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THE WORLD
Japanese maritime defense unit to fight piracy
TOKYO – The Japanese government is considering deploying the special boarding unit of the Maritime Self-Defense Force on MSDF destroyers should the vessels be dispatched to Somalia to protect Japan-related ships from pirates, according to sources.
Any pirates that committed serious crimes such as a murder on the Japan-related ships could be taken to Japan for indictment, the sources added.
The special boarding unit was started in 2001 after a North Korean spy ship violated Japanese waters in 1999. The unit would be deployed as the first line of defense against attacks by armed pirates in waters off Somalia.
After obtaining the ruling parties’ consent for operations by the MSDF in the waters off Somalia, the government would set guidelines for guarding vessels and dealing with pirates, as well as an operational code of conduct on weapons use, the sources said.
The government hopes to start MSDF operations off Somalia in late March, they added.
U.S. relations with world to improve under Obama
TOKYO – More people believe the United States’ relationship with other countries will improve under the new administration of Barack Obama than those who feel it will not change or get worse in each of 17 countries surveyed in a joint opinion poll conducted by the BBC, The Yomiuri Shimbun and other organizations.
The poll suggests that optimism is growing in the world over the administration of Obama, who is seeking to move the United States to a multilateralist stance away from the unilateralism of outgoing U.S. President George W. Bush.
The poll was conducted with 17,356 people in 17 countries, including Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States between November and January.
In Japan, 48 percent of respondents said they believed the U.S. relationship with the rest of the world would improve under Obama, which was the second-lowest among the 17 countries following Russia. Japan and Russia were the only countries in which the figure failed to reach 50 percent.
Gazans confront scenes of devastation and loss
BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip – Israel continued to pull its troops out of Gaza Monday, Jan. 19, as thousands of Palestinians confronted the wreckage the soldiers left behind: shattered lives, whole neighborhoods under rubble and an ever-rising death toll.
Israeli news media reported that Israel would withdraw all its troops before Barack Obama was sworn in as U.S. president on Tuesday. However, the first full day of a cease-fire was no consolation to Gazans still tallying their losses, such as the Soboh family, who buried a girl just 20 days old.
Baby Mariam caught a severe cold hours after she was born, when Israeli soldiers advanced on their village in northern Gaza and her family was forced to flee into the chilly night. Nearly a week passed before it was safe enough for her parents to take her to a doctor, but by then, her father said, it was too late.
NATIONAL
Laid-off workers face health insurance worries
DALLAS – For the second time in two years, Darrow Frazier is without health insurance. In 2006, the 42-year-old Irving, Texas, man was laid off as a project manager building railroad cars. In August, his employer reassigned him to be a contract employee, which doesn’t include benefits. Frazier, whose wife is not offered health insurance through her employer, is now nervous. He drives more cautiously, fearful of accidents.
“If my kid needs major surgery because something comes up, what do I do?” asks Frazier, father of an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old. “I basically go bankrupt.”
The country’s yearlong recession has led to a barrage of job losses. For many laid-off workers, it’s the first time they’ve had to confront a forced change to their health care coverage.
Obama sworn in as
president
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama, calling on Americans to embrace “a new era of responsibility,” delivered an inaugural address sober in its recognition of the crises confronting Americans yet soaring in its call to service.
Obama, sworn in Tuesday as the 44th president of the United States outside the Capitol before a crowd mostly filling the National Mall along its entire 1.9 miles, focused not only on the economic crisis but also a crisis of confidence that he said can be overcome only through a renewed national resolve for greatness.
“What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility,” Obama said in a long-anticipated and largely self-crafted inaugural address, “a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
LOCAL/BSU
Competition to get into colleges may be greater
FORT WORTH, Texas – People seeking new skills in a slow economy and a near record number of high school seniors are expected to make the competition fierce for coveted spots in U.S. colleges and universities in the fall.
Applications to elite private schools are expected to continue climbing. But university officials suspect that state schools in particular could see a spike in interest as some cash-strapped families look for tuition breaks. Even if students get into a desired school, they might not get into the programs they want.
“What this means to students is that it’s going to be more competitive to get into a state college than before,” said Kristen Campbell, director for college preparation programs for Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions in New York City.
The application process, which began in the fall with early admissions, is expected to peak in the coming weeks as essays, letters of recommendation, standardized test scores and synopses of extracurricular activities are compiled and sent.
Program helps high school students
More than 1,100 capable students are earning college credits this year while still enrolled in high school, thanks to Boise State University’s concurrent enrollment program. The program has grown 15 percent since last year, due to the increasing popularity of concurrent enrollment and $25,000 in scholarships that the university made available to students who could not otherwise afford the classes.
“Students are our future and this is an investment in our future,” said Fabiola Coca-Juarez, director for Boise State’s program. “We are helping them take advantage of this low-cost opportunity to earn valuable college credit and then encouraging them to continue their higher education.”
Students pay $65 per credit (less than a third of normal rates), meaning that a typical 3-4 credit class costs them $195-$260. But that can still be a financial burden for families. The scholarships were awarded based on financial need and helped pay the cost of one class per student per year.
“While 90 students were awarded a scholarship, there were more than 100 students who requested a payment plan so they could also participate,” Juarez-Coca said. “We are doing our best to make this program accessible to qualified, motivated students. “
WHAT THE?
You shouldn’t play with mommy’s toys
An 8-year-old boy’s grandmother brought him to the fire station in Portsmouth, England, to cut off a pair of handcuffs he had found in his mother’s bedroom. The woman told the firemen, “It’s beyond my wildest imagination why someone would keep handcuffs in their bedroom.”
You see, it seemed like a pretty good deal, officer
A woman reported to police in Murfreesboro, Tenn., that she allowed a man to borrow her car in exchange for $50 worth of crack cocaine. He promised to return the vehicle by 5 p.m. but failed to do so. She does not know his full name as he identified himself only as “G.”
Drinking won’t make it go away
Two men burglarized a home in Kitchener, Ontario, but were confronted by police as they were walking out the front door. So they ran back in, locked the doors and proceeded to drink all the homeowner’s booze.
