Security Council approves use of Iraq funds for U.N. dues
February 13, 2006More than $400,000 has been approved by the Security Council to be transferred from an escrow account of the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission for Iraq to be credited against the country's U.N. dues, according to official documents released Monday. The council responded to the proposal by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan saying that about $416,000 could go toward assessments for the U.N. regular budget, peacekeeping, tribunal activities and the capital master plan.
Olympics: Japan still clueless on medals in Turin
February 13, 2006Japanese athletes were once again left chasing the medals that have eluded them for the third day at the Turin Winter Olympics on Monday. Japan just missed out on a podium finish in speed skating --arguably its strongest Olympic event -- and was shut out for the second straight day in Olympic ''bad boy'' sport snowboarding, this time the women failing in the final after the men's humiliating flop in qualification a day earlier.
Speed skating: Japan's Kato makes slow start in hunt for 500 gold
February 13, 2006World record holder Joji Kato of Japan made a sluggish start in his bid for the gold medal in the first run of the speed skating men's 500 meters at the Turin Olympics on Monday. Kato, the gold medal favorite, appeared to have his concentration broken after having to wait before his race started and clocked 35.59 seconds to finish in 11th place ahead of the final run at the Oval Lingotto arena.
Olympics: Japan's Oikawa just misses podium spot, Kato 6th
February 13, 2006(EDS: UPDATING AFTER 2ND RUN) Gold medal favorite Joji Kato ended his title pursuit in disappointment Monday while countryman Yuya Oikawa narrowly missed out on a podium spot in the men's 500-meter speed skating event at the Turin Olympics.
Olympics: Japan's Oikawa just misses podium spot, Kato 6th
February 13, 2006Gold medal favorite Joji Kato ended his title pursuit in disappointment Monday while countryman Yuya Oikawa narrowly missed out on a podium spot in the men's 500-meter speed skating event at the Turin Olympics. World record holder Kato made a sluggish start in his Olympic debut and though he turned on the gas for a turbocharge in his final run, the 21-year-old was too far off the lead to claw his way back to the medals as he finished in sixth place at the Oval Lingotto arena.
Livedoor's Horie indicted, to be served fresh arrest warrant
February 13, 2006Former Livedoor Co. President Takafumi Horie and three other former executives of the company were indicted Monday on charges that they spread false financial information related to the takeover of a publisher in 2004, in violation of the Securities and Exchange Law, with an eye to making a profit, prosecutors said. They are also accused of releasing inflated financial figures of Livedoor Marketing Co., a Livedoor affiliate then known as ValueClick Japan Inc., in November that year to raise its stock prices.
Asian Aerospace finds new home in Hong Kong
February 13, 2006The organizer of Asian Aerospace, one of the world's top air shows, said Monday the venue for the show will move from Singapore to Hong Kong from next year onward. ''The new venue...will be in Hong Kong,'' Reed Exhibitions, which is headquartered in London, said in a short statement.
LDP lawmaker volunteers to speak at Diet over defective buildings
February 13, 2006A Diet ethics panel is expected to hold a hearing next week after former state minister Kosuke Ito volunteered Monday to address the allegation that he sought to influence the scandal over buildings with substandard quake resistance, lawmakers said. Ito, a ninth-term House of Representatives member from the governing Liberal Democratic Party requested Tsutomu Kawara, chairman of the House of Representatives Deliberative Council on Political Ethics, on Monday to hold a review of the allegation.
70% of female workers wish Valentine's Day custom would go away
February 13, 2006Seventy percent of female company workers would like it if there was no custom in Japan of women giving chocolates to boyfriends or colleagues on Valentine's Day, while 50 percent of male company workers agreed, a survey conducted by internet information provider iBridge Corp. showed Monday. Forty-seven percent of the surveyed women said they get prepared for Feb. 14 by doing things like buying gifts from several days before and 26 percent said they do so from more than a week before.
Livedoor may come under another firm's wing, new chief says
February 13, 2006Livedoor Co. may come under the control of another company as it reviews its operations in the wake of a fraud scandal, President Kozo Hiramatsu said Monday. ''We are considering all options,'' Hiramatsu said at a press conference after the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office had earlier in the day indicted former Livedoor President Takafumi Horie and three other former executives as well as Livedoor and Livedoor Marketing Co. on charges of violating the Securities and Exchange Law.
Olympics: Nakashima leads Japanese trio into halfpipe final
February 13, 2006Shiho Nakashima, veteran Soko Yamaoka and Chikako Fushimi salvaged pride for Japan's snowboarders on Monday as all three riders qualified for the women's halfpipe final at the Turin Olympics. A day after Japan's men flopped badly on the opening day of action on the pipe, Nakashima advanced by finishing fifth in the first run at the Bardonecchia track.