A Japanese court on Friday upheld the death sentence of a chemist convicted for leading a doomsday group’s efforts to develop nerve gas used in a 1995 attack on the Tokyo subways that killed 12 people, a court official said. The Tokyo High Court turned down the appeal filed by Masami Tsuchiya, 41, a court spokeswoman said. Tsuchiya in January 2004 became the 11th member of the Aum Shinrikyo cult to be sentenced to death for the attack.
Costa Rica: Israel embassy to move
Costa Rica has said it will move its embassy in Israel from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv but El Salvador said it will stay, making it the only remaining country with an embassy in Jerusalem. President Oscar Arias said the move was needed to bring the Central American nation into line with international law and mend relations with Arab nations. Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital, but most nations don’t formally recognize that claim. Hours later, the Foreign Ministry of El Salvador said it would keep its embassy in Jerusalem.
Bosnia-Herzegovina: Mass grave
The bodies of more than 1,000 victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre have been exhumed from the largest mass grave found to date in Bosnia-Herzegovina, forensic experts said Thursday. Experts began digging in June near the eastern Bosnian village of Kamenica, close to the border with Serbia, where they have found eight other mass graves. The team has exhumed 144 complete and 1,009 partial skeletons. “This is the largest mass grave so far found,” the head of the forensics team said.
Congo: U.N. prostitution charges
The United Nations said Thursday it is looking into allegations that U.N. peacekeepers in Congo have been paying women for sex. U.N. officials said they had received reports of a prostitution ring involving minors operating outside military bases in South Kivu province. Some of the prostitutes reported that U.N. staff were among their clients, a statement said. Past cases of sexual abuse have also been reported at U.N. peacekeeping missions in Bosnia, Kosovo, Cambodia, East Timor and West Africa.
From Herald news services
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