1 crewman found after Japan crash dies
TOKYO -- One of two crew members recovered after two U.S. warplanes collided and crashed off Japan's coast early Thursday is dead and five others remain missing, the U.S. military said.
The Marine Corps said the other recovered crew member was in fair condition.
It said an F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet and a KC-130 Hercules refueling aircraft collided about 2 a.m. during training after taking off from their base in Iwakuni, near Hiroshima.
The crash took place 200 miles off the coast, according to the U.S. military. Japanese officials said it occurred closer to the coast, about 60 miles, and that's where the search-and-rescue mission found the two crew members.
President Donald Trump tweeted on Thursday that his thoughts and prayers are with the Marine Corps crew members involved in the collision.
Israel seeks more Hezbollah penalties
JERUSALEM -- Israel's prime minister on Thursday asked the international community to impose additional sanctions on Hezbollah and condemn the Lebanese militant group in response to the discovery of tunnels stretching from southern Lebanon into northern Israel.
Stepping up an international pressure campaign against Hezbollah, Israel also hosted the commander of a U.N. peacekeeping force, showing him one of the tunnels and urging the force to take action across the border.
The Israeli military this week began an open-ended operation meant to expose and thwart what it says are tunnels built by the Lebanese militant group aimed at infiltrating Israel. The two sides are bitter enemies and fought an inconclusive monthlong war in 2006.
Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, toured the operation's area Thursday with some foreign ambassadors.
"I told the ambassadors that they need to unequivocally condemn this aggression against us by Iran, by Hezbollah and by Hamas, and of course, to also strengthen the sanctions against these elements," Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu also said he will demand the U.N. Security Council discuss the matter.
In New York, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Maj. Gen. Stefano Del Col, commander of the U.N.'s peacekeeping force in Lebanon, confirmed the existence of the tunnel during an inspection and promised to pursue "urgent follow-up action." He also said the U.N. force will share its findings with the "appropriate authorities" in Lebanon.
Philippines accuses U.S. priest of abuse
MANILA, Philippines -- Philippine immigration authorities say they have arrested an American Roman Catholic priest accused of sexually assaulting altar boys in a remote central town in a case one official described as "shocking and appalling."
Immigration bureau spokesman Dana Sandoval said Thursday that the Rev. Kenneth Bernard Hendricks, who has been indicted in Ohio on accusations of illicit sexual conduct in the Philippines, was arrested in a church in Naval town on the island province of Biliran.
Each count is punishable with up to 30 years in prison, U.S. Attorney Benjamin Glassman said Thursday morning at a news conference in Cincinnati.
An Ohio court had issued a warrant for the arrest of Hendricks, 77, who has been living in the Philippines for 37 years, Sandoval said, adding that the U.S. criminal case stemmed from complaints from Filipino children that they were victimized in the Philippines.
The suspect is accused of abusing mostly altar boys in Naval, in 50 counts of molestation in his residence in a case that's "both shocking and appalling," Sandoval said.
Glassman said 10 victims have come forward with their statements.
Glassman said that he wants to prosecute the case in Ohio, but his office is still coordinating with Philippine officials to determine which jurisdiction will proceed first.
Assange urged to exit Ecuador Embassy
QUITO, Ecuador -- Ecuador's president has ramped up pressure on Julian Assange to leave his country's embassy in London, saying that Britain had provided sufficient guarantees that the WikiLeaks founder won't be extradited to face the death penalty abroad.
"The road is clear for Mr. Assange to take the decision to leave," Lenin Moreno said in a radio interview Thursday.
Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy since 2012, when he was granted asylum while facing allegations of sex crimes in Sweden that he said were a guise to extradite him to the U.S.
Mounting tensions have drawn Moreno closer to the position of Britain, which for years has said it is barred by law from extraditing suspects to any jurisdiction where they would face capital punishment.
But nothing is preventing it from extraditing him to the U.S. if prosecutors there were to pledge not to seek the death penalty.
A Section on 12/07/2018