U.S. to deploy Patriot missiles

The U.S. plans to deploy advanced Patriot interceptor missiles in Japan by the end of the year, a Japanese newspaper reported today, amid concerns that North Korea may be about to test-fire a long-range ballistic missile.

The U.S. government notified Tokyo earlier this month that it will deploy Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles – designed to intercept ballistic missiles, cruise missiles or aircraft – on its own bases in Japan for the first time, Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported.

The U.S. military would deploy three or four batteries of the surface-to-air missiles on the southern island of Okinawa, where it also plans to send an additional 500-600 troops, Yomiuri said, quoting an unidentified government officials.

Tokyo is expected to accept the plan, which was proposed by U.S. officials during a June 17 meeting in Hawaii.

ISTANBUL, Turkey

Resort explosion kills 3 tourists

An explosion in the Turkish Mediterranean resort town of Antalya on Sunday killed three foreign tourists and a Turk and injured about 25 people, a local official said.

Initial assessments indicated the blast was caused by an exploding gas canister at a restaurant.

The dead were a Russian, a Norwegian, a Hungarian and a Turkish waiter at the restaurant where the explosion occurred, Dayioglu said. The restaurant was near a waterfall in the tourist area called Manavgat.

Kurdish guerrillas, who have been fighting for autonomy in Turkey since 1984, have claimed responsibility for numerous attacks recently and have repeatedly vowed to target Turkey’s tourism industry.

TEHRAN, Iran

Nuclear incentives are being studied

Iran said Sunday it was seriously considering incentives to halt its nuclear program and that the United States and other nations should be patient about getting a response.

Meanwhile, the oil minister warned again that petroleum- rich Iran could disrupt the world’s supply if the standoff led to open conflict.

That would drive oil prices above $100 a barrel, he said.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters that specialized committees in key state agencies were studying the nuclear incentives offered June 6 by the United States, Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany.

BEIJING

Flash flooding leaves 11 dead

Flash flooding caused by torrential rain in south China’s Hunan province killed 11 people and left 15 missing, the official Xinhua News Agency said Monday.

Some 10 inches of rain fell Sunday on Hunan’s Longhui county, prompting the floods and mudslides, which toppled at least 15 houses, Xinhua said.