#MeToo: Japan scribe wins high-profile case
Tokyo: A Tokyo court on Wednesday awarded 3.3 million yen (USD 30,000) in damages to journalist Shiori Ito, who accused a former TV reporter of rape in one of the most high-profile cases of the #MeToo movement in Japan. The civil case made headlines in Japan and abroad, as it is rare for rape victims to report the crime to the police — according to a 2017 Government survey, only four per cent of women come forward.
Protest in France over pension reform plans
Paris: Hundreds of thousands of French protesters took to the streets in a pension reform standoff that has sparked nearly two weeks of crippling transport strikes, with the Government vowing it will not give in to union demands to drop the overhaul. Police said they fired tear gas in Paris after protesters hurled projectiles at them, with 30 people arrested in the French capital.
12 killed in bus-truck collision in Egypt
Cairo: At least 12 persons were killed after a bus collided with a truck on a highway in Egypt’s Monufia province on Wednesday. The bus was carrying workers in way to their factory in Sadat city, Xinhua news agency reported. Other wounded persons were moved to Sadat Central hospital, the report added.
3 cups of filtered coffee can reduce diabetes
London: In a good news for coffee lovers, researchers have found that coffee can help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes —but only filtered coffee, rather than boiled coffee. The study, published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, shows that the choice of preparation method influences the health effects of coffee. The findings from Chalmers University of Technology and Umea University in Sweden, offer new insight into this connection, using a novel method to help differentiate between the effects of filtered coffee and boiled coffee.
At 41o C, Oz records hottest day in 6 yrs
Canberra: Australia on Tuesday sizzled at 40.9 degrees Celsius, its hottest day in the last six years. The last time when the country touched the 40.3 degrees C mark was on January 7, 2013, said the Bureau of Meteorology. Taking the average of maximum temperatures across the country is the most accurate measure of a heatwave.