Koreans to be returned from island

Around 4,000 ethnic Koreans living on the island of Sakhalin in far eastern Russia will be allowed to return to South Korea, Japanese and South Korean officials said. Japan, which brought thousands of Koreans to Sakhalin during the World War II as forced labourers, will pay some C$2.9million for the repatriation, ITAR-TASS news agency quoted officials as saying.

Idols reined

“American Idol”-type singing contests struck a sour note with China’s television authorities, who limited the length the shows can run to a 10-week maximum. The decision followed complaints in the Chinese media that many of the programs extend their runs to make more money from voting, which has dominated TV ratings.

Missile plan

China has demanded the United States scrap a planned sale of hundreds of missiles to Taiwan, warning the deal would harm regional stability and bilateral ties. The US Department of Defense this week notified Congress that it plans to sell Taiwan C$495 million worth of missiles, which would help boost the island’s defenses.
 

Judges jailed

Three former senior judges in southern China’s Guangdong Province have been convicted of corruption and imprisoned while a former top official of the same court is still being investigated. The trio were given prison sentences after a closed-door trial. China has investigated more than 6,660 government officials on this case.

Martyrs recognized

Pope Benedict XVI will beatify next month 188 Catholics who were martyred in various parts of Japan in the early 17th century, a Vatican diplomatic source was quoted as saying in the media. Many of the saints and the blessed in Japan were clerics in Nagasaki, which was a port city open to foreign traders in Japan.