News Headlines - 12 August 2013
Britain has threatened Spain with legal action over the "politically motivated" imposition of extra checks on the frontier with Gibraltar. Diplomatic tensions between the two countries continued to grow after Downing Street disclosed it was considering taking the "unprecedented step" on the grounds that the Spanish action breached European Union law.
▽A gaffe-prone Japan is a danger to peace in Asia - FT.com
Japan’s public diplomacy hovers between the ludicrous and the sinister. In recent months, the country has specialised in foreign policy gaffes that seem designed to give maximum offence to its Asian neighbours while causing maximum embarrassment to its western allies.
▽Disappointing GDP growth revives Japan sales tax debate - FT.com
Japan’s economy expanded for the third straight quarter in the three months to June, yet the pace of growth was slower than experts had expected, a result that is likely to deepen an already contentious debate about whether to raise the national sales tax.
▽BlackBerry may put itself up for sale | Reuters
Struggling smartphone maker BlackBerry Ltd is weighing options that could include an outright sale, it said on Monday, and its largest shareholder is stepping down from its board to avoid any possible conflict of interest.
▽California billionaire unveils futuristic 'Hyperloop' transport | Reuters
California billionaire Elon Musk took the wraps off his vision of a futuristic "Hyperloop" transport system on Monday, proposing to build a solar-powered network of crash-proof capsules that would whisk people from San Francisco to Los Angeles in half an hour.
