Kyodo news summary -6-

TOKYO, March 7 Kyodo

---------- Beijing Olympics organizers dismiss London protests

BEIJING - Beijing Olympics organizers on Monday dismissed protests that dogged the Olympic torch relay in London over the weekend, saying such protests are doomed to failure.

Spokeswoman Wang Hui, speaking at a press conference in Beijing, said small numbers of Tibetan separatists were responsible for the protests in London aimed at ''sabotaging'' the torch relay.

---------- 63 of 69 applicants recognized as sufferers of A-bomb diseases

TOKYO - Japan's health ministry on Monday recognized 63 more people as sufferers of atomic bomb-related diseases and therefore as eligible for special medical benefits under a newly expanded set of criteria, the ministry said.

Out of all 69 applicants screened Monday, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare reserved a decision on the remaining six due to technical reasons, such as a deficiency in documentation.

---------- Kanagawa demands special panel to prevent crimes by U.S. soldiers

TOKYO - Kanagawa Gov. Shigefumi Matsuzawa petitioned the central government on Monday to set up a special panel under the Japan-U.S. Joint Committee to directly reflect the voices of base-hosting local authorities, in light of a series of serious crimes allegedly committed by U.S. servicemen recently.

But Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura took a cautious stance and was quoted by Matsuzawa as saying in talks in Tokyo that while the government will consider a dialogue channel, there will be ''difficulties'' in creating such a panel under the joint committee framework because it would involve both governments.

---------- Bombs explode in Nepal ahead of Constituent Assembly election

KATHMANDU - An explosion occurred Monday during an election rally organized by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's Nepali Congress party in a southern town, injuring 12 people, shortly after another blast in the capital Kathmandu, injuring one, just days ahead of a key Constituent Assembly election, police said.

Police said the later blast went off around 4 p.m. in the town of Birgunj during a Nepali Congress election rally. Four of the 12 people injured were in critical condition, they said.

---------- Taiwan vice president-elect announces plan to visit China this week

TAIPEI - Taiwan's Vice President-elect Vincent Siew on Monday announced plans to attend a forum in China later this week in what could be a chance for Siew to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao and begin fostering a fresh detente between traditional rivals Taiwan and China.

''We will use this forum as a platform for talks on cross-strait business ties and to convey our friendship and sincerity to the mainland,'' Siew told a Taipei press conference, referring to his upcoming attendance at the Boao Forum for Asia in China's southern island province of Hainan, from Friday through Sunday.

---------- Ratio of young married women with jobs rising

TOKYO - The ratio of married women in their late 20s and early 30s with jobs is rising, a government survey showed Monday, indicating that the recent increase in the number of women having babies at a later age is affecting the ratio.

According to the survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 50.7 percent of married women in their late 20s had jobs in 2007, up from 42.9 percent in 1997 and 38.9 percent in 1985, when the Equal Employment Opportunity Law was enforced.

---------- 4 bodies recovered from sunken boat off Aomori Pref.

AOMORI, Japan - The Japan Coast Guard on Monday recovered a body from a sunken scallop fishing boat in Mutsu Bay off Aomori Prefecture and another three bodies from the seabed around the vessel, coast guard officials said.

The coast guard believes the bodies are of four of the eight crew members aboard the 5.1-ton Nikko Maru that became unaccounted for on Saturday. Two of the eight were confirmed dead by Sunday.

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