News in Brief:
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's pension system has been hacked and more than a million cases of personal data leaked, authorities said on Monday, in an embarrassment that revived memories of a scandal that helped topple Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in his first term in office.
Japan Pension Service staff computers were improperly accessed by an external email virus, leading to the leak of some 1.25 million cases of personal data, the system's president, Toichiro Mizushima, told a hastily called news conference.
He apologized for the leak, which he said involved combinations of names, identification numbers, birth dates and addresses.
The pension service was setting up a team to investigate the cause and prevent a recurrence, Mizushima said.
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BEIJING (Press TV) - China is set to conduct military drills near the border with neighboring Myanmar.
That was reported by China’s official Xinhua news agency citing "official sources” on Monday, saying the drills would begin on Tuesday.
However, aside from the date of the drills, no other information was given, including what types of weapons would be used or the purpose of the military exercises.
The upcoming maneuvers come amid recent tensions between China and Myanmar.
Beijing said last month that five people were injured after two explosive devices reportedly from Myanmar hit Chinese territory.
In March, China summoned the Myanmar ambassador to Beijing after a warplane belonging to the Myanmar military killed four people in China's southwestern border area.
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MOSCOW (Press TV) - A senior Russian Foreign Ministry official has emphasized that Moscow reserves the right to deploy nuclear weapons on its territory, including stationing them in Crimea.
"Russia obviously retains the right, if needed, to deploy its nuclear weapons anywhere on its national territory, including on the Crimean Peninsula,” said Russian Foreign Ministry’s Director of the Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Mikhail Ulyanov in a Monday interview with RIA Novosti.
Ulyanov’s remarks were reportedly made in reaction to recent comments by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, who said the deployment of Russian arms in Crimea would be in violation of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
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BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania has slashed its sales tax on food and non-alcoholic drinks in a move the government hopes will generate jobs, boost consumer spending and help the poor.
The tax drop from 24 percent to 9 percent in a country where people spend about one third of income on food came into effect Monday.
It applies to all sectors of the food industry, from producers to supermarkets and restaurants, with analysts predicting prices will fall by 12 percent.
It will cost the budget about 5 billion lei ($1.23 billion) but Prime Minister Victor Ponta said better tax collection would offset most of it.
The government plans to reduce the sales tax for other goods and services to 20 percent from 24 percent starting Jan 1.
Japan Pension Service staff computers were improperly accessed by an external email virus, leading to the leak of some 1.25 million cases of personal data, the system's president, Toichiro Mizushima, told a hastily called news conference.
He apologized for the leak, which he said involved combinations of names, identification numbers, birth dates and addresses.
The pension service was setting up a team to investigate the cause and prevent a recurrence, Mizushima said.
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BEIJING (Press TV) - China is set to conduct military drills near the border with neighboring Myanmar.
That was reported by China’s official Xinhua news agency citing "official sources” on Monday, saying the drills would begin on Tuesday.
However, aside from the date of the drills, no other information was given, including what types of weapons would be used or the purpose of the military exercises.
The upcoming maneuvers come amid recent tensions between China and Myanmar.
Beijing said last month that five people were injured after two explosive devices reportedly from Myanmar hit Chinese territory.
In March, China summoned the Myanmar ambassador to Beijing after a warplane belonging to the Myanmar military killed four people in China's southwestern border area.
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MOSCOW (Press TV) - A senior Russian Foreign Ministry official has emphasized that Moscow reserves the right to deploy nuclear weapons on its territory, including stationing them in Crimea.
"Russia obviously retains the right, if needed, to deploy its nuclear weapons anywhere on its national territory, including on the Crimean Peninsula,” said Russian Foreign Ministry’s Director of the Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Mikhail Ulyanov in a Monday interview with RIA Novosti.
Ulyanov’s remarks were reportedly made in reaction to recent comments by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, who said the deployment of Russian arms in Crimea would be in violation of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
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BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania has slashed its sales tax on food and non-alcoholic drinks in a move the government hopes will generate jobs, boost consumer spending and help the poor.
The tax drop from 24 percent to 9 percent in a country where people spend about one third of income on food came into effect Monday.
It applies to all sectors of the food industry, from producers to supermarkets and restaurants, with analysts predicting prices will fall by 12 percent.
It will cost the budget about 5 billion lei ($1.23 billion) but Prime Minister Victor Ponta said better tax collection would offset most of it.
The government plans to reduce the sales tax for other goods and services to 20 percent from 24 percent starting Jan 1.