The U.S. hopes Rwanda will help facilitate the transfer of Congolese rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda from the U.S. Embassy in Kigali to the airport for a flight to the ICC in the Netherlands, the top U.S. State Department official on Africa, Johnnie Carson, said Wednesday.

"We hope that the Rwandan government will do its part," Carson said in a telephone press conference from Washington. "It is a small but significant part to ensure that Bosco Ntaganda is able to move freely from the American embassy compound to the airport where he will board a plane and go to The Hague."

Carson said it's important that Ntaganda's movement from the embassy to the airport "in no way be inhibited."

Carson also indicated that Rwanda hasn't yet assured cooperation with ICC officials en route to Rwanda. He noted that Rwanda, like the United States, is not a signatory to the Rome Statute that created the ICC and is not bound by international obligations to hand Ntaganda to the ICC.

Rwanda's foreign minister, Louise Mushikiwabo, implicitly criticized the ICC on Twitter on Sunday that "Rwanda believes in justice, not judicial colonialism," in response to a question from the head of Human Rights Watch on whether Rwanda would commit to sending Ntaganda to the court's headquarters in The Hague.

A spokesman for the ICC, Fadi El Abdallah, said the ICC is "contacting authorities in Rwanda and the Americans in order to check how we can get him as soon as possible." He wouldn't elaborate on the nature of the contacts.

Ntaganda's reputation for ruthless methods in the battlefield acquired him the nickname "The Terminator," and his ICC arrest warrant describes how Ntaganda would not hesitate to shell villages with heavy artillery before launching an attack in which his men would kill people with machetes, knifes and rifles.

Those who recently fought alongside him say Ntaganda fled Congo over the weekend after his men lost a key battle against fighters who split off last month from his M23 rebel movement.

"Ntaganda's self-surrender at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali was a surprising end to a saga of conflict, human rights abuses, and blatant disregard for his ICC arrest warrant by (Congolese) officials for many years. It is very significant in terms of a victory for individual rights," said Laura Seay, a Congo expert at Morehouse University in Atlanta.

Having Ntaganda on the stand, though, could pose problems for Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Seay said. Kagame won't want Ntaganda, who was born in Rwanda, to reveal the details of security arrangements and illicit mineral extraction deals between Congo and Rwanda, she said.

Congo has been wracked by warfare for years, and Carson noted that some experts indicate 5 million people have died in violence. Women suffer from mass rapes and children are forced to become soldiers.

But even with Ntaganda out of the picture, peace in eastern Congo remains a long way off. The victorious M23 faction of Gen. Sultani Makenga has lost little strength in the fighting with Ntaganda's faction, and troop morale is high after defeating one of the most feared warlords in Africa. Makenga himself does not have an international arrest warrant against him, but is under United Nations sanctions and has a track record of similar crimes to those committed by Ntaganda.

"It is an interesting development for peace in eastern Congo," said Marc-Andr Lagrange, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group. "A warlord is leaving, but it doesn't mean that he won't be replaced. Makenga has exactly the same connections in minerals trafficking and so on. A warlord is merely being replaced by another."

Carson said the next 48 hours are critical for Ntaganda's situation. Carson said Ntaganda moved across the border from eastern Congo to Rwanda late on March 14 or early on March 15 with 500 to 700 of his fighters.

"We then found Mr. Ntaganda coming to our embassy. We did not encourage him, we did not know his whereabouts," Carson said. "I suspect he may have come because he knows we are a symbol of fairness and justice and integrity in these kinds of processes but I can't tell you because I don't know and can't read his mind."

Carson said the situation with Ntaganda is an opportunity for progress to be made in the battle against impunity for atrocities and crimes against humanity.

___

Associated Press writer Melanie Gouby reported from Goma, Congo. Mike Corder contributed from The Hague, Netherlands.

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When the undefeated Dominican Republic plays Puerto Rico on Tuesday night in a rematch only three days after they last met in Miami, two island countries with years of baseball success will give the world another version of a Caribbean championship.

"Whoever wins the Classic is really the Caribbeans," Dominican manager Tony Pena said after his team's 4-1 win against the Netherlands on Monday. "It could be Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic, but it will belong to the Caribbeans."

Tuesday's winner will earn the distinction of world champion for the first time in the three-event history of the WBC.

Fernando Rodney surprised his teammates in the middle of the game when he pulled out a lucky plantain, sent from a family member back home in the Dominican just in time for Monday's semifinal.

The quirky Tampa Bay closer sure found the perfect motivational prop.

Late lineup addition Moises Sierra hit a tying RBI double in the fifth and Jose Reyes added a go-ahead single two batters later as the spirited Dominicans reached the WBC final and avenged an early exit at the hands of the Dutch in the last Classic four years ago.

The banana will be around for another day.

"Keep it, why not?" winning pitcher Edinson Volquez said. "It's like we have this one mission as a team, winning and winning."

Edwin Encarnacion had an RBI single as the undefeated Dominicans survived a rocky start from Volquez, who benefited from Sierra's catch over the left-field wall in foul territory to end a first-inning threat.

The Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico will play for a third time this tournament after the Dominicans (7-0) won Saturday in Miami before each club flew West.

One will get to throw quite a party.

Puerto Rico eliminated two-time defending Classic champion Japan 3-1 on Sunday night. Rodney finished Monday's game for his sixth save as dozens of seagulls swirled right above the field.

"The platano said, 'If you keep me close to you, you're going to get the win,'" Rodney joked after briefly putting it on display during pregame introductions.

Players rushed out of the dugout as fans chanted "Dominicana! Dominicana!"

This time, the Dominicans didn't let the Netherlands interfere with their road to the WBC championship.

They were still fuming four years after the Netherlands beat them twice in the 2009 WBC's first round for a stunning early exit. They were a pair of one-run games played in San Juan, Puerto Rico, including an 11-inning victory in an elimination contest.

"We kept it in the past," Volquez said. "We're just focused on our game."

And Pena certainly didn't mind Rodney's spontaneous dugout contribution.

"In a game like this, you have to have a little bit of fun and find a way to loosen up," the skipper said. "I'm glad he did it."

Former Oakland and San Francisco shortstop Miguel Tejada earned a start at third base and singled twice and scored a run. He drew cheers from the Bay Area fans during pregame introductions.

Andruw Jones hit a two-out single in the fourth for the first Dutch hit against Volquez, who yielded Wladimir Balentien's first-inning RBI groundout before settling in to earn the win.

Carlos Santana hit a one-out double in the fifth and Sierra followed with an RBI double as the Dominicans tied the game at 1 and later chased Netherlands starter Diegomar Markwell.

The Dutch lefty, who came in at a 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA in his two previous WBC outings, didn't allow a runner past first base through four innings. But his pitch count quickly went up in a four-run fifth as the Dominicans tagged him for five hits, so that was it considering the WBC pitch limit is 95.

Tom Stuifbergen replaced Markwell with two outs in the fifth and threw a wild pitch on his first offering to Robinson Cano, allowing Reyes to score from third for an insurance run.

Cano batting 15 for 29 (.517) this tournament with two home runs, six RBIs, five runs scored and two doubles went 1 for 2 with two intentional walks.

The second baseman and Yankees star made a pretty stop on Roger Bernadina's sharp grounder in the sixth in which he lunged left then spun and threw to first.

Now, Netherlands manager Hensley Meulens will head back to the Arizona desert for his other gig: hitting coach of the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants. The Dutch-born Meulens' mother is Dominican, so he had fans on both sides for this one.

About half of the Dutch roster is from Holland and the others from his native island of Curacao. He warned his team that the Dominicans had all the big names and the major league experience, but not to let it affect the Dutch doing what got them this far: playing solid, fundamental baseball.

"I'm proud of our guys," Meulens said. "I thanked them for playing with a lot of heart."

This game drew only 27,527, compared to 33,363 a night earlier as Japan went down to the surprising Puerto Ricans.

While hardly as festive without the favored Japanese, some sections of fans stayed on their feet and danced to music and the beat of drums and horns. One man cheered "Let's go Giants!" in the top of the fourth inning.

Volquez, the Dominican right-hander, had a pair of walks and a wild pitch with two mound visits by Santana, the catcher through the first two batters of the game.

He threw nine balls among his first 11 pitches, but got out of it with minimal damage after allowing Balentien's run-scoring grounder. And the Dominican Republic's reliable bullpen did the rest.

Pena made a lineup switch after consulting with his coaches, going with Sierra in left field and in the No. 8 hole instead of the slumping Ricardo Nanita.

On a night countryman Felipe Alou threw out the ceremonial first pitch to get things started, the Dominicans got it done for their baseball-crazed homeland.

"Of course when you're representing your country and you're making your country proud, that's amazing. That's awesome," Volquez said. "It's not something that you can do every day."

Perry agreed to an eight-year, $69 million contract extension with the Ducks on Monday night, keeping the former NHL MVP with the club through the 2020-21 NHL season.

Perry's new deal is the same length as the extension signed by Getzlaf earlier this month the longest contracts allowed under the NHL's new collective bargaining agreement. Just 10 days after Anaheim signed Getzlaf to a $66 million extension, Ducks owner Henry Samueli signed another enormous check for Perry, the goal-scoring beneficiary of Getzlaf's playmaking.

"It's a huge relief," Perry said during the second intermission of Anaheim's 5-3 victory over San Jose. "There were a lot of factors. How the team is playing right now. With Getzy signed, that's a huge part of it. You look around the room, there's a lot of guys in that dressing room that are going to be here for a long time, and we can definitely contend every year."

Perry and Getzlaf came into the NHL together and have played on the same line for nearly every game of their careers, winning the Stanley Cup in 2007 and earning Olympic gold medals for Canada together in 2010. Both forwards were scheduled to be unrestricted free agents this summer, but both decided Anaheim has the ingredients to be a title contender for years to come and the lifestyle in sunny Orange County doesn't exactly hurt, either.

"We've been through a lot of things together," Perry said. "We're great friends off the ice, and on the ice, he's been there every game I've played. It's an exciting time for both of us."

Perry wasn't in uniform for the Ducks on Monday night while he served the third game of a four-game suspension for an illegal hit on Minnesota's Jason Zucker.

The new deals for Getzlaf and Perry should be a major boost to the Ducks, who have the NHL's second-best record at 21-3-4 after beating the Sharks for their club-record 12th straight home victory. Perry's impending free agency could have forced Anaheim to consider trading its top goal-scorer to avoid losing him for nothing, but the Ducks now have their two cornerstones signed for the foreseeable future.

"That's a big step in the right direction for this organization," Getzlaf said. "Me and Perrs had some conversations in the last week, and the free agency thing is a route that some guys like to go, but we're in a pretty good situation here with a great ownership group, and we both showed that now."

When Getzlaf reached his new deal earlier this month, he immediately called Perry to lobby for a quick decision by his teammate. The forwards had discussed their futures repeatedly in recent months and when Perry closed in on his own deal late Sunday night, he called Getzlaf to let him know.

Perry was named league MVP in 2011, when he won the Richard Trophy as the NHL's top goal-scorer with his first 50-goal season. The physical forward has 453 points in 555 games with the Ducks.

Anaheim general manager Bob Murray said before the season that he was determined to sign both players while keeping enough room under the salary cap to contend. After a few tense weeks, he got it done and he insists the huge deals won't hamper the Ducks' ability to maneuver.

"When you've got two elite players like this, two winners, and you know they're winners, God forbid they get away, or one gets away," Murray said. "They're here, they're going to be here, and we've got something to build around and move toward our goal to win another Stanley Cup."

Perry set career highs with 50 goals and 98 points during his MVP season, but he has been a remarkably consistent NHL scorer while playing a physical game with a mean streak.

He has scored at least 27 goals in each of the past five seasons, getting at least 60 points in each of the past four. Perry has scored 96 goals since the start of the 2010-11 NHL season, second only to Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos' 126 during that time.

Perry is the Ducks' second-leading scorer behind Getzlaf this season with 24 points in 25 games, including nine goals even while spending much of the year wondering about his future.

"Obviously, definitely, it's always on your mind," he said. "You can sit and wait and maybe be traded and then go to free agency. All of that weighs on your mind, but I tried to keep it out and just play hockey. It's a weight off your shoulders that you don't have to think about it anymore."

Perry and Getzlaf were drafted together in the first round in 2003 and broke into the NHL together during the 2005-06 season. Perry, a three-time All-Star, is the third-leading goal-scorer in Ducks franchise history and fourth in scoring, trailing only Teemu Selanne, Paul Kariya and Getzlaf.

"This is where I wanted to be," Perry said. "This is where I want to finish my career. I've made a home out here. Being out here, it's a great organization. It's definitely a class act for everybody involved."

Fewer Americans sought unemployment aid last week, reducing the average number of weekly applications last month to a five-year low. The Labor Department said Thursday that applications fell by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 332,000. That reduced the four-week average to the lowest level since the week of March 8, 2008, three months after the Great Recession began.

The drop helped propel the Dow Jones industrial average to its tenth straight sessions of gains. That hasn't happened since 1996.

Mitul Kotecha of Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong said U.S. industrial production figures and other data to be released later Friday are expected to show additional signs of recovery in the world's No. 1 economy. Hope for the U.S. economy offsets worries about Europe's recession and debt woes and a brewing budget battle in Washington over automatic spending cuts, also known as sequestration in government circles.

"The trend of improving U.S. data is continuing. It's impressive it is taking place despite the drag of the sequestration and the worries about the eurozone. It shows the market is overlooking some of these concerns and looking at growth," said Mitul Kotecha of Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 1.1 percent to 12,512.23 after both houses of parliament endorsed Haruhiko Kurodo, the current president of the Asia Development Bank, to head the Bank of Japan. The vote allows Kuroda to stand in for current Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa after he steps down on March 19. Another vote is required to make Kuroda's appointment permanent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.6 percent to 22,761.33. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.6 percent to 5,089.40. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, mainland China and Indonesia also rose. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.7 percent to 1,989.26. Benchmarks in the Philippines and Malaysia also fell.

The Dow rose 0.6 percent to close at 14,539.14. The S&P 500 index gained 0.6 percent to 1,563.23. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.4 percent to 3,258.93.In addition to positive jobs data, record corporate profits and reassurances from Federal Reserve officials that they plan to keep interests rates at historically low levels have also helped push stocks higher.

Among individual stocks, Petrochina Ltd., China's biggest oil and gas producer, was flat after Italian oil producer ENI said it sold a 20 percent stake in a gas field in Mozambique to the Hong Kong-listed company for $4.2 billion.

Benchmark oil for April delivery was up 26 cents to $93.29 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 51 cents to close at $93.03 per barrel on the Nymex on Thursday.

In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3023 from $1.3000 late Thursday in New York. The dollar rose to 96.11 yen from 96.02 yen.

___

Follow Pamela Sampson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelasampson

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