A Finnish UN worker accused of killing an East Timorese woman in a hit-and-run traffic accident has left the country, a UN police spokesman has said. The man, whose name was not released, did not attend a hearing in the capital, Dili, on January 10, UN civilian police spokesman Antero Lopes said.He said police received reports from residents that the Finn, a border official working for the international administration, left the country on December 21."We were told he had a party at the airport before he went," said Lopes.The Finn was accused of striking and killing a 72-year-old East Timorese woman who was riding on a motorbike in Dili on October 21. He continued driving and was picked up by police 15 minutes later.After an investigation, the UN administration waived his diplomatic immunity and confiscated his passport.It was the first time diplomatic immunity for a UN official in East Timor had been lifted.Police say they believe the man left East Timor after the UN judicial affairs department returned his passport.An official from the judicial affairs department said she was not able to comment on the case as it was still under investigation.. Rescuers dug away at tons of mud and rubble in Indonesia's North Sulawesi province today trying to find survivors of five devastating landslides that have killed more than 30 people. Rescuers dug away at tons of mud and rubble in Indonesia's North Sulawesi province today trying to find survivors of five devastating landslides that have killed more than 30 people. Villagers joined forces with police and soldiers working only with hoes and spades in villages on Sangir Besar island, 1,350 miles northeast of Jakarta.The slides hit the island late on Saturday after more than four days of heavy seasonal rain.Thirty-four bodies have been unearthed so far, said police Maj Ruslan Aspan.

At least two more people are missing, he added.Jakarta's Kompas newspaper said officials feared the death toll could reach 53.Yesterday, relief workers found a man alive after he had been half-buried by mud for more than two days in Likuang village, Aspan said.Rescue efforts in the area have been hampered by destroyed bridges and blocked roads and much-needed heavy equipment had not reached the worst hit areas, Aspan said.Flooding and landslides coinciding with monsoon rains killed more than 200 people in Indonesia at the end of last year.Government officials and environmentalists say deforestation by timber-cutting logging concerns and villagers needing firewood has contributed to the disasters..

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Indonesia and Brazil have agreed to create a partnership with East Timor to help the devastated territory become a viable nation. Indonesia and Brazil have agreed to create a partnership with East Timor to help the devastated territory become a viable nation. "We are absolutely ready to cooperate in order to give East Timor better conditions for the reconstruction of the nation, for reconciliation," visiting Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso said at a joint news conference with his Indonesian host.Yesterday, Cardoso visited East Timor. Brazil has contributed troops to the UN peacekeeping force serving there.East Timor was a Portuguese colony for 300 years before the Indonesian invasion. Many East Timorese people still speak Portuguese and authorities are considering making it the national language. As the world's largest Portuguese-speaking country, Brazil has been asked to provide expertise and language teachers.Indonesia occupied the province in 1975 and ruled it until 1999 when its people voted overwhelmingly for freedom in a UN-sponsored referendum.

As Indonesia pulled out, its army and pro-Jakarta militia gangs devastated East Timor and killed hundreds of people."I agree that East Timor, Indonesia and Brazil will cooperate on how to help East Timor be a modern society in the future," said Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid."We discussed the fact that there is a need for a triangle, an allowable menage a trois," the Indonesian leader said.The two countries also have agreed to boost bilateral ties, particularly in the fields of agriculture and defence.Cardoso said Brazil's successful plane manufacturer Embraer could possibly cooperate with Indonesia's state-owned and troubled aerospace company, Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara, which is anxious to enlist a foreign partner to revive its production of light transports.Indonesia also is trying to diversify purchases of military equipment after its traditional supplier, the United States, imposed an arms embargo during the 1999 East Timor crisis. Brazil is a major exporter of weapons.After his talks with Wahid, Cardoso - who is winding up a tour of Asian countries - met with Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri and representatives of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.He was due to leave Indonesia later today.. Japan's top economic planner has resigned to take responsibility for an influence-peddling scandal that threatens to drag down Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's already-low approval ratings. Japan's top economic planner has resigned to take responsibility for an influence-peddling scandal that threatens to drag down Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's already-low approval ratings. Fukushiro Nukaga, state minister for the economy, industry and information technology, became the third Cabinet minister to quit in disgrace since Mori took over as prime minister in April.Speculation that Nukaga would step down had been mounting since he admitted late last month that he had received political contributions from a small-business organization whose founder is suspected of spending heavily to buy favors from the country's ruling Liberal Democratic Party.Last week another ruling-party lawmaker was arrested for allegedly accepting bribes from the organization to make comments on its behalf in Parliament. Japanese news media have reported that other prominent politicians may have been on the take.Nukaga, 57, denied he was asked for political favors and said he returned the contributions - which totaled 15 million yen ($129,000) - shortly after receiving them.He said he decided to step down anyway to prevent the allegations against him from casting a shadow over Parliament when it convenes at the end of this month to discuss measures to revive Japan's ailing economy.Nukaga's resignation was a serious setback for the unpopular Mori. Besides raising the question of the prime minister's responsibility for appointing Nukaga, the scandal has spotlighted the murky subject of money politics in Japan - especially the collusive relations between the pro-business LDP and its corporate backers.That's the last thing the government wants voters to focus on with key elections to the upper house of Parliament just six months away."It's really damaging to Mr Mori," said Shigenori Okazaki, a political analyst at UBS Warburg Dillon Read.