Today's News..

1. The leading presidential contenders of the Grand National Party denied various allegations surrounding them yesterday during the Party's unprecedented in-house hearings of the candidates..

2. President Roh Moo-hyun ramarks that the armistice agreement should be replaced with a formal peace treaty, along with the pursuit of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula in order to establish peace in the region..

3. Lobor-management negotiations at the E-land Group ended in failure yesterday. The possibility of using police to forcefully end the sit-in strike of unionized workers has heightened..

4. Japan has warned the U.S. House of Representatives that a resolution on comfort women, if passed, will almost certainly have lasting and harmful effects on Tokyo-Washington ties..

5. A steam pipeline exploded in Manhattan yesterday, sparking panic among evening rush hour commuters and rekindling memories of the 911 attacks..


Natural gas deal sealed by Turkey and Iran..

Turkey and Iran have signed a MOU agreement last week to pump Iranian gas to Europe via Turkey, a new route that will enable Iran to get its massive natural gas reserves to big consuming countries in Europe. US sanctioins on Iran prevents Tehran from easy access to the necessary technology to cool gas into liquid so it can be transported by ship. Right aftere the agreement, last Monday U.S. criticeized the deal, claiming that it is not wise to put trust in Iran as a source of energy when it is under sacntions over its nuclear program. On Tuesday a counter comment came from Turkish Prime minister. Brushing aside US criticism that the Islamic republic is not reliable, he said "Iran made us an attractive offer. Should we not think of our country's interests at this point?"


Death sentences on medics commuted..

Libyan authorities have commuted the death sentences on six foreign medics after a multimillion dollar compensation deal. The six, a Palestinian doctor and five Bulgarian nurses, have been in prison since 1999 and under sentence of death since 2004 for allegedly infecting 438 children with AIDS virus. The medics could serve out their sentences in Bulgaria, as the two countries have an extradition treaty and the Palestinian was recently granted Bulgarian citizenship. Foreign authorities commended the mediation role undertaken by the Gaddafi Development Foundation..


From Morning Special..