Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
World Topics
Politics & Diplomacy Oct 1, 2013
Turkey to end ban on wearing headscarves in public offices
Turkey on Monday announced it will lift a ban on women wearing headscarves in most public offices, following other measures critics say are aimed at the Islamization of the staunchly secular country. In a major speech to introduce political reforms, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ...
Crime Oct 1, 2013
Italian court in Knox trial gives OK for new DNA tests
The Florence Appellate Court hearing U.S. student Amanda Knox’s third trial in her roommate’s murder agrees Monday to run additional DNA tests on the presumed weapon, but rejects more than a dozen other defense requests for new testimony or evidence.
Politics & Diplomacy Oct 1, 2013
Republican protests, Democrats' silence spell doom for Clinton film
Following protests by Republican rivals, an Oscar-winning filmmaker has dropped plans to make a documentary about Hillary Rodham Clinton, and a planned TV miniseries about her has also been scrapped. Charles Ferguson, who was making the film for CNN, faced criticism from the GOP ...
Politics & Diplomacy Oct 1, 2013
Greek premier vows to eradicate neo-Nazi party
Greece’s prime minister said Monday his government will do “whatever it takes” to completely eradicate the extreme-right Golden Dawn party, whose neo-Nazi leaders have just been arrested. Antonis Samaras said the Greek people “are very smart” and are now seeing the party for what ...
Offbeat Oct 1, 2013
Police search for NYC parachutists
Security videotape shows two daredevils dressed in black floating in parachutes from a height of about 40 stories before landing on a street near the World Trade Center and disappearing into the night, police said Monday. Investigators were studying that video and other footage ...
Crime Oct 1, 2013
U.S. execution plan hurting hospitals
Hundreds of anesthesiologists on Monday urged the state of Missouri not to use propofol in an upcoming execution, saying the fallout could jeopardize the availability of the anesthetic relied on by thousands of U.S. hospitals and clinics. The Missouri Society of Anesthesiologists’ statement followed ...
Science & Health Oct 1, 2013
'Night owl' brains tied to depression
They say the early bird catches the worm, but “night owls” may be missing far more than just a tasty snack. Researchers have discovered evidence of structural brain differences that distinguish early risers from people who like to stay up late. The differences might ...
Social Issues Oct 1, 2013
World is not ready for rapidly aging population, global study finds
The world is aging so fast that most countries are not prepared to support their swelling numbers of elderly people, according to a global study going out Tuesday by the United Nations and an elder rights group.
World | ANALYSIS Sep 30, 2013
Kenyan attack aids president's stature, leeway
by Jean Marc Mojon
Until the Nairobi mall carnage, Uhuru Kenyatta was a beleaguered and divisive president. But his own bereavement and new clothes as commander in chief have earned him fresh support — and, some say, a “get out of jail free card” for the International Criminal ...
Offbeat Sep 30, 2013
Student eating way through college
A U.S. university student is eating his way through school — competitively. Computer engineering student Eric Dahl now ranks third in the world of competitive eating as determined by All Pro Eating rankings. Dahl has earned more than $18,000 in prize money or merchandise ...
Science & Health | Focus Sep 30, 2013
Law may lead to disparities
by Zachary A. Goldfarb
Half a century ago, the creation of Medicare and Medicaid was a triumph of American egalitarianism. Within a decade, the United States went from a country where 1 in 3 people lacked health insurance to a nation where just 1 in 10 went without ...
World Sep 30, 2013
Scholars shed light on 'Jerusalem of the North'
Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, was once a thriving Jewish cultural hub before Nazi Germany wiped out the “Jerusalem of the North” and killed off most of the country’s Jews. Now individuals and state institutions alike are trying to revive the memory of this Jewish heritage ...