resistance of up to 2 million residences checked in the next 10 years and about half of them renovated to make them more quake-proof, ministry officials said Thursday. The move is meant to expedite quake-related checking and renovation as part of the ministry's efforts to attain its objective of increasing the ratio of residences and buildings that would not collapse in the event of a major earthquake to 90 percent by 2015 from 75 percent in 2003.
U.S. special envoy for 6-party talks to quit next month
December 29, 2005Joseph DeTrani, U.S. special envoy at six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions, will leave the post on Jan. 3, a State Department official said Wednesday. DeTrani, who is originally from the Central Intelligence Agency, will move to the office of John Negroponte, the first director of national intelligence, and assume a senior post there, the official said.
Chinese crack down on Internet porn
December 29, 2005Chinese authorities cracked 90 Internet porn cases during a three-month search in late 2005 using tips from the public plus high-tech online surveillance, police said Thursday. In the three months ending Nov. 30, the ministries of public security and information industry worked with the State Council Information Office to collect online tips to find that Net users are entering chatrooms to watch pornographic performances, said Zhao Shiqiang, a Ministry of Public Security Ministry's Internet crimes official.
No. of death row inmates hits 78, sign of toughening penalties
December 29, 2005The number of inmates whose death sentences have been finalized stood at 78 as of Thursday, the largest in 37 years, reflecting social demands for tougher penalties in the wake of increasingly savage crimes, according to legal authorities. Death sentences were finalized for 15 inmates last year and 11 this year, bringing the total figure of those awaiting death to its highest since 1968, when 82 inmates faced the gallows.
China opposes U.S. sanctions on companies for arm transfers to Iran
December 29, 2005China slammed Thursday a U.S. decision to impose sanctions on six Chinese companies for allegedly transferring weapons technology to Iran. ''We express our strong dissatisfaction as well as firmly oppose the U.S. method of imposing sanctions on Chinese companies,'' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.
Consumers should make own decisions on U.S. beef: farm minister
December 29, 2005Agriculture minister Shoichi Nakagawa said Thursday consumers should make their own decisions on whether or not to eat U.S. beef even though the government is to take responsibility for checking the safety of the meat prior to its sale. There is still significant public concern about the safety of beef from the United States, whose import ban was lifted earlier this month. The ban was imposed two years ago after a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, was confirmed in the country.