World in brief: U.S. to prosecute 4 Marines for rape
The U.S. military will court-martial four Marines in Japan for the alleged rape of a Japanese woman, a Marine Corps official said today.
The general courts-martial will begin next month, said Master Gunnery Sgt. John Cordero of the Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni in southern Japan.
The four Marines – accused of an attack on a 19-year-old woman in October – were charged by the military in December.
Japanese authorities investigated the incident but local prosecutors dropped the case in November.
Officials refused to provide reasons for not pursuing prosecution.
The decision to court-martial them followed preliminary hearings last month, according to Cordero.
The move came as anger has risen on the southern island of Okinawa over the arrest in February of another serviceman on suspicion of raping a 14-year-old girl.
Japanese authorities dropped that case after the girl withdrew her complaint, but the U.S. military is still investigating.
Beijing
Bus hijacking ends with tourists safe
A man armed with explosives hijacked a bus carrying Australian tourists Wednesday in the historic city of Xian, a rare act of violence against foreign visitors to China. The man negotiated for nearly three hours until police shot him dead as he headed toward the airport, Chinese and Australian officials said.
The 10 hostages and their Chinese interpreter were unharmed, according to Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith.
The incident came at a sensitive time as China prepares to welcome up to half a million visitors for the Beijing Olympic Games in August. Chinese authorities have repeatedly pledged that people attending the Games will be safe.
The official New China News Agency identified the hijacker as Xia Tao. It described him as a worker from Xian but did not mention his motives.
Xian, 600 miles southwest of Beijing, was an ancient imperial capital. More recently, it has become well known as the home of the terra cotta army – thousands of life-size figures of warriors and horses that were buried near the tomb of an ancient emperor – and draws tourists from around the world.