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674 storiesUS Marine arrested in Naha hotel killing; Japan protests, Okinawa governor speaks out
A 20-year-old US Marine was arrested on suspicion of robbery-murder after a 39-year-old woman was found dead at a hotel in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, and Japanese officials protested to the US side. Foreign Ministry Senior Deputy Minister Ta…
Pianist Kyohei Sorita indicted; prosecutors seek 3 months over 144 km/h speeding
Pianist Kyohei Sorita, 32, has been indicted on-home for driving at 144 km/h on the Shuto Expressway in Tokyo on 20 December last year, 84 km/h over the speed limit. A first hearing was held at the Tokyo District Court on 6 October, where p…
Christa Pike conscious and speaking after failed Tennessee execution, lawyers say
Christa Pike, 50, is conscious and speaking and receiving critical medical care nearly a week after Tennessee's attempt to execute her with the drug pentobarbital failed, her attorneys said Tuesday. They said her prognosis remains unclear, …
Okinawa US forces order 48-hour pause and overnight curfew after Marine arrest
The top US commander in Okinawa, Lt. Gen. Watson, issued an emergency statement ordering a 48-hour “training period” for US military-related personnel in the prefecture from noon on 7 October to noon on 9 October, with off-base outings and …
Retrial opens in 2018 Toyama police box attack; defendant stays silent
The retrial of Keita Shimazu, 30, a former Self-Defense Forces member accused of killing a police officer and a security guard in a 2018 attack on a Toyama police box, opened on Oct. 5 at the Toyama District Court. Shimazu answered none of …
Okinawa governor protests to US commander over Marine held in Naha killing
Okinawa Governor Koja Genta summoned the top US commander in Okinawa, Lt. Gen. Benjamin T. Watson, and other US and Japanese officials to the prefectural office on Oct. 5 and protested over the killing of a woman at a Naha hotel for which a…
Cornell Rape-Allegation Lawsuit Prompts Push for Campus Assault Protections
A lawsuit alleging rape at Cornell University has led women on campus and beyond to share their own experiences of sexual violence, The New York Times and NPR reported. The Hill reported that a former Cornell University student accused seve…
Kremlin urges reliance on official statements amid Irkutsk infection rumors
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Rospotrebnadzor is the competent agency on the situation in the Irkutsk region and that people should follow its official statements rather than rumors and speculation. The comments follow the death of a…
UAE sets phased caps on salt, sugar and fat in packaged foods, fines up to Dh500,000
The UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention has begun implementing a resolution that caps sodium, sugar and fat in selected packaged foods, with phased limits running until the end of 2030. The rules apply to locally made and imported produ…
Okinawa police send US Marine to prosecutors over Naha hotel robbery-murder
Okinawa prefectural police arrested US Marine lance corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, of Futenma base, on suspicion of robbing and killing a 39-year-old woman at a hotel in Naha, and sent him to the Naha district prosecutors’ office on Oct …
Police: bar owner held over girlfriend’s body in Miyagi; staged messages suspected
Police in Tokyo have arrested a 36-year-old bar owner on suspicion of abandoning the body of his 25-year-old girlfriend in mountains in Kurihara, Miyagi Prefecture, on 28 September. Investigators believe he used her smartphone to send messa…
South Korea re-designates 92 population decline regions, adding Busan Geumjeong, Dongducheon and Tongyeong
South Korea's Ministry of the Interior and Safety re-designated 92 cities, counties and districts as population decline regions on Oct. 7, up from 89 in the first designation five years ago. Busan's Geumjeong-gu, Gyeonggi's Dongducheon and …
US military in Okinawa orders 30-day curfew after soldier's arrest
The top US commander in Okinawa, Okinawa area coordinator Watson, ordered a 30-day off-base restriction for all US personnel in the prefecture from October 9, with no outings between midnight and 5am, after a US Marine was arrested over the…
WHO and Russia say no further plague infections after Siberian lab worker's death
A female worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East died last week from pneumonia of undetermined origin, according to Russian authorities and the WHO. Russia's Rospotrebnadzor said 60% of the identified contact…
Trump says he is considering suspending federal gas tax ahead of midterms
President Donald Trump said Tuesday his administration is considering suspending the federal gas tax, as pump prices remain far above last year's levels a month before the midterm elections. Any suspension would require Congress, which is n…
Russia quarantines hospital as lab worker’s death puts nearly 200 under observation
A female employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East died last week of pneumonia of unknown cause, Russian authorities said, and a hospital in the town of Shelekhov was placed under quarantine. Officia…
Ex-CIA official found with gold bars pleads guilty to $194 million fraud
David J. Rush, a former senior CIA official, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, to one count of wire fraud in a scheme prosecutors say cost the federal government about $194 million. Prosecutors said Rush fabri…
Ibaraki man arrested over stabbing; second woman found dead nearby
A 30-year-old man was arrested in Oarai, Ibaraki Prefecture, on suspicion of injuring a 41-year-old acquaintance by stabbing her in the left abdomen with gardening shears near a restaurant entrance late on Oct 4. Police said her injuries ar…
Seoul appeals court to rule in ex-President Yoon's free opinion poll case
A Seoul appeals court is due to deliver its verdict on Oct 7 in the political funds case against former President Yoon Suk Yeol, accused of receiving 58 free opinion polls from political broker Myung Tae-kyun. The first trial sentenced Yoon…
Trump approves firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan
The Pentagon said President Donald Trump approved execution by U.S. Army firing squad for Nidal Hasan, who was convicted in the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, that killed 13 people and wounded 32. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell…