But the Paris-based United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has recently criticized China for not taking care of its world heritage sites.Beijing has also been pressuring local governments to reduce staff and turn some functions over to enterprises in an effort to reduce costs and rid the economy of the last vestiges of central planning.. An American university teacher was stabbed to death at a Christian youth meeting in central China by an attacker police described as emotionally disturbed, the US Embassy said today. An American university teacher was stabbed to death at a Christian youth meeting in central China by an attacker police described as emotionally disturbed, the US Embassy said today. Bruce Emerson Morrison, an instructor at the Hubei Institute of Technology in Wuhan city, was attending the meeting on Saturday afternoon when he was stabbed in the stomach, said the embassy. He died later Saturday after being taken to a Wuhan hospital, a local newspaper, the Changjiang Daily, reported on Sunday.The embassy said Morrison was a 37-year-old native of New Orleans, Louisiana. An embassy spokesman, citing privacy rules, refused to provide other details about Morrison and whether he had any family in China.Morrison's alleged attacker, Gong Zhili, was being held by police, who called him a "known schizophrenic," the embassy said The Changjiang Daily reported that Gong was a Christian. It was not known if the two men knew each other.Officials with Wuhan police and the city's information office declined comment.Although violent crime is on the rise in China, attacks on foreigners remain rare and are severely punished. In the most shocking case in recent years, four unemployed men were executed in September for murdering a German auto executive, his wife and two teen-age children in a robbery..

At least six people were killed today during street protests in Dhaka, Bangladesh, against the arrest of Islamic clerics implicated in the mob slaying of a policeman last weekend, domestic news agencies reported. At least six people were killed today during street protests in Dhaka, Bangladesh, against the arrest of Islamic clerics implicated in the mob slaying of a policeman last weekend, domestic news agencies reported. The deaths follow a call by the country's top opposition alliance for a nationwide general strike on tomorrow to protest the Islamic clerics' arrest.The four-party alliance at a meeting today also demanded the immediate release of the 67 people implicated in the case, including two leaders of radical Islamic groups. The alliance claimed the arrests were politically motivated.Led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, the alliance blamed the government for using the policeman's death to discredit the opposition.Police arrested Azizul Huq, leader of Islamic Oikya Jote, and Fazlul Huq Amini, head of the Committee to Implement Islamic Laws, along with 65 of their followers for the policeman's murder last Saturday. The accused have denied the charge.The Islamic Oikya Jote is part of the opposition alliance that has been campaigning to oust Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government.Policeman Badsha Mia, a 48-year-old father of six, was killed Saturday after Islamic activists attacked a police patrol near a mosque at Dhaka's Mohammadpur area. The mob dragged Mia into the mosque and then beat him to death with wooden shoe racks.At a protest meeting against the killing yesterday, governing Awami League politicians accused the clerics of using religion to create anarchy and said the opposition was supporting them.. The US Marines' top officer in Japan has apologized for an e-mail in which he allegedly called government officials on the island of Okinawa "a bunch of wimps".

The US Marines' top officer in Japan has apologized for an e-mail in which he allegedly called government officials on the island of Okinawa "a bunch of wimps". News of the errant e-mail emerged in today's edition of the Ryukyu Shimpo newspaper, the largest circulation daily in Okinawa According to the newspaper, Lt Gen. Earl Hailston sent the e-mail on January 23 to his staff, and called the officials "nuts and a bunch of wimps".Hailston was reportedly reacting to Okinawan leaders' handling of a recent political uproar over crimes alledgedly committed by Marines on the island.Capt. Tanya Murnock, a spokeswoman for the Marines on Okinawa, refused to confirm the wording in the e-mail, saying it was meant to be read only by Hailston's staff.But Kiyoshi Yamazato, a spokesman for the prefectural (state) government, said that Hailston called on Gov Keiichi Inamine Tuesday, confirmed the contents of the e-mail and apologized.Hailston, in a statement, said he has only respect and admiration for local officials."If my remarks in the e-mail are construed as suggesting anything else, then I am deeply sorry and apologize for the misunderstanding," he said.Inamine told reporters he realized the e-mail was supposed to remain private."Nonetheless, I personally find it very disconcerting," he said.Japan's defense minister, Toshitsugu Saito, also said he found the e-mail "regrettable."Under a mutual security treaty between Japan and the United States, about 47,000 US military service people are stationed in Japan. Nearly two-thirds of them are on Okinawa, which is 1,000 miles southwest of Tokyo.Relations between the Japanese government and the US military on Okinawa are often tense.A recent string of crimes involving US troops prompted Okinawa legislators last month to adopt a resolution asking the United States to cut its military presence on the islands and to do more to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.Murnock said she didn't know how the e-mail ended up in the hands of newspaper reporters..