WARSHIPS PATROL: The U.S. Navy switched out warships patrolling in the Mediterranean, maintaining a show of strength during a period of tensions with Syria and political uncertainty in Lebanon. Officials said it was a routine, planned deployment, but the deployment last week caused a political stir in Lebanon.
IRAN DEFIANT: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran will talk only to the International Atomic Energy Agency about its nuclear program. The statement could rule out new negotiations with Europe.
RELIGIOUS FORUM: The Vatican announced a new Catholic-Muslim Forum to try to improve relations between the religions. In a joint statement issued by the Holy See and a delegation of Muslim scholars, the parties said the forum’s first meeting would take place in Rome in November.
KOREAN CORRUPTION: A corruption scandal at Samsung engulfed the government of new South Korean President Lee Myung Bak, as his intelligence chief and top anti-corruption aide faced allegations of receiving bribes from the business conglomerate. Lee was sworn in last month.
MARINE TRIALS: The U.S. military says it will court-martial four U.S. Marines in Japan for the alleged rape of a Japanese woman. Master Gunnery Sgt. John Cordero of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni in southern Japan said that the courts-martial are to be held beginning next month. The four Marines, accused of an attack on a 19-year-old woman in October, were charged by the military in December.
STEM CELL QUANDARY: Brazil’s Supreme Court postponed a decision on whether to permit embryonic stem cell research after one justice asked for more time to study the matter. The court had been scheduled to rule on a 2005 petition by then-Atty. Gen. Claudio Fontelles, who argued that a law passed that same year allowing such research was unconstitutional.
LEAF US ALONE: Peru and Bolivia brushed off calls from a UN-affiliated drug watchdog to criminalize the chewing of coca leaves. The International Narcotics Control Board released an annual report that reminded the two governments that use and possession of coca leaves, the main ingredient in cocaine, are limited to medical and scientific purposes. Representatives from Peru and Bolivia called the board’s report disrespectful of indigenous traditions.
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Page compiled from Tribune news services
