News Headlines - 18 April 2018

▽US struck Syria without certainty on sarin - CNNPolitics

Even though US intelligence agencies did not have absolute certainty Syria's regime had used the nerve agent sarin against civilians, the Trump administration still felt there was enough evidence to justify retaliatory strikes last Friday, several intelligence and defense officials tell CNN.
The decision to proceed with military action met a standard of evidence needed that officials felt they could accept, these sources said.

▽Proof of 'staged' Syria chemical attack is from film

The photos - which show actors covered in dust - were presented by Syrian regime supporters as proof that the alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma on April 7 was a fake.
But the photos come from the set of a Syrian film called "Revolution Man", supported by the Syrian culture ministry, and were published in February on a Facebook page devoted to the movie.

▽Top Japan finance official Junichi Fukuda quits after sexual harassment claims - The Straits Times

The top bureaucrat at Japan’s finance minister quit on Wednesday (April 18) following allegations he sexually harassed female reporters, saying he wanted to “clear his name”.

▽Japanese immigration detainees launch hunger strike over Indian’s death

More than 40 people at a Japanese immigration detention centre are on hunger strike after an Indian detainee committed suicide last week, officials and local media said Tuesday.
The protest began on Sunday, two days after an Indian national in his thirties, who has not been publicly identified, was found hanging in a shower stall at the centre in Ibaraki, northeast of Tokyo.

▽Sitting at desk all day may damage brain and raise dementia risk, study suggests

Sitting at a desk all day or spending hours watching television may damage the brain in a way which is known to increase the risk of dementia, a new study suggests.
While researchers have known for some time that sedentary behaviour is bad for physical health, raising the risk of heart disease, diabetes and early death, it is the first study to show it could also influence mental wellbeing.