NoKor Missile: Japan's prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, says if North Korea test launches a long-range missile, Tokyo will respond with "stern action."
Mr. Koizumi vows there will be "serious consequences" if North Korea carries out a missile test, as has been rumored for several days. He did not discuss any details, but said (today / Monday that) Japan would consult with the United States before taking any action against Pyongyang.
The prime minister says he is hopeful the missile test will not go ahead, This, despite reports from (unidentified) U.S. officials who say fuel has been loaded onto a long-range ballistic missile on a North Korean launch pad -- a strong indication that a test might be imminent.
Saddam Trial: Prosecutors in Iraq have asked for the death penalty for ousted President Saddam Hussein and two of his co-defendants.
Saddam and seven co-defendants are on trial for the massacre of 148 Shi'ites in the town of Dujail in the 1980s. During closing arguments today (Monday) in Baghdad, prosecutors asked that Saddam, his half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, and former Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan be sentenced to death.
Burma Suu Kyi: Supporters of Burma's detained democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, are marking her 61st birthday today (Monday) with rallies in Rangoon and other parts of the world to demand her freedom from house arrest.
Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (N.L.D.) party held a Buddhist prayer vigil at its headquarters in Rangoon. Around 200 party activists chanted slogans calling on Burma's military rulers to release her.
Burmese security personnel kept an eye on the N.L.D. gathering from across the street. Police set up barricades around Aung San Suu Kyi's lakeside house and stopped traffic from passing nearby.
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