Japan News Online

Tokyo stocks dip on 2005's last trading day on signs of overheating

Tokyo stocks ended the year's final session lower Friday as investors locked in profits on a broad range of issues amid caution over the recent fast pace of rises. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 232.77 points, or 1.42 percent, to close the half-day trading session at 16,111.43. The Tokyo Stock Price Index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 13.99 points, or 0.84 percent, to 1,649.76.

Annan welcomes further assessment of Iraq elections

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan welcomed Thursday the International Mission for Iraq Elections' decision to send a team of assessors for a follow-up to its interim report on Iraqi's parliamentary elections, held Dec. 15. ''It is critical that those Iraqi groups who have complained about the conduct of the elections are given a hearing,'' Annan said in a statement. ''This team of assessors, which was not involved in the conduct of the elections, offers an independent evaluation of these complaints.''

Polish president OKs keeping troops in Iraq for another year

Polish Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz said Thursday that the country's President Lech Kaczynski approved a recent Cabinet decision to extend the mission of Polish troops in Iraq by another year, the news channel TVN24 reported. The president signed a document extending the mission from the current deadline in January to the end of December 2006, the report said.