Japan’s Prime Minister refuses hostage-taker demands
The Washington Post reported Oct. 31 that Junichiro Koizumi, the prime minister of Japan, is refusing to yield to demands that Japan withdraw support for the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. Since the kidnapping and beheading of 24-year-old Japanese tourist Shosei Koda in Iraq, politicians opposed to Koizumi have argued that the mission of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces in Iraq should not be extended. “If the SDF were not dispatched, the incident would not have occurred,” the head of Japan’s Democratic Party, Katsuya Okada, said. Koizumi, however, told reporters, “We cannot lose to terrorism; we must not yield to brute force. I believe we should continue to support the Iraqi people’s effort to rebuild their country.”Halliburton accused of wrongdoing
The New York Times reported Oct. 31 that Halliburton, the oil conglomerate formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, is being charged with price gouging and improperly influencing contracts. Bunnatine Greenhouse, the chief contracting officer for the Army Corps of Engineers, is levying the informal charges. Greenhouse says that after she repeatedly questioned the ethics of the corporation, she was excluded from decision-making. The FBI is currently investigating whether or not the Pentagon awarded no-bid contracts to the company.

Delta Pilots take price cut
Forbes magazine reported that Delta pilots will take a 32.5 percent pay cut, saving the company over $1 billion. That reduction will come from pilots’ annual salaries. The pilots’ union began voting Nov. 1 on the proposal. The cuts, however, may not be enough to prevent the company from filing for bankruptcy. Since 2001, Delta has lost over $6 billion and cut 16,000 jobs. The company plans on cutting 7,000 more jobs over the next 18 months. Delta also reported a $651 million loss this past quarter.

Space Shuttles to take flight in 2005
NASA announced on its Web site Oct. 29 that it would resume the space program in the summer of 2005 with the spaceship Discovery. NASA officials consider it important to future development to resume flying out into space. The crew will consist of nine astronauts: seven from the United States, one from Australia, and one from Japan. The commander will be Eileen Collins of the United States.

O’Reilly, producer settle sexual harassment case out of court
CNN reported Oct. 28 that Fox News host Bill O’Reilly has reached an out-of-court settlement with the producer who accused him of sexual harassment. The producer, Andrea Mackris, alleged that O’Reilly had called her and asked her to indulge with him in sexual fantasies. She reportedly asked for $60 million, but the actual value of the settlement was not released to the press. O’Reilly stated, “Out of respect for their families and privacy, all parties and their representatives have agreed that all information relating to the cases shall remain confidential.