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Satellite launches Kazakhstan into elite club

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan - Ka-zakhstan sent its first satellite into space today, a step toward fulfilling the oil-rich ex-Soviet republic's ambitions to join the elite club of space-exploring nations.

The Central Asian nation of 15 million is home to the world's largest space center, the Baikonur cosmodrome.

It has been leasing the Soviet-built facility to Russia, but now Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev wants his nation to build its own space industry.

The Kazakh government's ambition is fueled by its post-Soviet economic success, pumped up by oil dollars.

Russian President Vladimir Putin joined Nazarbayev at Baikonur to watch the launch of KazSat 1 - a geostationary satellite designed to provide TV broadcast and communications for Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan - and part of Russia.

Next U.N. head should be an Asian, group says

ALMATY, Kazakhstan - An international forum including China and Russia expressed support Saturday for an Asian to be the next head of the United Nations.

The 18-member Conference on Interactions and Confidence Building Measures in Asia includes Egypt, Israel, Iran and Turkey and representatives from the Palestinian Authority.

The participants signed a declaration pledging to step up joint efforts to fight terrorism, organized crime, separatism and drug trafficking.

It also expressed support for U.N. reforms and the election of an Asian candidate as U.N. secretary-general.

Japan leads way to ease whale-hunting restrictions

FRIGATE BAY, St. Kitts - Japan readied a controversial proposal Saturday to pave the way to repeal a 20-year-old ban on commercial whaling at the International Whaling Commission's annual meeting.

A second plan would allow what Tokyo calls "traditional hunting" - which critics said was merely a guise to kill whales solely for commercial purposes.

U.S., Japan warn N. Korea against missile launch

TOKYO - The United States and Japan urged North Korea not to proceed with reported plans to test-fire a long-range Taepodong-2 missile that could reach the U.S. mainland, saying Saturday that a launch would be dangerous and provocative.

South Korean media reports said the North had loaded booster rockets onto a launch pad in preparation for the test.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer reiterated Washington's stance that the test would be a dangerous act that would hurt North Korean interests.

[Last modified June 18, 2006, 05:59:30]