ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 18, 1997 TAG: 9702180094
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
U.S. likely to keep troops in Okinawa
TOKYO - Any reduction of the unpopular U.S. military presence on Okinawa is impossible for now because of instability on the Korean Peninsula, NHK television quoted Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto as saying Monday.
Hashimoto made the assessment during a private meeting Monday with Okinawa's Gov. Masahide Ota, who has been pushing for sharp cuts in U.S. troops on the strategic island.
Tension between the Koreas has grown since last week's defection of Hwang Jang Yop, a confidant of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
- Associated Press
Pakistan picks new prime minister
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Lawmakers sealed the political defeat of Benazir Bhutto on Monday, giving her longtime nemesis an overwhelming vote of confidence and making him prime minister.
Bhutto, who has sought to rule Pakistan for much of the past decade, received only 16 votes in a secret ballot, compared to 177 won by Nawaz Sharif of the centrist Pakistan Muslim League.
Sharif, who served as prime minister from 1990 to 1993, returned to power in a solemn ceremony at the presidential palace. He was sworn in as the 13th prime minister since Pakistan's independence from Britain a half-century ago.
He adopted a conciliatory tone and promised to better the lives of Pakistan's impoverished people.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Short : 37 linesby CNB