News Headlines - 19 January 2016

▽IMF Cuts World Growth Forecast For Third Time

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slashed its growth forecast for the global economy for the third time in less than a year as it predicted a "bumpier ride" for 2016.

▽Blaze breaks out at Paris Ritz - FT.com

A fire has broken out at Paris’s Ritz just weeks before the landmark hotel was scheduled to reopen following a three-year, €140m renovation.

▽Nearly 19,000 civilians killed in Iraq in 21-month period, report says - CNN.com

Nearly 19,000 civilians were killed in Iraq between January 2014 and October 2015 -- a toll the United Nations calls "staggering" in a new report.

▽Japan's plan to drop swastikas as temple symbol sparks backlash - BBC News

A Japanese proposal to stop using swastikas to identify temples on tourist maps has sparked a backlash.

▽Japan rejoices as boyband Smap say they are not splitting up | The Guardian

Looking as if they were about to attend a funeral rather than proclaim a resurrection, the five members of one of Japan’s most successful bands of all time have announced that, contrary to media speculation, they aren’t splitting up after all.