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 Oct 1, 2013
Germany admits chemical exports to Assad in '11
The German government admits it had approved as recently as 2011 the export to Syria of chemicals that could be weaponized, and in larger quantities than previously known.
World Sep 30, 2013
Chemical inspectors detail Syria arms plan
Syria's government has been "businesslike and efficient" ahead of meetings this week to lay the groundwork for the destruction of the country's chemical weapons, officials charged with overseeing the effort said say.
World Sep 29, 2013
U.N. secretary-general holds first meeting with Syrian opposition chief
U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon held his first meeting Saturday with the head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition in a bid to press for a Syria peace conference. The meeting is likely to infuriate President Bashar Assad’s government, which routinely calls the coalition and ...
World Sep 28, 2013
U.N. passes resolution on Syrian chemicals
The U.N. Security Council approves an ambitious plan for Syria to surrender its chemical arms but does not spell out penalties if Damascus fails to comply.
World Sep 27, 2013
U.N. Security Council resolution deal reached on Syria chemical weapons
The five permanent members of the deeply divided U.N. Security Council reached agreement Thursday on a resolution to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal, British and U.S. diplomats said, and the full council was set to discuss later Thursday night. The agreement represents a major ...
World Sep 22, 2013
Russia may alter support if it sees cheating on pact
Russia may change its position on Syria if it sees any “cheating” by the regime, a senior Kremlin official said Saturday after Damascus disclosed details of its chemical stockpile in the first step of a disarmament plan. “I am speaking theoretically and hypothetically, but ...
World Sep 21, 2013
Sarin victims face 'slow death' as regime blocks aid
by Loveday Morris and Taylor Luck
A month after rockets carrying chemical payloads rained down on the suburbs of Damascus, doctors say hundreds are still suffering the ill effects of sarin poisoning. But the horror of the gas attack is being overtaken by continuing shelling and airstrikes, as well as ...
World Sep 21, 2013
Syria submits chemical arms data to watchdog
The world's chemical weapons watchdog begins examining the details of Syria's chemical arsenal while rebels agree to a cease-fire with jihadists in a key town.
World Sep 19, 2013
Assad denies link to chemical attack
Syrian President Bashar Assad says a U.N. report finding “clear and convincing evidence” that sarin nerve gas was used in Syria painted an “unrealistic” account, and he denied his government orchestrated the attack. In an interview with Fox News Channel conducted in Damascus and ...
World Sep 19, 2013
Syrian crisis exposes Obama's frayed ties with U.S. military
The Syrian crisis over the past few weeks has thrust President Barack Obama into a role in which at times he has seemed uneasy: that of commander in chief. The prospect of an attack to punish Syria’s alleged use of chemical weapons exposed the ...
World Sep 16, 2013
Syrian deaths rise amid talks
As negotiations to avert a U.S. strike against Syria ramped up last week, so, too, did the action on the ground. Warplanes dropped bombs over far-flung Syrian towns that hadn’t seen airstrikes in weeks, government forces went on the attack in the hotly contested ...
World Sep 15, 2013
Iraq, Libya loom over quest to rid nation of chemical arms
by Joby Warrick
When Moammar Gadhafi renounced chemical weapons in 2003, the Libyan dictator surprised skeptics by moving quickly to eliminate his country’s toxic arsenal. He signed international treaties, built a disposal facility and allowed inspectors to oversee the destruction of tons of mustard gas. But Gadhafi’s ...