U.S. journalists face trial

U.S. journalists face trial

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Thursday that two U.S. journalists arrested in the communist nation near its border with China two months ago will be put on trial June 4.

Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency gave no other details in its brief dispatch, including what charges they face. North Korean media previously have said that the two journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, are accused of illegal entry and unspecified “hostile” acts.

Under North Korea’s criminal code, conviction for illegal entry could mean up to three years in a labor camp.

Espionage or “hostility toward North Koreans” — possible crimes that could be considered “hostile acts” — could mean five to 10 years in prison, according to South Korean officials.

Pope pleads for peace

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Pope Benedict XVI made a powerful plea Wednesday for a Palestinian state, mixing prayer and politics at Jesus’ birthplace and expressing solidarity at a refugee camp with “all the homeless Palestinians who long to be able to return to their birthplace.”

At the Aida refugee camp, the pope spoke in the shadow of the massive concrete barrier that divides Israelis and Palestinians and urged both sides to resist the urge for revenge and find the courage needed for peace.

The high-profile visit provided a forum for Palestinians to vent their rage over the Israeli occupation, and Benedict said he understood their frustration.

But he urged young people in particular to “have the courage to resist any temptation to resort to acts of violence or terrorism,” his first mention of terrorism since he began his Middle East tour last Friday.

Pakistani officials claim progress in offensive

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Refugees fleeing Pakistan’s fight against the Taliban scuffled for relief supplies Wednesday as the military said it had secured footholds in a northwestern valley overrun by the insurgents.

The operations against Taliban militants in the Swat Valley area are shaping up as a major test of the Pakistani army’s often-questioned commitment to uprooting an insurgency that the U.S. says poses a threat to the existence of the nuclear-armed, pro-Western state.

The army claims to have killed more than 750 militants, but the fighting has also driven some 800,000 people from their homes, creating a humanitarian emergency that could undercut support for the fight among its people and politicians.

No more ‘erotic services’ offered on Craigslist

Bowing to public pressure from a nationwide cadre of law enforcement officials, Craigslist on Wednesday shuttered the “erotic services” section of its Web site and pledged to closely vet ads for massages, escorts and other adult services that fall short of prostitution.

Attorneys general credited the San Francisco company with making progress in trying to drive sex-for-sale activity from the online bazaar, where millions congregate daily to buy houses and haircuts, sofas and swim lessons.

They said that reducing the incidence of potentially illegal advertisements on such a popular Web site would create considerable obstacles for those looking to find or sell prostitution services.

Craigslist opened a new section called “adult services” and said its staff would review every classified listing before posting it. The price of adult ads will double from $5 to $10.

Ohio teen arrested in Tenn.

NORWALK, Ohio — Authorities say a missing 13-year-old boy who allegedly made threats against teachers and classmates has been arrested in Tennessee.

Dispatcher Doris Sowards of the Huron County sheriff’s office in Norwalk, about 50 miles west of Cleveland, says the boy was taken into custody Wednesday night in Dayton, Tenn. She says he is being held in a juvenile detention center.

Authorities investigating a missing-person report filed by his parents found a journal with the names of 33 classmates and teachers who were indirectly threatened. Huron County sheriff’s Capt. Ted Patrick says the threats were not specific.

Boat sinks; at least 10 die

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — A boat overloaded with around 30 people, possibly Haitians being smuggled to the U.S. from their desperately poor country, sank off the Florida coast early Wednesday, dropping the occupants into the sea. The Coast Guard rescued 17 and was searching for others but said at least 10 died, including one child.

Combined dispatches