GOP address warns of more economy perils
WASHINGTON, April 3 (UPI) -- Republicans predicted Saturday that President Obama's healthcare plan and proposed banking reforms would deal a death blow to U.S. businesses.
The GOP's weekly radio address dismissed the report of 160,000 new jobs created in March and warned that Obama and the rival Democrats were pushing a "job-killing" agenda.
Political analysts told The Hill that the address indicated the Republicans were remaining focused on high unemployment in the run-up to the November congressional elections.
"Americans are rightfully asking, 'Where are the jobs? Why is Washington raising taxes in times of recession? Doesn't anyone care about us?'" said Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who delivered the address.
McCarthy said healthcare reform would mean tax hikes while proposed regulatory changes in the financial sector would provide "permanent Wall Street bailouts" and give the government too much say.
"Under his plan, unelected Washington bureaucrats would be granted virtually unlimited power to pick winners and losers – and hardworking American taxpayers would pick up the tab for the reckless decisions made by irresponsible bankers," he warned.
S. Korea, China, Japan plan summit
SEOUL, April 3 (UPI) -- High-ranking officials from South Korea, Japan and China have met to work out details for their annual three-way summit, South Korea's foreign ministry says.
The meeting between South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Young-joon and his counterparts from China and Japan took place Friday on the southern resort island of Jeju, the Yonhap News Agency reported. The South Korean island is expected to be the venue for the summit, tentatively scheduled for May.
Besides the summit, topics for the talks included efforts to bring North Korea back to the six-party nuclear disarmament talks, regional and international concerns and ways to promote cooperation, Yonhap reported.
The six-party talks involved both Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia, and are designed to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program.
Bodies of 2 S. Korea sailors recovered
SEOUL, April 3 (UPI) -- The bodies of two crew members of a fishing boat that sank in the Yellow Sea with nine sailors aboard were recovered Saturday, South Korea's coast guard said.
The vessel went down late Friday while searching for clues to last week's explosion that sank the South Korean navy ship Cheonan, the Yonhap News agency reported. The fate of the other seven seamen who had been aboard the Kumyang 98 was unknown, the South Korean news agency said.
Yonhap said authorities Saturday detained a Cambodian-registered freighter, the Taiyo-1, to question its crew and check for signs of a collision.
"The captain did not admit to a collision, but conceded he felt some kind of impact," a South Korean officer told Yonhap.
The South Korean coast guard was employing helicopters and patrol boats to search for the missing Kumyang 98 crew members. Three vessels from the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries also were aiding the search.
The hull of the fishing boat was recovered.
20 dead in Peru mudslide
LIMA, April 3 (UPI) -- A mudslide slammed into a Peruvian village, killing at least 20 people and leaving another 25 missing, officials say.
The BBC reported Saturday that in addition to those killed Friday, 50 people were injured and at least 120 homes had been damaged or destroyed in the small village of Ambo in central Peru's Huanuco region. The British broadcaster said heavy rains had caused a small lake on a mountain above the village to overflown into a ravine.
Civil Defense official Hipolito Cruchaga said emergency teams had reach the scene and aid was being dispensed to those left homeless.
Another mudslide killed five people Thursday in Cancejos, Peru.
