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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The EU should hold the line.We are a peace movement and not a war movement.” Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger, initially holding back an EU decision to lift

the arms embargo on

the Syrian opposition before later relenting Article, 1AJapan mayor: Sorry for U.S. sex advice

TOKYO - An outspoken Japanese politician apologized Monday for saying U.S.

troops should patronize adult entertainment businesses as a way to reduce sex crimes, but defended another inflammatory remark about Japan’s use of sex slaves before and during World War II.

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, co-leader of an emerging nationalist party, said his remarks two weeks ago rose from a “sense of crisis” about cases of sexual assaults by U.S. military personnel on Japanese civilians in Okinawa, where a large number of U.S. troops are based under a bilateral security treaty.

Hashimoto also said he had not tried to condone a system of so-called comfort women, but meant to say military authorities at the time not only in Japan but also in many other countries considered it necessary.

He denied any intention to avoid Japan’s responsibility over its wartime actions, adding he wanted to shed light on sex offenses in the battlefield and encourage open debate on the problem today.

Rebel ambush kills 7 Philippine police

MANILA, Philippines - Communist guerrillas set off a roadside bomb and opened fire on a truck carrying police in the northern Philippines on Monday, killing seven and wounding seven officers.

The members of the elite police Special Action Force were en route to a hospital for a regular medical test when the rebels, hiding in the bush along the road, detonated the explosive device and sprayed the vehicle with gunfire, said the regional police director, Chief Superintendent Rodrigo de Gracia.

De Garcia said the police commandos returned fire but were overpowered by the rebels, who later fled with weapons from the slain officers.

The seven wounded managed to escape on foot and were rescued by government troops in the Ballesteros Municipal Hospital in Cagayan province.

Troops set up roadblocks and dispatched reinforcements to track down the assailants, police spokesman Generoso Cerbo said in Manila.

Chile, Argentina go to volcanic red alert

SANTIAGO, Chile - Chilean and Argentine officials issued a red alert on Monday for the Copahue volcano on the border with Argentina, which has become increasingly active.

Chile’s Interior and Security Minister Andres Chadwick said the increased activity could lead to an eruption and officials will soon begin evacuating 2,240 people, or 460 families, in a 15.5 mile radius.

“This evacuation is obligatory. It’s not voluntary,” Chadwick told reporters.

Chile’s Emergency Office says the evacuation could last about 48 hours but could be delayed because of heavy rains.

The nearly 10,000-foot volcano sits in the Andes cordillera, straddling the border with Argentina’s Neuquen province.

Argentine officials raised their alert level to red Monday afternoon because of higher seismic activity and ordered the evacuation of about 600 people from the town of Caviahue.