USA Marines charged over Japan rape - USA/Sex Trade/Asia/Arms & China
6/3/008
Four US Marines based in Japan are to be court-martialled over the alleged rape of a local woman. They are accused of robbing and raping a 19-year-old woman in Iwakuni in southern Japan last October. The courts-martial will begin next month, an official with the US Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni in southern Japan said on Thursday. Japanese prosecutors investigated the incident but dropped the case in November without giving a reason. The rape case is the latest in a string of allegations to hit US forces based in Japan, triggering a wave of public protest against the American presence in the country. Last week Japanese prosecutors dropped the case of another US Marine accused of raping a 14-year-old girl on the southern island of Okinawa.
See: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/0E5C001A-25BD-4938-ABAE-B4CD259D08DA.htm
US worried over China space weapons
6/3/08
China is developing a new generation of space weapons and stepping up its cyber warfare capabilities as it continues to expand its military reach, an annual US military report on China has said. The report came hours before China announced the latest in a string of double-digit defence budget increases. The Pentagon assessment, presented to the US congress on Monday, also detailed what it said was an ongoing build-up of Chinese forces and missiles in the area facing Taiwan. A potential military confrontation with Taiwan, and the prospect of US military intervention, remain the PLA’s most immediate military concerns,” the report said, referring to China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army.
See: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E77E81DA-436D-4BDE-9244-F1CAF710CA73.htm