Obama says US cannot ignore race

Mr Obama called on his own history in an ambitious speech Obama on race issues

US presidential hopeful Barack Obama has sought to tackle the issue of race and defuse a controversy over comments made by his former pastor.

Mr Obama said he understood the history of anger between black and white Americans but that the US could not afford to ignore race issues.

He referred to the uproar over what he called the Rev Jeremiah Wright's "profoundly distorted view" of the US.

Mr Wright said the 9/11 attacks were like "chickens coming home to roost".

After the remarks resurfaced, Mr Obama denounced them as "incendiary" and "completely inexcusable" and said he had not been present when they were made.

Mr Obama is locked in a close race with New York Senator Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, with the significant Pennsylvania primary vote due on 22 April.

The BBC's Jamie Coomarasamy in Philadelphia says this was a bold speech with considerable risks, but one which Barack Obama clearly felt he had little choice but to make to defuse the race issue.

'Racial stalemate'

Speaking in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania city seen as the cradle of US democracy, Mr Obama drew on America's long history of racial inequality - and called on the US to move beyond it.

I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community Barack Obama

"The anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races," he said.

As the child of a black father and white mother, he said he understood the passions of both sides in what he called "a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years" - and said he was not so naive as to believe it could be overcome in one election cycle.

However, Mr Obama said, he believed the nation could - if it worked together - move towards healing some of the wounds caused by racial injustice.

OBAMA SPEECH IN FULL Barack Obama: A More Perfect Union [55KB] Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader Download the reader here

And while he condemned many of Mr Wright's political views as "not only wrong but divisive", he said it was important to remember that he had grown up at a time of racial segregation.

"I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother," he said.

He recalled that his grandmother had raised him and loved him - but that at times she had used racially-tinged language or stereotypes that made him "cringe".

'Don't walk away'

Mr Obama also said that it should not be news to Americans that anger over racial injustice still finds voice in many black churches.

The row was sparked by sermons given by the Rev Jeremiah Wright

"The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning," he said.

He challenged the nation not to ignore the issue of race "this time" - while acknowledging that white Americans, especially the working class, also had their problems.

"If we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American."

Race has emerged as an issue on several occasions in the battle between Mr Obama and Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, but at no time before has Mr Obama addressed it so directly.

Former President Bill Clinton was accused of stirring up racial politics over remarks he made after Mr Obama's victory in South Carolina's primary in January, in which he seemed to try to marginalise Mr Obama as a black candidate winning a state with a heavily black electorate.

In an interview with US network ABC broadcast on Monday, Mr Clinton rejected that criticism, saying the story had been spun out of nothing and that it was a "myth" that the Clinton campaign had engaged in racial politics in the state.

Last week, former vice-presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro resigned from her unpaid advisory post to the Clinton campaign after a row over remarks appearing to suggest Mr Obama had only got where he was because of his race.

'Tragic history'

Mr Wright has resigned from an honorary position on the campaign's African-American Religious Leadership Committee, aides to Mr Obama said.

Before his retirement from Trinity United Church of Christ, in Chicago, the pastor helped Mr Obama affirm his Christian faith, officiated at his wedding and baptised his daughters.

Mr Obama said he had looked to Mr Wright for spiritual, not political, guidance.

In a sermon on the Sunday after the attacks of 11 September 2001, Mr Wright suggested that the US had brought the terror attacks on itself through its own foreign policy.

And in a 2003 sermon, he said blacks should condemn the US because of continuing racial injustice, saying: "God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human."

Trinity church said the recent attacks on Mr Wright had been made by "external forces" that want to "vilify us".
source:bbc.co.uk

Obama wins in Mississippi primary

Mr Obama was backed by nine in 10 black voters, exit polls suggest

Barack Obama has beaten rival Hillary Clinton to win the Democratic primary election in the state of Mississippi.

Mr Obama won 60.7% of the vote to Mrs Clinton's 37.1%, polling strongly among African-American voters.

The result is not decisive but boosts his lead in terms of delegates at the August convention where the party will choose its White House candidate.

With the Republicans' race settled, their presumptive nominee, John McCain has been focusing on fund-raising.

Mr McCain, who is set to secure the Republican nomination at the party's national convention in September after winning the backing of a majority of delegates, is under pressure to build up a campaign war-chest ahead of November's election.

Race issue

Speaking to CNN from Chicago, Mr Obama welcomed the "wonderful support" of voters in Mississippi.

The results followed a day of campaigning dominated by a row over the volatile issue of race, sparked by an interview with Clinton supporter Geraldine Ferraro in which she implied that Mr Obama has only been successful because of his ethnicity.

"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position," said Ms Ferraro, a vice-presidential candidate for the Democrats in 1984.

Mrs Clinton, senator for New York, said she regretted Ms Ferraro's comments, and did not agree with them.

"It's regrettable that any of our supporters - on both sides, because we both have this experience - say things that kind of veer off into the personal," she told the Associated Press.

"We ought to keep this on the issues."

One of Mr Obama's senior advisers, David Axelrod, has called on Ms Ferraro to be removed from the Clinton campaign.

In a follow-up interview with California newspaper the Daily Breeze, which originally broke the story, Ms Ferraro refused to withdraw her remarks.

"Racism works in two different directions. I really think they're attacking me because I'm white," she said.

Asked about the apparently worsening relations between the rival camps, Mr Obama said his campaign had been "very measured" in how it talked about Mrs Clinton.

"I've been careful to say that I think Senator Clinton is a very capable person and that should she win the nomination, obviously I would support her," he said.

"I'm not sure that we've been getting that same approach from the Clinton campaign."

Pennsylvania beckons

Exit polls of Mississippi voters conducted for AP painted a picture of an electorate divided along racial lines.

Mr Obama won support from nine out of 10 black voters in the state, while Mrs Clinton won about three-quarters of the white vote, the exit polls suggest.

Mrs Clinton did better with groups of white voters that have, in some earlier races, favoured Mr Obama. They include college-educated men, independent voters and those aged under 45.

Clinton campaign spokeswoman Maggie Williams congratulated Mr Obama on his win.

"Now we look forward to campaigning in Pennsylvania and around the country as this campaign continues," she said.

Hillary Clinton has been campaigning hard in Pennsylvania

Former President Bill Clinton planned to campaign for his wife in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, reflecting the state's importance as the next major battleground. It is due to vote on 22 April, with 158 delegates up for grabs.

Under the Democratic Party's system of proportional representation, Mr Obama picked up at least 17 of the 33 delegates on offer in Mississippi. Mrs Clinton gained 11 delegates, while five more are still to be awarded.

Mr Obama currently leads the fight for delegates with 1,579 to Mrs Clinton's 1,473, according to AP.

The successful candidate needs 2,025 delegates to secure the Democratic nomination.

Meanwhile, Mr McCain, who has raised less in election funds than either of his Democratic opponents, is touring the country as he seeks to fill his campaign coffers.

The Arizona senator will visit Boston, Pennsylvania and Chicago this week.
source:bbc.co.uk

15 year old British teen raped, killed on Goa beach

The family of a 15-year-old British girl found dead on Anjuna beach in Goa is claiming she was raped and murdered and the autopsy report confirms this. But the police, they allege, are maintaining it was a case of drowning despite all the evidence. The body of Scarlet Keeling was found by the police at 7.15 am on February 18 – and the case has been unreported till now.

The incident is yet another body blow for Indian tourism.

Scarlet’s autopsy report — seen exclusively by Hindustan Times — details five large bruises on her shins, head and forearm that occurred before she died. The report establishes that her lungs were not full of salt water, rather there was sand in her mouth and trachea. Reports suggest she also had sexual intercourse. The family, however, contends that this proves that Scarlet was raped and suffocated on the beach.

“The police told us Scarlet had drowned and that there were no marks on her body,” said Fiona MacKeown, Scarlet’s mother. “Now, we want a second autopsy.”

Advising the family is Vikram Varma, a Supreme Court lawyer, who says that there is overwhelming evidence that Scarlet was raped and murdered. “There is clear ambiguity in the police behaviour and investigation,” Varma said.

Superintendent of Goa (North) Police, Bosco George, said that the police is now looking into both the possibility of murder and drowning, adding that it is premature to say whether it was a homicidal or an accidental death.

“The police is not here to protect us as tourists and make Goa safe,” MacKeown said. “They are just here to make money. There must be more awareness of the dangers that exist in this beautiful place.”

Baghdad bomb kills five US troops

Attacks on US soldiers had dropped since last summer's troop surge

Five US soldiers have been killed by a suicide bomber while on patrol in Baghdad, the US army has said.

Three other troops and an Iraqi interpreter were also injured in the blast, an army statement said.

The attack is one of the deadliest against US forces in the Iraqi capital since last summer's US troop surge.

It came hours after a leader of a Sunni tribal alliance fighting al-Qaeda in Iraq was killed in a suicide bomb attack at his home in northern Iraq.

Thaer Ghadban al-Karkhi died when a woman detonated an explosives vest as he answered the door at his home in Baquba. His daughter and two guards also died.

Mr al-Karkhi was a member of the mainly Sunni Arab Awakening councils, allied with the US military against al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Sunni militias have been credited with helping to bring down the level of violence in Iraq in recent months.

Most vulnerable

The US military told the BBC that the attack on its troops took place in the Mansour district of the capital.

"Five soldiers paid the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of the Iraqi and American people," said Col Allen Batschelet, chief of staff of US forces in Baghdad.

"We remain resolute in our resolve to protect the people of Iraq and kill or capture those who would bring them harm."

The strike takes the number of US troops killed since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 close to 4,000, says the BBC's Hugh Sykes in Baghdad.

RECENT US TROOP DEATHS 9 February: Four killed by roadside bomb north-west of Baghdad 28 January: Five killed by roadside bomb in Mosul 9 January: Six killed entering a booby-trapped house north-east of Baghdad

As the invasion's five-year anniversary approaches, many Baghdad neighbourhoods have witnessed security improvements, with the number of attacks on American soldiers significantly down from last year.

The bomber had targeted the US military at their most vulnerable, as military patrols around the Iraqi capital are often conducted in armoured vehicles, our correspondent says.

But the US troops cannot function unless they get out of their armoured vehicles and engage with the people, he adds.

source:bbc.co.uk

Scandal-hit NY governor 'sorry'

Eliot Spitzer said he had violated his obligations to his family Eliot Spitzer's apology

New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer has apologised amid allegations of involvement in a prostitution ring.

The married father-of-three said he had acted in a way that violated his obligations to his family.

Gov Spitzer, a Democrat, apologised to his family and the public, whom he said he should have served better.

He made no reference to allegations published by The New York Times, which said he had been involved with a high-priced prostitution service.

"I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself," the first-term governor told a packed press conference at his Manhattan office.

"I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family," he added, as his wife of two decades, Silda, stood by his side.

He declined to answer questions as to whether he would resign but said he would report back "in short order".

Exclusive operation

Last week, four people were arrested in connection with the alleged prostitution ring, the New York Times reported.

As part of the investigation, a federal wire-tap on a Washington hotel last month had recorded Mr Spitzer allegedly arranging to meet a prostitute, the newspaper added.

Mr Spitzer, 48, had abruptly cancelled Monday afternoon appointments to meet senior advisors about the allegations, the Times reported.

According to court papers, the investigation involves an exclusive prostitution ring called the Emperor's Club VIP, which operated in cities across the US, as well as in London and Paris.

More than 50 prostitutes were employed by the ring, charging fees ranging from $1,000 to more than $5,500 an hour, prosecutors said last week.

The BBC's Matthew Price in New York says things do not look good for Mr Spitzer at the moment.

Although he has not confirmed that the allegations are true, Mr Spitzer looked deeply uncomfortable as he spoke to the media and appeared to agree with the tenor of much of the reporting, our correspondent says.

He will need the help of his many influential connections within the Democratic Party if he is to hope to survive the scandal and make a comeback, our correspondent adds.

Political fallout

The Republican minority leader of the New York state assembly, James Tedisco, called for Mr Spitzer to resign "immediately".

"Today's news that Eliot Spitzer was likely involved with a prostitution ring and his refusal to deny it leads to an inescapable conclusion: he has disgraced his office and the entire state of New York," Mr Tedisco said.

The Republican Governors' Association also reacted quickly to the allegations, calling for Mr Spitzer to step down.

"Eliot Spitzer campaigned on ethics reform; unfortunately the governor of New York has egregiously failed his constituents," said the group's executive director Nick Ayers.

"The governor of New York should immediately resign from office and allow the people of New York to pursue honest leadership."

Clinton ally

The scandal could prove embarrassing for New York Senator Hillary Clinton, who is competing with rival Barack Obama to be the Democratic Party's choice to run for president.

Mr Spitzer has promised to support Mrs Clinton's presidential bid

A close ally of Mrs Clinton, Mr Spitzer has pledged to support her campaign.

He is one of the 796 super-delegates - party leaders and elected officials - who will vote on which candidate to back at the Democrats' national convention in August.

Mr Spitzer was elected governor in November 2006, promising ethical reform in New York.

As New York's attorney general, he had become known as the Sheriff of Wall Street for his relentless pursuit of financial wrong-doing.

His successes in that battle led Time Magazine to name him "Crusader of the Year" in 2002.

Mr Spitzer had also taken a firm line against prostitution in New York.

source:bbc.co.uk

Pakistani parties to share power

Nawaz Sharif (l) and Asif Ali Zardari were winners in February's elections

The leaders of the two parties that won Pakistan's elections have signed an agreement on a coalition government.

Asif Ali Zardari, widower of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto, and ex-PM Nawaz Sharif called on President Pervez Musharraf to convene parliament immediately.

February's parliamentary elections delivered a crushing defeat to parties loyal to President Pervez Musharraf.

Mr Musharraf has urged the incoming government to leave politics aside and concentrate on good governance.

The coalition deal will bring together the Pakistan People's Party, which was led by Benazir Bhutto until her assassination, and the PML(N) party of Mr Sharif.

'Blow to Musharraf'

Mr Sharif has consistently called for the president to step down in the wake of the elections, which were regarded as a key step in Pakistan's transition from military to civilian rule.

The BBC's Barbara Plett, in Islamabad, says the deal will be seen as a further blow to Mr Musharraf who will face a parliament dominated by his adversaries.

Two issues had dominated the talks: The PML(N) party's insistence that judges sacked by Mr Musharraf in November be reinstated, and the PPP's desire for Mr Sharif's party to formally sign up to the cabinet.

Mr Zardari and Mr Sharif told a news conference that both matters had been settled.

All the sacked judges will be reinstated via a parliamentary resolution passed within 30 days of forming a new government.

That appears to mean that the chief justice will get back his job, in defiance of Mr Musharraf's strong objections, our correspondent says.

In return Nawaz Sharif has agreed that his party will join the cabinet - even though he does not recognise the president's right to rule.

The PPP said it would proceed cautiously when it came to dealing with the president.

But most analysts see this as a step either to the reduction of his powers - or a confrontation between the new parliament and the presidency.

Benazir Bhutto was killed in a suicide attack in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on 27 December, causing the elections to be delayed

Musharraf opponents get MPs boost

The PPP of late former PM Benazir Bhutto fared well in the polls

Eleven Pakistani MPs have reportedly joined the main parties opposed to President Pervez Musharraf that could form a coalition government.

Seven independent MPs joined the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) while four MPs joined its ally, the PML-N, the election commission said.

Final figures for last month's polls show the coalition lacks the majority needed to impeach Mr Musharraf.

Pakistan's army chief has urged the president and coalition to co-operate.

Gen Ashfaq Kayani also said the army would "stay out of the political process".

He told a meeting of top commanders on Thursday that the powerful military "fully stands behind the democratic process and is committed to... support the elected government".

International pressure forced President Musharraf to give up his dual role as army chief to Gen Kayani last year.

February's parliamentary elections - regarded as a key step in Pakistan's transition from military to civilian rule - delivered a crushing defeat to parties loyal to President Musharraf.

Threat to Musharraf

The election commission on Thursday night finalised its tally from the election, announcing the results for 331 of the 342 seats in the national assembly.

Militants have been attacking the military with suicide bombs

The commission also completed its proportional allocation of seats to women and minorities.

The 11 seats that have yet to be declared are subject to legal challenges and other delays.

Final figures released by the commission show the PPP of assassinated former PM Benazir Bhutto has 120 seats, making it the largest party in parliament.

The PML-N, or Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, led by another former PM, Nawaz Sharif, is second with 90 seats.

The proposed coalition of the two parties and their smaller allies would still lack the two-thirds majority required should they wish to impeach President Musharraf.

However, they command enough support to undermine his authority in parliament.

Coalition leaders have threatened to curtail the president's powers, though it is unclear how far they will go.

Presidential promise

Mr Musharraf was re-elected as president last year in a parliamentary vote boycotted by the opposition as unconstitutional.

Speaking on Friday, the president said he would back any future government, as long as it did not provoke unrest.

"Durable, stable governments should be formed in the centre and provinces for five years, and if peace is maintained, I assure that I will fully support the coalition that is being formed," Mr Musharraf told Reuters news agency.

The PPP has yet to name its candidate for prime minister, though the post is expected to go to Makhdoom Amin Fahim, a party stalwart.

Ms Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari, is ineligible to run for PM but he retains great influence as party leader.

Ms Bhutto was assassinated in a gun and bomb attack in the city of Rawalpindi in December.

The new government's most pressing concern is likely to be an Islamist insurgency that has claimed scores of lives in bomb attacks in the last week alone.

Nuclear-armed Pakistan has been a key US ally in the "war on terror" and Washington hopes the new government will continue to work with it.

Source:bbc.co.uk

Eight killed at Jerusalem school

The gunman entered the school's dining room and opened fire

Eight people have been killed and nine wounded by a Palestinian gunman who infiltrated a Jewish seminary in West Jerusalem, Israeli officials say.

Witnesses said the gunman went into the library at the Mercaz Harav seminary in the city's Kiryat Moshe quarter and opened fire.

The assailant, who Israeli police said was a resident of East Jerusalem, was shot dead by an Israeli army officer.

The attack is the worst of its kind in Israel for a number of years.

The White House has led international condemnation but the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas called the attack "heroic" while not claiming responsibility.

When we got in... we saw young, 15-, 16-year-old guys lying on the floor with their Bibles in their hands - all dead on the floor

However, the 15-strong UN Security Council failed to agree on a resolution condemning the attack because of reservations from temporary member Libya, which sought to link it to Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip.

A previously unknown group called the "Jalil Freedom Battalions - the Martyrs of Imad Mughniyeh and Gaza" claims to have carried it out, according to Lebanese Hezbollah media.

The fact that the school is at the heart of the settler movement in the occupied West Bank may have been the reason why it was targeted, BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen reports.

Many of its students are on special courses that combine religious study with service in combat units in the Israeli army, he notes.

There will be an Israeli response to this attack, our Middle East editor adds - the question is how severe it will be.

'Horrific'

The gunman entered the library at the Mercaz Harav seminary on Thursday evening, where about 80 students were gathered, and fired an AK-47 rifle for several minutes, witnesses say.

MERCAZ HARAV SEMINARY Founded in 1924 by influential Rabbi Avraham Hacohen Kook

One of the students, Yitzhak Dadon, reportedly shot the gunman twice before he was finally killed by an off-duty Israeli army officer, who had gone to the school after hearing gunfire.

"I shot him twice in the head," he told the Reuters news agency.

"He started to sway and then someone else with a rifle fired at him, and he died."

Another man told the BBC that there had been "terrible scenes" inside the building afterwards.

"When we got in... we saw young, 15-, 16-year-old guys lying on the floor with their Bibles in their hands - all dead..." he said.

Jerusalem police commander Aharon Franco confirmed there had been only one gunman and said he had hidden his weapon in a cardboard box.

Imad Mughniyeh, a senior Hezbollah leader and military commander, was killed in a car bomb in Damascus on 12 February.

'Aimed at the heart'

An Israeli foreign ministry spokesman said that "terrorists [were] trying to destroy the chances of peace" but peace talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas would continue.

DEADLY ATTACKS IN ISRAEL 4 Feb 2008: One dies, Dimona suicide bombing 29 Apr 2007: Three die, Eilat suicide bombing 17 Apr 2006: Nine die, 40 wounded, suicide bombing near old bus station in Tel Aviv 30 Mar 2006: Four die, Kedumim suicide bombing 29 Dec 2005: Thee die, suicide bombing near Tulkarm 5 Dec 2005: Five die, Netanya suicide bombing 26 Oct 2005: Six die, Hadera market suicide bombing 12 July 2005: Two die, Netanya suicide bombing 25 Feb 2005: Five die, 50 hurt, suicide bombing outside Tel Aviv nightclub 13 Jan 2005: Six die, suicide bombing at Karni crossing

Mr Abbas condemned the attack in a statement saying he "condemns all attacks that target civilians, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli".

US President George W Bush condemned the attack "in the strongest possible terms" and UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband said news of the killings was "shocking".

"They are an arrow aimed at the heart of the peace process so recently revived," Mr Miliband added.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also criticised the "deliberate killing and injuring of civilians" in what he called a "savage attack".

Hamas praise

In the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, gunmen fired into the air after news broke about the attack.

This heroic attack in Jerusalem is a normal response to the crimes of the occupier and its murder of civilians Sami Abu Zuhri Hamas spokesman

A loudspeaker in Gaza City reportedly broadcast the message: "This is God's vengeance"

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the group "blesses the heroic operation in Jerusalem" calling it as a "natural reaction" to Israeli attacks.

Last week, Israeli forces launched a raid into northern Gaza in which more than 120 Palestinians - including many civilians - were killed.

Shortly after the Jerusalem shooting, the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad said four of its fighters had been killed in an Israeli air strike in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis.

Israel says the recent military offensive has been designed to stamp out frequent rocket fire by Palestinian militants.

Rocket attacks have hit deeper into southern Israel, reaching Ashkelon, the closest large city to the Gaza Strip.

Source:news.bbc.co.uk

Ship owner to sue over attacks by anti-whaling activists

Japanese whaling ship owner Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha is set to take legal steps with the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) over alleged trespassing and forcible obstruction of business by the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd, company officials said.

The company is considering which of three attacks by activists this year to make the subject of its complaint.

In January, butyric acid, which produces a foul smell, was hurled at the No. 2 Yushinmaru whaling research vessel, and Australian and British activists boarded the ship. Then on Jan. 18, butyric acid was thrown at the No. 3 Yushinmaru. In a third attack on Monday, activists hurled over 100 bottles containing butyric acid at the Nisshinmaru scientific whaling ship, injuring three people including JCG officers.

The JCG has already begun an investigation into Monday's attack on suspicion of forcible obstruction of business and inflicting bodily injury.

Obama gets letter from Obama

FUKUI--The Obama municipal government in Fukui Prefecture has received a letter from U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama, the municipal government announced Tuesday.

In the letter, Obama said he appreciated the support he received from the people of Obama and praised the city's rich culture, deep tradition and natural beauty.

"I am touched by your friendly gesture," he wrote.

"We share more than a common name; we share a common planet and common responsibilities," he wrote.

According to the municipal government, the letter, which was typed and dated from Washington D.C., Feb. 21, was sent by airmail to Mayor Toshio Murakami on Monday.

"The letter will help citizens of Obama feel much closer to [Barack] Obama," Murakami said.
(Mar. 5, 2008)

Four Marines to get court-martial in Japan rape case: US

Civic group members are seen during a protest in front of the headquarters of the US Marines at Kita Nakagusuku village

TOKYO (AFP) — Four US Marines will face court-martial in Japan over allegations they gang-raped a local woman, the US military said, even though Japanese prosecutors dropped the case.

The alleged gang-rape was one of a string of incidents linked to US troops this year that has triggered outrage in Japan, one of Washington's closest allies.

One of the Marines will face a court-martial in late April and another from early May, according to the public affairs office of the Iwakuni base near the western city of Hiroshima.

The dates were yet to be set for the two others, according to the office, saying the military would disclose more information later.

The court-martial decision was first reported late Wednesday by Japan's public broadcaster NHK.

The woman, who was 19 at the time of the incident in October, said that the four Marines raped her in a car and then stole her money.

But Japanese prosecutors decided not to press charges against the men. Japanese press reports said police found that the woman, now 20, changed her account and was believed to have consented to sex with one man.

The US military decided to court-martial the men amid resentment by the Japanese public over a string of criminal allegations against American soldiers.

Japanese prosecutors last week dropped the case of another US Marine accused of raping a 14-year-old girl on the southern island of Okinawa, home to more than half the US forces in the country.

The girl did not want to continue the case, which received intense media attention.

The US military said the 38-year-old Marine was taken into custody for potential disciplinary action.

The incidents overshadowed a visit last week by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who offered an apology over the alleged rape of the 14-year-old.

The US military also put all troops and their relatives in Okinawa and Iwakuni under a sweeping curfew for nearly two weeks.

More than 40,000 US troops are based in Japan under a security treaty with the close US ally, which has been officially pacifist since World War II.