News Headlines - 14 January 2014

▽Japan's Koizumi backs fellow ex-PM in opposing nuclear power | Reuters

Two former Japanese prime ministers challenged incumbent Shinzo Abe's pro-nuclear power policy on Tuesday, with charismatic Junichiro Koizumi backing ex-premier Morihiro Hosokawa's bid to become Tokyo governor on a platform opposing atomic energy.

▽BBC News - Japan's Suntory buys Jim Beam drinks group in $16bn deal

Japanese family-owned drinks firm Suntory is to buy the US beverage group Beam Inc, the company behind the Jim Bean bourbon brand.
Under the deal, worth $16bn (￡9.7bn) in all, Suntory will pay $13.6bn in cash and take on Beam's debt. It will make Suntory the world's third largest maker of distilled drinks.

▽HS2 bosses under fire over 'unforgivable' letters | The Guardian

Transport chiefs are under fire after more than 15,000 households were sent a "misleading" letter suggesting their properties were at risk of being bulldozed to make way for the HS2 high-speed rail line.

▽BBC News - Atheist Afghan granted religious asylum in UK

An Afghan citizen has been granted asylum in the UK for religious reasons - because he is an atheist.
The man fled to the UK from a conflict involving his family in Afghanistan in 2007, aged 16, and was allowed to stay in the UK until 2013.
He was brought up a Muslim, but during his time in the UK became an atheist, his legal team said.

▽Egyptians Vote on New Constitution in Key Referendum - NYTimes.com

Egyptians began voting on Tuesday in a two-day referendum on a revised constitution which the country’s top military officer has cast as a potential precursor to a bid for the presidency.
Tens of thousands of soldiers and police officers were deployed to shield the vote from protest by opponents or disruption by militants. Just before polling started, an explosion occurred outside a courthouse in the teeming neighborhood of Imbaba, damaging the building but causing no casualties, witnesses said.