Kyodo news summary -4-

TOKYO, April 16 Kyodo

---------- Bus accident in India kills 44, mostly schoolchildren

NEW DELHI - At least 44 people, most of them children on their way to school, were killed when a bus fell into a canal in India's western state of Gujarat on Wednesday, the Press Trust of India reported.

The report quoted local officials as saying the bus fell into an 18-meter-deep canal at Bodeli village in Vadodara district, at around 6:30 a.m. after the driver lost control over the vehicle.

---------- Indian police detain Tibetans over attempt to storm Chinese Embassy

NEW DELHI - Some 60 Tibetans were detained by Indian police Wednesday after they attempted to storm the Chinese Embassy ahead of the Olympic torch relay here Thursday, the Press Trust of India reported.

Waving Tibetan flags, wearing ''Free Tibet'' headbands and shouting anti-China slogans, the protestors tried to break through a security cordon around the embassy, and clashed with police and paramilitary personnel in the process, PTI quoted police as saying.

---------- Suspect in Fukuoka stabbing attacked person who 'happened to be there'

FUKUOKA - A 22-year-old man arrested Tuesday on suspicion of killing a 78-year-old woman in Fukuoka the previous day has told police he attacked a person ''who happened to be there,'' investigative sources said Wednesday.

Suguru Noji, arrested on suspicion of murder-robbery and possession of a knife in violation of the firearm and sword control law, has also admitted he stabbed another woman, 31, in the city on March 25, the sources said.

---------- High court rejects Iranian man's plea for political refugee status

TOKYO - The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday overturned a lower court ruling and rejected a 39-year-old Iranian man's request to be allowed to stay in Japan as a refugee for fear of persecution in his home country.

Presiding Judge Nahomi Ichimiya said, ''The man worked to improve the working conditions of foreign workers in Japan but did not engage in activities against the Iranian government that could cause him to be persecuted in Iran so he cannot be considered a refugee.''

---------- Nigeria overtakes Indonesia as No. 1 pirate haven

KUALA LUMPUR - For the first time in a decade, Nigeria has overtaken Indonesia for the dubious title as the No. 1 hotspot for shipping piracy, the International Maritime Bureau said in a report released Wednesday.

In the first quarter of 2008, the IMB's Kuala Lumpur-based Piracy Reporting Center has received 10 cases of piracy attacks in Nigerian waters, about one-fifth of the total of 49 cases reported worldwide during the January-March period.

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