Death toll in Baghdad bomb blasts rises to 22: Reuters
January 19, 2006Iraqi insurgents killed at least 22 people in two simultaneous bomb blasts in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Thursday, according to Reuters news service. A police patrol was hit by a blast in the central part of the capital. There were conflicting reports over whether the explosion had been caused by a car bomb or explosives hidden in a wooden handcart on the side of the road.
Fuji TV chief blames Horie for causing mess in capital market
January 19, 2006(EDS: UPDATING WITH INFO ON FUJI TV OFFICIAL'S RESIGNATION AS LIVEDOOR EXECUTIVE IN 3RD GRAF) Fuji Television Network Inc. Chairman Hisashi Hieda, who clashed with Livedoor Co. over control of a Fuji-affiliated radio company a year ago, denounced the Internet services firm's President Takafumi Horie on Thursday, claiming he is responsible for two days of upheaval in Tokyo's equities market.
JAL to withdraw from 4 more international routes
January 19, 2006Trouble-plagued Japan Airlines has entered the final phase of arrangements to stop flights on four more international routes by the fall, in addition to the six overseas destinations it has stopped flying since October, informed sources said Thursday. The four routes include one connecting Osaka with Los Angeles and another linking Tokyo with Las Vegas. JAL wants to discontinue the Osaka-Los Angeles route in October and the Tokyo-Las Vegas route in late September, the sources said.
Prosecutors set to question Livedoor's Horie over alleged fraud
January 19, 2006Prosecutors are expected to question Livedoor Co. President Takafumi Horie and other executives soon over alleged fraudulent accounting practices, investigative sources said Thursday, the day a brokerage executive linked with the Net firm was found dead in an apparent suicide. The prosecutors are trying to shed light on suspected irregularities concerning a Livedoor group firm's takeover of a publishing house about a year ago and allegations that Livedoor itself cooked the books to show it had a profit in the September 2004 business year, when it was in the red.
Death toll in Baghdad bomb blasts rises to 22: Reuters
January 19, 2006At least 22 people were killed and 26 wounded in the twin bomb blasts that hit the Iraqi central Baghdad on Thursday afternoon, police told Reuters. ==Kyodo
Prosecutors set to question Livedoor's Horie over alleged fraud
January 19, 2006Prosecutors are expected to soon question top executives of Livedoor Co., including President Takafumi Horie, over a series of alleged fraudulent practices apparently designed to expand its business, investigative sources said Thursday. The Internet and financial services conglomerate is at the center of a high-profile probe being conducted by the special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office.
TSE sees 6.4 mil. trading orders, 3.5 mil. deals
January 19, 2006The Tokyo Stock Exchange said Thursday that as of 2:32 p.m. the bourse saw an estimated 6.4 million cases of trading orders, while the number of deals came to 3.5 million cases. The announcement indicates risks of another possible trading suspension as Japan's largest bourse plans to halt all stock trading when the number of orders exceeds 8.5 million and that of agreed deals tops 4 million.
Gov't maintains bullish economic view for 5th month
January 19, 2006The government said in its monthly economic report released Thursday that the Japanese economy remains on a recovery path bolstered by firm personal spending and a pickup in production, leaving its bullish assessment unchanged for the fifth straight month. ''The economy is recovering at a moderate pace,'' the Cabinet Office said in the January report. ''Private consumption is increasing moderately'' and ''industrial production is picking up.''
Baseball: Yabu agrees to minor league contract with Rockies
January 19, 2006The Colorado Rockies said Wednesday they have agreed to terms on a minor league contract with Japanese right-hander Keiichi Yabu. The 37-year-old former Hanshin Tigers ace pitcher in Japan will be invited to major league spring training camp, the Rockies said.