EAST ASIA

U.S. DESTROYER PATROLLING SEA OF JAPAN

TOKYO – Amid heightened concerns of a North Korean missile test, an American destroyer has started patrolling the Sea of Japan in what officials say is a first step toward creating a shield to protect America and its allies from a foreign missile attack.

Navy officials confirmed that the Curtis Wilbur, one of three ships in the American 7th Fleet tasked with the patrols, left its base just south of Tokyo early last week. They refused to comment on details of the destroyer’s mission for security reasons. But the navy secretary, Gordon England, said in March that the patrols would begin October 1,and fleet officials confirmed that there has been no change in the schedule.

The other two destroyers assigned to the mission remain in port at Yokosuka Naval Base, the fleet’s home. The patrols are an initial step toward fulfilling a promise President Bush made two years ago to erect a ballistic missile shield that would protect America, its allies,` and its troops abroad from attack.

Mr. Bush cleared the way for the system by withdrawing from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which banned ship-based missile defenses. He’s called the plan one of his administration’s top priorities. Critics, however, say such a shield would be too complex to be effective. It’s estimated to cost $51 billion over the next five years.

– Associated Press

EASTERN EUROPE

OPPOSITION WILL LIKELY WIN SLOVENIAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

Slovenia’s prime minister, Anton Rop, conceded defeat after preliminary results showed the center-right opposition winning yesterday’s parliamentary elections, putting it in power for the first time since the country’s 1991 independence. Janez Jansa’s Slovene Democratic Party held 29% of the vote, six percentage points ahead of Mr. Rop’s Liberal Democratic Party, with just over half the vote counted. Some 1.6 million voters were eligible to cast ballots in 3,400 polling stations across the country.

Mr. Rop’s center-left party has ruled for all but a few months since the former Yugoslav republic gained independence. The party’s crowning achievement came earlier this year when the country joined the European Union and NATO.

The coalition of Social Democrats, traditionally allied with the Social Democrats, finished in third place with about 10% of the vote.

– Associated Press

SOUTHEAST ASIA

INDONESIA’S YUDHOYONO WINS ELECTION

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Former general, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, will be inaugurated as Indonesia’s sixth president on October 20 after winning a landslide victory in the country’s first-ever direct presidential election, the Election Commission said today.

A running tally of votes from the September 20 election has shown Mr. Yudhoyono with a strong lead over President Megawati for more than a week, but both candidates have declined to acknowledge the results ahead of an official announcement. Election Commission spokeswoman Valina Singka Subekti said official final results from 31 of 32 provinces in the vast archipelago nation showed Mr. Yudhoyono with a lead of 24 million votes.

“SBY has definitely won,” Mr. Subekti said, referring to Mr. Yudhoyono by his initials as most Indonesians do.

An official announcement of the election results was expected later today, a day ahead of schedule, Mr. Subekti said.

– Associated Press

PERSIAN GULF

IRAN’S PARLIAMENT IMPEACHES TRANSPORTATION MINISTER

TEHRAN, Iran – In the latest blow to the administration of the reformist President Khatami, Iran’s conservative-dominated Parliament impeached the transportation minister yesterday, accusing him of financial mismanagement and a shady aviation deal.

After several hours of debate, 188 legislators voted to strip Ahmad Khorram of his Cabinet post. Fifty-eight voted in his favor and nine abstained. Conservative lawmakers raised loud cheers of “Allahu akbar” or “God is great.”

A senior conservative lawmaker and former deputy foreign minister, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, said the vote was Parliament’s “show of strength.” The conservatives accused Mr. Khorram of financial mismanagement and of jeopardizing Iran’s security by signing a deal with TAV, a Turkish-Austrian aviation consortium, to operate at the new Imam Khomeini International Airport on the outskirts of Tehran.

Hard-liners in Parliament believe the contract compromised Iran’s security and aviation systems. Iranian armed forces, controlled by hard-liners, accused TAV of having links with Israel, Iran’s arch foe.

– Associated Press