Payment ordered for Agent Orange

Seoul, South Korea A South Korean court today ordered two U.S. manufacturers of the defoliant Agent Orange to pay $62 million in medical compensation to South Korean veterans of the Vietnam War and their families.

The Seoul High Court ordered Dow Chemical in Midland, Mich., and Monsanto Company in St. Louis, Mo., to pay the compensation to about 6,800 people. It was the first time a South Korean court has ruled in favor of the victims.

More Ivorians fleeing, U.N. says

Abidjan, Ivory Coast The United Nations said Wednesday that thousands of refugees were without help after riots forced it to curtail operations in Ivory Coast.

Speaking as Ivory Coast’s new national unity government held its first Cabinet meeting, the U.N. also said that days of deadly of riots had created new refugees: 167 Ivorians who had crossed into neighboring Liberia.

“They were afraid of the violence going on. They were afraid of being killed. Some of them walked for days to Liberia,” said Annette Rehrl, a U.N. spokeswoman in Liberia.

Rioters in western Ivory Coast stole and burned massive amounts of food aid during the protests over a ruling by a U.N.-backed group mediating a years-long crisis in the divided West African nation. U.N staff left the region before the unrest ended Friday.

Rehrl said Wednesday that 10,000 refugees from Liberia, itself recovering from a civil war, were struggling in western Ivory Coast without aid from U.N. and other aid workers.

Bush congratulates new Canadian leader

Toronto President Bush telephoned Canada’s Prime Minister-designate Stephen Harper on Wednesday to congratulate him on his victory in parliamentary elections as ties between the world’s largest trading partners were expected to improve

The Conservative leader’s win in Monday’s vote ended nearly 13 years of Liberal Party rule that saw strained U.S.-Canadian relations as outgoing Prime Minister Paul Martin and his predecessor, Jean Chretien, opposed the war in Iraq and other Bush administration positions.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush congratulated Harper, but he declined to be more specific about the conversation when asked if the two leaders discussed any specifics such as the new leader’s campaign positions on strengthening the military or re-examining Canada’s position on the Kyoto Protocol on limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

Chemical lab blast Injures at least 22

Jakarta, Indonesia A powerful explosion tore through a chemical laboratory in Indonesia’s capital today, ripping the roof off a nearby school building and injuring at least 22 people, officials said.

The wounded were mostly students who were taking a morning test in the school, officials said. Witnesses said at least three classrooms were destroyed.

The accidental blast was triggered by chemicals stored in the laboratory, which is located on the grounds of the country’s Food and Drug Agency, Jakarta police chief Maj. Firman Gani said. The explosion also wrecked the laboratory.