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ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 17, 2015

Former senior provincial official in China to be punished in graft case

China will prosecute a former senior provincial official suspected of crimes such as breaking the strict family planning laws, graft and abuse of power, the government said Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 17, 2015

Komeito urges Abe to retain remorse for 'aggression' in WWII statement

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's statement to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II should retain wording from past apologies, according to a high-ranking Komeito official.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 17, 2015

Iran denies report Khamenei replied to Obama letter on Islamic State

Iran has denied a Wall Street Journal report that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently responded to a letter sent in October by U.S. President Barack Obama suggesting cooperation with Iran in fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
WORLD
Feb 17, 2015

Britain's GCHQ spy agency deploys armed guards for first time

Britain's GCHQ eavesdropping agency has for the first time deployed armed police guards in front of its headquarters outside London, a spokeswoman said Monday, citing the heightened risk of an attack by militants.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 17, 2015

How two small rocks stop Japan and South Korea from getting along

They were once a source of fortune for Japanese fishermen hunting sea lions and abalone, but now the pair of remote rocks in the Sea of Japan are preventing Japan and South Korea from getting along.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 17, 2015

Prostitutes in Strauss-Kahn sex trial withdraw damages claim

Lawyers for the four prostitutes who participated in sex parties organized for Dominique Strauss-Kahn said Monday they were giving up their claim of damages, saying it would be too hard to prove the pimping charge against the former IMF head.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Feb 17, 2015

China's defense budget expected to defy economic lilt

President Xi Jinping is expected to authorize robust defense spending for this year despite China's slowing economy, determined to strengthen the country's armed capabilities amid growing unease in Beijing at Washington's renewed focus on Asia.
WORLD
Feb 17, 2015

Copenhagen gunman's neighborhood no stranger to strife

Every Dane knows of Norrebro, the Copenhagen neighborhood where police shot dead the gunman suspected of carrying out shocking attacks on a synagogue and a cultural center hosting a free speech event.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 17, 2015

Danish Jews' affection for their country runs deep

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's calls for Jews to move to Israel after attacks in Paris and Copenhagen may strike a chord with thousands of French Jews, but it will likely fall on deaf ears in Denmark.
BUSINESS
Feb 17, 2015

Crude oil trades near two-month high as drilling slows in U.S., Libya pipeline fire slows flow

Oil traded at an almost two-month high in London amid speculation that a slowdown in U.S. drilling may curb production.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 17, 2015

CSX oil train derails in West Virginia; at least two cars on fire; towns evacuated

A CSX Corp. train hauling crude derailed in West Virginia on Monday, setting at least two cars ablaze and forcing the evacuation of two nearby towns in the second significant oil-train incident in three days.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 17, 2015

Thousands march through Copenhagen as city mourns terror victims

Thousands of people marched through Copenhagen in freezing winds to remember the victims of a weekend shooting that police say may have been an attempt to copy the massacre at Charlie Hebdo in Paris.
WORLD
Feb 17, 2015

Moscow carries out snap check of paratroopers in western Russia

Russia's defense ministry started a snap inspection of its paratrooper units in western Russia on Monday, Interfax news agency quoted the ministry press office as saying.
WORLD
Feb 17, 2015

Russian researchers expose breakthrough U.S. spying program

The U.S. National Security Agency has figured out how to hide spying software deep within hard drives made by Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba and other top manufacturers, giving the agency the means to eavesdrop on the majority of the world's computers, according to cyber researchers and former operatives....
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 17, 2015

Grand jury indicts North Carolina man in killings of three Muslims

A grand jury indicted a North Carolina man on Monday for the shooting deaths of a newlywed Muslim couple and the wife's sister last week, a court official said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 17, 2015

Asian supply lines hit by U.S. West Coast ports dispute

A labor dispute at ports on the U.S. West Coast is disrupting supply chains across the Pacific, forcing some Asian exporters to resort to costly air freight and pushing up shipping rates as more freighters are caught up in long lines to dock.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 17, 2015

Pope decries beheading of Egyptian Christians in Libya

Pope Francis expressed deep sadness at the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya, departing from the script of an address on Monday to emphasise the unity of all Christians regardless of the denomination they follow.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 17, 2015

Battle rages for town where Ukraine rebels reject cease-fire

Pro-Russian rebels pounded encircled Ukrainian government forces on Monday and Kiev said it would not pull back heavy guns while a truce was being violated, leaving a European-brokered peace deal on the verge of collapse.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 17, 2015

Liberia reopens dozens of schools as Ebola wanes

Thousands of Liberian children in pristine uniforms flocked back to school on Monday as classrooms opened their doors for the first time after a six-month hiatus designed to stem the spread of the worst Ebola outbreak in history.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 17, 2015

Turkey closes Yemen embassy after telling citizens to leave

Turkey has closed its embassy in Yemen, the Foreign Ministry in Ankara said on Monday, the latest of a number of foreign powers to withdraw their diplomats as the country's civil conflict worsens.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 17, 2015

Forces loyal to ex-president take over part of Aden

Forces loyal to Yemen's former president seized government buildings in the southern city of Aden on Monday after a five-hour battle, sources said, escalating a civil conflict that threatens to split the country in two.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 16, 2015

Abe affirms bid to revise Constitution

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has confirmed his administration aims to revise the Constitution, saying in the Diet that amending the pacifist charter is one of his party's most sought-after goals.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 16, 2015

Who benefits from the new overtime pay system?

On Feb. 13, a Labor Policy Council sub-committee submitted to the labor ministry a report with suggestions for a bill to revise the labor standards law. The revision, which the ministry plans to submit to the next regular Diet session, applies to the work of skilled white collar professionals and will allow them to 'work in a manner that demonstrates their achievements' more effectively, which is another way of saying that employers will no longer be required to pay these workers overtime for extra hours on the job, which in turn means that employers cannot be accused of pressuring them to work overtime for no pay, a system popularly known as saabisu zangyo, or 'free overtime.'

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