World News: China would allow a united Korea, claims WikiLeaks

Leaked US diplomatic cables show China's frustration with communist ally North Korea and speculate Beijing would accept a future Korean peninsula unified under South Korean rule, according to the documents released by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks.

The memos posted online by media organisations indicate the enormous import American and South Korean diplomats place on China's attitude toward the future survival of the isolated and impoverished hard-line communist regime in Pyongyang.

The release of the documents follows new tensions in the region, with the North last week unleashing an artillery barrage on a South Korean island that killed four people.

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The regime also warned that joint US-South Korean naval drills this week had pushed the peninsula to the "brink of war".

China "would be comfortable with a reunified Korea controlled by Seoul and anchored to the US in a 'benign alliance' as long as Korea was not hostile towards China", then-South Korean vice-foreign minister Chun Yung-woo, is quoted as telling US ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens.

Worker, 100, in shop wrangle

US police said a 100-year-old employee at a Walmart store was pushed by a customer after the centenarian tried to stop the woman to determine if she had paid for items that were in the lower part of her shopping trolley.

Lois Speelman said she was bruised but expects to go back to work on Thursday.

Gay Kenyans fear arrest

An official with Kenya's largest gay rights organisation said there is panic among its members following remarks made by Kenya's prime minister that homosexuals should be arrested.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga's spokesman said that the leader was quoted out of context.

Haiti general election 'valid'

Haiti's general election on Sunday was valid despite "serious irregularities", international observers have said.

The joint mission from the Organisation of American States and the Caribbean regional grouping Caricom said delays at some polling stations were not reason enough to cancel the election.

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Most opposition presidential candidates had called for the vote to be annulled because of the alleged vote-rigging.

Disney 'slammed' Depp role

Johnny Depp's portrayal of Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean was good enough for an Oscar nomination, but the star said Disney was not impressed.

Depp said Disney "couldn't stand" his Sparrow and one person at the company even asked if his character was gay.

Hostages are freed at US high school

United States: A 15-year-old student armed with a handgun held nearly two dozen students and a teacher hostage in a high school in Wisconsin for about five hours before shooting himself when police broke into the classroom, authorities said.

No other injuries were reported.

Japan: A 6.9-magnitude earthquake has hit Tokyo swaying large buildings in the centre. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

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