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Economy, diplomacy on Obama's Asian agenda

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama makes his first trip as president to Asia Thursday, beginning an eight-day mission to four countries, beginning in Japan.

Before reaching Tokyo, Obama was to stop at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska, where he will meet with military personnel, the White House said.

In Tokyo, Obama will have several bilateral meetings with Yukio Hatoyama, Japan's new prime minister and leader of the Democratic Party of Japan.

"I believe the meeting will be a good one in the sense that he seems to have felt strongly that he must pick Japan as the first country of his visit to Asia," Hatoyama said in advance of the president's arrival. "I'm looking forward to it."

While economic issues likely will dominate discussions throughout Obama's trip to Asia, the White House also is looking to develop a relationship with the new Japanese government, meet with economic dynamo China and discuss resumption of talks on the denuclearization of North Korea, CNN reported.

After Japan, Obama will fly to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Singapore before traveling to China for stops in Shanghai and Beijing, the White House said.

Obama's final stop is Seoul, where he will meet with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and address U.S. troops at Osan Air Base.

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Clinton makes two-day visit to Philippines

MANILA, Philippines, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, visiting in Manila, Philippines, Thursday, said the Philippines-U.S. Visiting Forces Agreement aids both countries.

Clinton, making a two-day visit to the island nation, said the 10-year-old treaty is an "important expression of partnership," and is beneficial to both countries, particularly the Philippines, by providing disaster relief assistance and helping the cash-strapped military fight terrorism, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

"Let me say that the U.S. is committed to strong partnership and alliance with the Philippines and I'm here today to reaffirm that commitment," Clinton said. "The Visiting Forces Agreement is an important expression of that partnership based on mutual respect and mutual interest."

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo noted the pact was "working well" for the Philippines.

"In addition to assisting and advising, socio-civic and humanitarian aspect of the undertaking, the humanitarian aspect came out into the fore during typhoons Ketsana and Parma," Romulo said. "They deployed military personnel, equipment, helicopters, boats, forklifts and bulldozers to immediately assist our people."

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Police search for body in family sex ring

LEXINGTON, Mo., Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Officials are searching for at least one body in the case of five men arrested for committing sex crimes against children, Lexington, Mo., police said.

Lafayette County Sheriff Kerrick Alumbaugh said investigators are searching the Bates City property of Roland Neil Mohler, 47, saying officials think at least one body was hidden there, KSHB-TV, Kansas City, Mo., reported late Wednesday.

Investigators also are looking for a glass jar or jars that may be holding notes from the victims. Police said the suspects told the children to record their experiences, put the pieces of paper in jars then bury the jars to symbolize suppressing the memory, the television station reported.

Mohler is one of five men accused of sex crimes against children from 1988 to 1995. Mohler, his three brothers and their father were arrested Tuesday. Felony charges against the men include rape, use of a child in a sexual performance, forcible compulsion and sodomy.

The investigation involves several jurisdictions and stretched as far away as Lamoni, Iowa, where one of the suspects lived, police said. In her statement, one victims said she was forced to marry her uncle at least three times.

The victims are now in their 20s and 30s but were juveniles when the alleged crimes occurred.

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Japan drops charges in U.S. custody case

TOKYO, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Japanese authorities say they have officially dropped charges against a U.S. father for forcibly regaining custody of his two small children.

Christopher Savoie, 38, a Tennessee native and naturalized Japanese citizen, allegedly abducted 8-year-old Isaac and 6-year-old Rebecca as his ex-wife Noriko walked them to school on Sept. 28 in Yanagawa.

With the children in tow, Savoie was within steps of a U.S. consulate in Fukuoka where he hoped to get passports to return them to the United States when he was arrested.

The Savoies were living in Franklin, Tenn., when they were divorced and Noriko won custody of the children with the provision she remain in the United States.

When Savoie, who later won full custody, discovered his wife had returned to Japan with the children he gave chase. A U.S. arrest warrant was issued for Noriko but it was not recognized in Japan.

The prosecutor's office told CNN Savoie was released in October after promising not to take his children back to the United States "in this manner."

Savoie's current wife, Amy, said that her family has been ripped apart.

"Isaac and Rebecca had a very, very happy situation here in Tennessee," she said.

It was not clear what the next step would be. The couple were still considered married in Japan because they never divorced there, police said.

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Forbes magazine lists Obama most powerful

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama emerged as the world's most powerful man in Forbes magazine's assessment of the world's most powerful people released Thursday.

Other people making the eclectic list include Wal-Mart Chief Executive Officer Mike Duke at No. 8, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at No. 3, Pope Benedict XVI at No. 11, Mexican drug lord Joaquin Guzman at No. 41 and media personality Oprah Winfrey at No. 45.

In compiling its first World's Most Powerful People list, magazine editors asked whether a person has influence over lots of other people, reviewed the financial resources controlled by the individual and determined if the individual was powerful in multiple spheres, Forbes said.

The magazine listed 67 people, one for every 100 million people on the planet, saying, "This ranking is intended to be the beginning of a conversation, not the final word."

The Top 10 most powerful people are:

-- Obama

-- Chinese President Hu Jintao

-- Putin

-- U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke

-- Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page

-- Mexican telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim Helu

-- Media owner Rupert Murdoch

-- Duke

-- Saudi Arabian Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud

-- Microsoft founder Bill Gates