2003.11.04

More Mad Cow (Kyodo)   Japan is going to have to face up to the facts that it has a big BSE problem. At first it tried to blame the problem on old cows imported from Britain in the 1980s -- then it was due to crushed bone meal feed from Italy brought into Japan in the 1990s. Well, fresh cases #8 and #9 are cows under two years old.   2003.11.04

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NEC to Release 10mm-thick, Card-Sized Mobile Phone Handset [Nikkei BP ] NEC plans to release the N900 GSM handset, initially in China, then SE Asia & Europe.   2003.11.04

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Korea-Base Soup (Stars & Stripes) South Korean police have arrested two men in connection with trading food leftovers from U.S. installations and using them for boodae chige -- literally, "base soup."     2003.11.04

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Top North Korean Defector Tells VOA Pyongyang's Problems Linked to Kim Jong Il [VOANews.com Headlines] In an interview with VOA, Hwang Jong Yop says Pyongyang would not dare to use weapons of mass destruction -- including nuclear weapons -- if the United States and other democratic nations show strong resolve to stage a decisive counter-attack.   2003.11.04

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Japan-Ship Fatalities A couple of fatal ship incidents in Japan today -- an explosion on a chemical tanker kills a Filipino in Hiroshima Prefecture and a tire fire aboard a cargo ship kills a Russian in Niigata.   2003.11.04

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Fresh optimism for Japan shares. [BBC News | Asia-Pacific | World Edition] Shares rise on encouraging economic data which could help the government's chances in Sunday's election.   2003.11.04

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Defector Says North's Kim Wants to Rule All Korea (Reuters). North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's biggest ambition is to rule over a unified, Communist Korea, the North's highest-ranking defector said in an interview published today.   2003.11.04

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N Korea nuclear plant under review. [BBC News | Asia-Pacific | World Edition] An international consortium may suspend a project to build a nuclear power station in North Korea.   2003.11.04

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Japan-Markets UPDATED After a three-day weekend, stock indexes roar -- Nikkei closes up 288 points. Dollar steady above 110 yen.   2003.11.04

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Party campaign strategies smack of desperation [The Japan Times] Candidates find unaffiliated voters in the capital are becoming less supportive of the LDP's traditional ploy of allocating a large portion of the national budget to public works projects in rural areas.   2003.11.04

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