Japan’s biggest yakuza organised crime group has published a magazine for its members that includes a poetry page and senior gangsters’ fishing diaries, reports said Wednesday. The eight-page publication has been distributed among the Yamaguchi-gumi, a sprawling syndicate believed to
International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde blasted the United States for instituting “absolutely inappropriate” sequester-related reductions in the rate of budgetary growth that she says will retard economic improvement. “The budgetary procedure that is in place in the United States,
(AP) By TERRY COLLINS – An Asiana Airlines flight from Seoul, South Korea, crashed while landing at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday, killing at least two people, injuring dozens of others and forcing passengers to jump down the emergency
(AFP) – A high-ranking North Korean official with long experience in nuclear talks began a series of meetings in Moscow on Thursday aimed at reviving the stalled six-party process after months of tensions. Russian officials said North Korea’s first vice
China’s Peng Shuai and Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan have forged a tennis doubles partnership that bridges the divide between the two sides, saying sport can take the heat out of the toughest situations. The pairing, who play in the Wimbledon
The Commerce Department reported the May deficit on international trade in goods and services jumped to $45.0 billion from billion $40.1 billion in April. Overall, the deficit is up from $25 billion when the economic recovery began in mid-2009 and
(AP) Global stocks slide as oil jumps on Egypt crisisBy KAY JOHNSONAP Business WriterBANGKOKGlobal stocks slumped Wednesday as Egypt’s unfolding political crisis pushed the price of oil to its highest level in more than a year, adding to an uncertain
(AP) UNITED NATIONS–The U.N. women’s agency is teaming up with Academy Award-winner Geena Davis to support a global study analyzing the depiction and representation of women and girls in family film. Lakshmi Puri, acting head of UN Women, says it
This weekend we saw another leak from Edward Snowden, this time regarding the United States spying on the European Union’s mission in New York and it’s embassy in Washington DC. One document lists 38 embassies and missions, describing them as
Four Chinese government ships were on Monday sailing in waters around islands controlled by Tokyo and claimed by Beijing, the Japanese coastguard said. The maritime surveillance vessels entered the 12-nautical-mile zone regarded as the territorial waters of the Senkaku islands,
(AP) Penguins’ Bylsma to coach US Olympic team in SochiBy WILL GRAVESAP Sports WriterDan Bylsma has never coached hockey at the international level. The Pittsburgh Penguins coach does, however, know how to win while juggling a roster dotted with superstars.
by AFP 6/29/2013 Top seeds and title favorites Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, having comfortably survived the cull of Wimbledon stars in the first week, aim to move into the fourth round on Saturday. World number one Djokovic takes on
GDP growth was revised downward for the first quarter from 2.4 to 1.8 percent because consumer spending, business investment, and exports grew less than previously estimated. Slack consumer and business spending raise questions about whether household balance sheets have strengthened
In a new book entitled Rich Food, Poor Food, authors Mira and Jason Calton have created a comprehensive list of what they call “Banned Bad Boys” which refers to commonly used ingredients in up to 80% of all American convenience
(AFP) – Residents in towns around Mount Fuji erupted with joy on Saturday after UNESCO granted World Heritage status to Japan’s highest and most celebrated mountain. Known for its perfectly cone-shaped volcano, UNESCO classified the mountain as a “cultural” heritage
(AP) Social network gaffes plague Japanese politiciansBy MARI YAMAGUCHIAssociated PressTOKYOOn the Internet, no one can save you from yourself. That is a lesson many Japanese politicians have learned recently in painful, awkward and at times costly fashion. In the latest
A high-ranking North Korean official with long experience as his country’s international nuclear negotiator held talks Wednesday with Chinese officials, Beijing’s foreign ministry announced. North Korean first vice foreign minister Kim Kye-Gwan and Chinese vice foreign minister Zhang Yesui co-chaired
President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke by phone, days after the US leader met over the weekend with the president of China, the White House said in a statement. The two leaders on Wednesday “discussed the
Japan’s human rights envoy to the United Nations was Wednesday facing calls to quit over a video which showed him shouting at fellow diplomats to “shut up”. YouTube footage of the incident at the UN torture committee in Geneva has
In the latest issue of GQ, contributor Adam Johnson’s “Dear Leader Dreams of Sushi,” is about Kenji Fujimoto, a sushi chef from Japan who was the personal cook and close companion to North Korea’s Kim Jong Il. Johnson discusses his
(AFP) – Where are people most unfaithful? Who uses sex toys? On a darker level, where is child rape more prevalent? French geographers have tried to answer these questions and others in a global atlas on sexuality. From legislation and
(AP) World stocks fall ahead of US jobs reportBy PAMELA SAMPSONAP Business WriterBANGKOKWorld stock markets fell Friday as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of a key U.S. jobs report later in the day. Investors were also registering disappointment with
Philip Klein of the Washington Examiner observes that although the administration mocked Mitt Romney less than a year ago for suggesting that President Barack Obama undertook an “apology tour” to the Middle East in 2009, Obama’s nominee to replace Susan
On June 4 the Nation carried a column which invoked Harry Truman’s name as an inspiration for discouraged gun control activists. Yet Truman was both pro-gun and a fan of the National Rifle Association (NRA). The authors of the Nation column urge Democrats to learn to “lose”
On Sunday’s Global Public Square on CNN, host Fareed Zakaria presented a version of the same argument percolating through much of the mainstream media: that our economy is succeeding thanks to government. Zakaria did allow that the private sector had led the
