Japan rebuff

Japan faces a humiliating rebuff at the 39-nation Kyoto whaling conference, which looks certain to uphold an eight-year-old global ban on commercial whaling, Reuter reports from Kyoto. To make matters worse for the hosts, the International Whaling Commission was also poised to dash Tokyo's hope of a compromise deal that would have let its hard-pressed industry catch 50 minke whales annually in coastal waters.