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Japan’s Olympus sues bosses over scandal
Olympus is suing its current president and 18 other executives, past and present, for 37 million euros in compensation over a massive accounting scandal. The Japanese maker of cameras and medical equipment says all board members named in the mismanagement lawsuit will have to resign in March or April. Olympus shares surged with investors betting it will now become a takeover target. Olympus has lost almost half its market value since the scandal erupted in October, when it fired its British boss Michael Woodford, a rare foreign CEO in Japan, for questioning dodgy acquisition deals at the heart of the scandal. Olympus’ decision to sue follows a report by a separate panel appointed by the firm to look into who was to blame for the scandal. The panel said the 19 current and former executives bore various degrees of responsibility. “Considering that the truth would have remained in the dark if Woodford had not raised doubts, we must have deep misgivings about the closed nature of Olympus’ management to date and the weakness of its corporate governance, which allowed this situation,” said this panel’s report, released on Tuesday. More about: Corruption, Financial scandal, Japan, Justice

Violent protests continue in Romania
Protests in Romania have spread from the capital Bucharest to other cities as angry crowds clashed with police in a fourth day of demonstrations. The riots began on Thursday in a show of support for a deputy health minister who quit after criticising a draft bill that would have added private firms to the state health sector. On Friday President Traian Besescu announced he would ask the prime minister to withdraw the reforms but the protests have continued. The government’s climb-down appears to have done nothing to appease the protesters, whose anger has grown to include discontent with a whole series of spending cuts. Demonstrators are now calling for the president to resign. More about: Austerity, Clashes and riots, Romania, Romania politics

Iran flexes maritime muscles over sanctions
Iran’s testing of long range missiles and a veiled threat to close access to the Persian Gulf have ratcheted up tensions with the West. The Islamic Republic has completed 10 days of naval exercises aimed at showcasing its military capabilities. Iranian Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said: “It means that the security of Hormuz Strait is in our hands and the Strait is under our control, that is crystal clear. But we have always maintained that the goal of the drills is to provide the region with stable security.” Some 40 percent of world oil is shipped through the channel at Hormuz, and any action to close it would have a dramatic impact on crude prices. Western analysts say Iran’s rhetoric is aimed at sending a message to the West that it should think twice about the economic cost of imposing further sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear programme. The Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said the maritime manoeuvres were evidence that sanctions were working and repeated his call for even tougher economic measures. Iran says its nuclear programme is aimed at generating electricity and not developing weapons, as the West fears. More about: Diplomatic tension, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Military exercises, Missile

Costa Concordia to deal financial blow to cruise industry
The deadly Costa Concordia accident is likely to further damage the cruise ship industry which was already struggling with an uncertain economy. The boss of CruiseCompete.com, a website that offers deals on cruises, said the video of a half sunken ship and interviews with passengers telling of harrowing escapes will inevitably hit bookings. He added that a drop in demand for cruise holidays would quickly lead to lower prices as operators hate to sail with empty cabins. That would reduce profits with the Costa Concordia’s owner Carnival worst affected. Before this accident the cruise market was forecast to be worth around 27 billion euros this year, with a record just 20.3 million passengers who would likely spend about 12 billion euros at their ships’ ports of call. The travel news website Travelpulse.com said travel agents it had spoken to reported that just over a third of customers who had booked a cruise this year had so far called with concerns and only about 10 percent of those people had cancelled their holidays. However industry experts say the accident could tarnish its image and scare off potential future customers. More about: Costa Concordia, Economic crisis, Sea transport

Living independently thanks to a computer
2012 is the European Year for Active Ageing and researchers are using the latest technologies to improve the quality of life for people suffering from dementia or respiratory diseases. More about: Health, Internet, New technologies, Spain

The photographer, the nude model and pots and pots of paint
Peruvian painter Piero Pereira has an unusual way of working; he covers his model in paint and then puts the music on. More about: Action film, Art

Egyptian parliament discusses football violence
The Egyptian parliament has held an emergency session to discuss the deadly football riot. Following a minute’s silence to mourn those who died, angry politicians denounced the low level of security at the game given the tense build-up. Some accused the military council of allowing, or even causing the violence. Opponents of the army regularly accuse it of creating disorder to scupper transition to civilian rule. Osama Yassin of the Freedom and Justice party said: “This was not a clash between sports fans but a scene of organised chaos. This is based on provocation – to produce violence and its consequences. This especially seeks to destroy the revolution of the Egyptians and halt the path to democratic change in Egypt.” The Muslim Brotherhood which dominates the Egyptian parliament claims an ‘invisible’ hand was behind the tragedy. More about: Clashes and riots, Egypt, Football, Victims

Full Moon above New York City
A full moon rises behind the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building over the skyline of Manhattan in New York, January 9, 2012. REUTERS/Gary Hershorn More about: New York, USA

Winter dip in China
A winter swimmer jumps with a mop into the icy water of the Songhua River in Harbin. REUTERS/Sheng Li More about: China, Odd