News Headlines - 27 January 2014

▽French President Separates From Partner Amid Turmoil Over Economic Policies

French President François Hollande's decision to publicly announce the end of his relationship with longtime girlfriend Valérie Trierweiler has capped two weeks of intense speculation about his private life ahead of key international commitments, including a state visit to the U.S.

▽Cameron pleads for patience on the recovery - FT.com

David Cameron has urged Britons to be “patient” as they wait for the benefits of the economic recovery to come through, insisting that growth is returning but that more needs to be done to promote exports and growth outside London and the southeast.

▽BBC News - Japan reports record annual trade deficit

Japan has reported a record annual trade deficit after the weak yen pushed up the cost of energy imports.
Its deficit rose to 11.5 trillion yen ($112bn; ￡68bn) in 2013 - a 65% jump from a year ago.
Japan has seen its energy imports rise in recent years after it shut all of its nuclear reactors in the aftermath of the tsunami and earthquake in 2011.

▽BBC News - Japan food pesticide scare: Factory worker arrested

Japanese police have arrested a factory worker at a plant that produced food laced with pesticide, which led to hundreds of people being poisoned.
More than six million packages of frozen food were recalled.

▽BBC News - China court sentences Xu Zhiyong to four years in jail

A Chinese court has sentenced prominent human rights activist Xu Zhiyong to four years in prison.
Xu, who campaigned for children's rights and against corruption, was convicted of "gathering crowds to disrupt public order". Several other activists from a transparency movement are facing similar charges.