News Headlines - 19 June 2014

▽Challengers Emerge to Replace Divisive Maliki - NYTimes.com

Iraqi officials said Thursday that political leaders had started intensive jockeying to replace Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki and create a government that would span the country’s deepening sectarian and ethnic divisions, spurred by what they called encouraging meetings with American officials signaling support for a leadership change.

▽BBC News - Argentina shares fall on debt repayment doubts

Argentina's stock market closed 4.9% lower on Thursday after the country's cabinet chief said there would be no delegation to the US to negotiate with bondholders over a $1.3bn (￡766m) debt.

▽Julian Assange Marks 2nd Year in Ecuador's Embassy - ABC News

For the second time in as many years, journalists were invited Thursday to the embassy to mark the anniversary of WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange's stay there — a bid to escape extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted over allegations of sexual misconduct, and to the United States, where an investigation into WikiLeaks' dissemination of hundreds of thousands of classified U.S. documents remains live.

▽Japan tries a new strategy for growth - FT.com

When he won a second term as Japan’s prime minister 18 months ago, Shinzo Abe promised to fight the country’s economic malaise with “three arrows”.
In order to boost Japan’s growth rate and end a decade and a half of falling prices, he declared that the country needed an unprecedented monetary loosening, a hefty fiscal stimulus and a strong dose of structural economic reform.

▽World Cup 2014: Japanese fans clean stadium after losing 2-1 to Ivory Coast - The Independent

Despite seeing the Blue Samurais lose 2-1 against Didier Drogba's team at the Arena Pernambuco in Recife, Japanese spectators armed with bin liners patrolled their side of the stadium and gathered up discarded litter, Yahoo Sport reported.