News Headlines - 31 March 2014

▽South and North Korea exchange fire as tensions rise with US Marines' exercise - The Independent

North and South Korea fired artillery shells into each other's waters on Monday, forcing people on five South Korean islands on the frontline to evacuate their homes.

▽BBC News - Japan factory output slows unexpectedly in February

Factory output in Japan declined by 2.3% in February, official figures released on Monday show... February's figure was the first decrease in three months, and it surprised many analysts who were expecting a boost ahead of a planned tax increase.

▽ICJ rules Japan's whaling not for scientific purposes | TVNZ

The International Court of Justice has ruled that Japan's whaling programme is not for scientific purposes, in a landmark decision tonight.
After years of protest and diplomatic wrangling, the court in The Hague ruled by 12 votes to 4 that Japan does not have the right to hunt whales in the Antarctic. The decision is binding so Japan can not appeal.

▽Alistair Darling: Westminster parties would oppose Scotland keeping pound | theguardian.com

Alistair Darling, the leader of the Scottish Better Together campaign, has said the Westminster political parties would almost certainly have a manifesto commitment to oppose an independent Scotland forming a currency union with England.

▽Finally - inquests begin on 96 Liverpool fans killed at Hillsborough - Yorkshire Post

LONG-AWAITED fresh inquests into the deaths of the 96 people killed in the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield will begin today... There are due to be opening statements from the coroner and the families this week, with background “pen portraits’’ of all the victims being presented to the court over the next month.