2005.04.01

Asia-Pope (Reuters) Millions of Roman Catholics in Asia packed churches and held vigils today to pray for Pope John Paul as the Vatican said the ailing Pontiff's condition was "very grave." 2005.04.01

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DPRK-Japan Soccer (Reuters) FIFA said certain to punish North Korea for this week's fan violence. 2005.04.01

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Japan-Mexico Bird Flu Japan is halting poultry imports from Mexico after a reported outbreak of avian influenza in two Mexican states. This also comes in wake of a recent cull of two million chickens at a Tyson Foods plant in the United States amid a bird flu scare that is not well-known among the American public. 2005.04.01

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ROK-USA Alliance (Chosun Ilbo) The half-century alliance between the United States and South Korea is in jeopardy. 2005.04.01

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USA dismisses DPRK talks offer. [BBC News ] The United States dismisses a proposal from North Korea for mutual disarmament talks as 'silly'. 2005.04.01

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Tokyo News Pod-Apr 1 The Tokyo News Pod for April 1, 2005. Troubles mount for the "insensitive" Mitsubishi conglomerate. 2005.04.01

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DPRK Wants Explicit USA Apology Before Talks (Reuters). North Korea wants an open and explicit U.S. apology for calling it an outpost of tyranny as a precondition for returning to nuclear talks. 2005.04.01

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Australia says Japan preparing to expand whale kill (AFP). Australia accuses Japan of laying the groundwork to dramatically expand its whale kill to include humpback and fin whales, in addition the existing minke cull. 2005.04.01

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Japan-Fire (Mainichi) Parents play pachinko, leaving five kids home alone to burn to death. 2005.04.01

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DPRK Sets Date for Parliament After Delay (Reuters). North Korea today set a date for its rubber-stamp parliament to meet, after the secretive state announced in an unprecedented move last month it would postpone its regular meeting of the Supreme People's Assembly. 2005.04.01

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Japan-ROK (Kyodo) UPDATED In a further sign of the deteriorating relationship between Seoul and Tokyo, South Korea vows to block Japan's bid to get a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council. 2005.04.01

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Japan-ROK (Kyodo) Japan, South Korea looking to hold talks next week in neutral Pakistan to try to calm rising tensions across the Sea of Japan (oops, we mean the Sea of Korea.). 2005.04.01

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© Copyright 2006 The Taisho Cable & Wireless Company.