Global briefs
VATICAN: A mother who refused cancer treatment and died so that her fourth child could be born has been elevated to sainthood in a move seen as a statement from the Vatican against the legalisation of abortion.* * * JAPAN: Japanese police arrested 740 US soldiers stationed in Japan on criminal charges between 1995 and 2003. The number of arrests in Okinawa during the eight years was 354. This was followed by 123 arrests in Nagasaki Prefecture where the US Sasebo Naval Base is located. Japanese Communist Party member Akamine Seiken told a House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee meeting in April that the Japan-US Status of Forces Agreement must be revised in order to help prevent crimes by US military personnel.* * * SAUDI ARABIA: A company run by Osama bin Laden's family, the Saudi Binladin Group, has been short listed to construct the world's tallest building in Dubai.* * * SOUTH KOREA: Opposition to a government decision to send troops grows stronger as evidence of the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US army continues to surface. According to latest polls 64 per cent of respondents believe the government should call off the troops dispatch, up from 52 percent a month earlier. The percentage of those who believe the government should abide by its commitment to sending the troops fell to 30 percent from 39 percent.* * * VENEZUELA: United States President George Bush should kneel before Pope John Paul and ask for forgiveness for abuses committed by US soldiers in Iraq, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said last week. President Chavez urged Bush to use his planned visit to the Vatican on June 4 to announce the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. "Even though he is not a Catholic, he should ask God's forgiveness at the Vatican, go down on his knees in front of the Pope and ask for the forgiveness of the world, not just the Iraqi people", Chavez told a news conference in Caracas. Over the last few months, Chavez has repeatedly condemned Bush for waging war in Iraq. He called the US President a "jerk" earlier this year and accused his administration of seeking to topple him.* * * HAITI: US Marines invaded the home of renowned entertainer and community leader Annette Auguste after midnight May 9, arresting and detaining everyone present including four great- grandchildren, TransAfrica Media said, citing reports from Haiti. Ms Auguste, known as So Ann, was interrogated throughout the night without counsel or anyone else present. The others were released. TransAfrica believes Ms Auguste was arrested because "she is a prominent leader of Haitians who understand and object that the right-wing elite has returned to Haiti behind the guns of convicted criminals and death squad thugs, with the blessing of their right-wing allies here in the United States."