Nepal rebels attack police posts, at least 14 officers killed
January 14, 2006Nepalese rebels attacked four police posts near the capital on Saturday, killing at least 14 police officers, the local media reported. Meanwhile, 16 guerrillas and a soldier were killed in a battle Saturday in Syangja district, about 200 kilometers west of the capital, the military said.
11 Japanese tourists injured in bus accident in Australia
January 14, 2006Eleven Japanese tourists were injured, including two seriously, when their bus went over a curve into a sugar cane field in the south of the northern Australian city of Cairns Saturday afternoon, according to tour organizer JTB Corp. Two female tourists, one aged 68 from Mie Prefecture and the other aged 40 from Hyogo Prefecture, suffered fractures and other serious injuries, but the injuries were not life-threatening, JTB officials said.
Snow-related death toll reaches 90, highest in more than 20 years
January 14, 2006The death toll from snow-related incidents in Japan since the snow season began in December reached 90, the highest in more than 20 years, after five people separately died Saturday, according to a Kyodo News tally. The number of casualties is the largest since 131 people died due to heavy snow in the winter of 1983-1984.
Baseball: Milwaukee right-hander Ohka files for salary arbitration
January 14, 2006Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Tomokazu Ohka filed for salary arbitration before the Friday midnight deadline. Ohka and the Brewers will submit their proposed salaries shortly, with major league arbitration hearings starting Feb. 1. Players and their teams often reach a settlement before arbitration proceedings begin.
M4.5 quake shakes east Japan, intensity 4 in southern Tochigi
January 14, 2006An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.5 struck eastern Japan Saturday afternoon, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. No tsunami warning was issued.
3 people die in snow-related incidents
January 14, 2006Three people died in separate incidents on Saturday, and at least four avalanches were reported as the mercury rose sharply throughout the country after a cold spell had dumped record snowfalls. Two of the three died after a home and a garage collapsed under the weight of snow in Niigata Prefecture. In Iiyama, Nagano Prefecture, a man fell while removing snow from the roof of a home. He was buried in the snow and later died.
Watari, Egashira to be vice chairmen of Nippon Keidanren
January 14, 2006The Japan Business Federation plans to appoint Nippon Oil Corp. Chairman Fumiaki Watari and Ajinomoto Co. Chairman Kunio Egashira as vice chairmen of the nation's most powerful business lobby, federation sources said Saturday. The appointments of the two, both of whom are among vice chairmen of the federation's Board of Councillors, will be formalized at a regular general meeting in late May, the sources said.
Fuwa to quit as JCP's Central Committee chairman
January 14, 2006The Japanese Communist Party decided Saturday that the opposition party's top executive Tetsuzo Fuwa will quit as chairman of the Central Committee, party officials said. Meanwhile, the JCP also decided that the party will continue to be led by Chairman Kazuo Shii and secretariat chief Tadayoshi Ichida, the officials said, adding that the post of Central Committee chairman will be left vacant for the time being.