Tokyo

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe demanded Jan. 20 that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) immediately free two Japanese hostages unharmed after the jihadists posted a video threat to kill them.
      

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) threatened to kill two Japanese hostages unless Tokyo pays a $200 million ransom within 72 hours, in a video posted on jihadist websites on Jan. 20.
      
In the footage, a black-clad militant brandishing a knife addresses the camera in English, standing between two hostages wearing orange jumpsuits.
      

The head of the group of eurozone finance ministers promised Tuesday to work with the winner of the upcoming Greek election, but urged Athens to stick with austerity.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the president of the Eurogroup who also serves as the Dutch finance minister, also stressed that the region could offer more help should Greece keep its promise to reform.

Worried about your future, the meaning of life or the realness of unreal things? Ask Japanese author Haruki Murakami for enlightenment - or as much as a surrealist can give.
   

By Netty Ismail & Hiroko Komiya

The euro traded 0.2 percent from a two-year low as Greece’s prime minister attempts to get his presidential candidate confirmed and avoid an early parliamentary election that risks severing the nation’s international lifeline.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won comfortable re-election Sunday in a snap poll he had billed as a referendum on his economic policies after early success faded into a recession.
      

Romanian athletics legend, high jump Olympic champion Iolanda Balas-Soter celebrates her 78th anniversary on Friday.

The only Romanian athlete who was two times Olympic champion celebrated her birthday while having an active life, namely president of the Romanian Athletics Foundation and honorary president of the Romanian Athletics Federation

Secretary of state for global Affairs, Ms. Carmen Liliana Burlacu has participated on December 3-4 in London in the international conference on Afghanistan, jointly organised by Great Britain and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, a press release by the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) informed Agerpres on Thursday night.

BELGRADE - The folk ensemble and orchestra of the Belgrade-based culture and arts association KUD Branko Cvetkovic will deliver five performances in Tokyo to present traditional and other original choreographies of Serbia's folklore to people of Japan.

LONDON - Serbian tennis player Ana Ivanovic has been shortlisted for the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Player of the Year.

Ivanovic finished the season as No. 5, after claiming four titles (Auckland, Monterey, Birmingham, Tokyo) and with the score of 58-17 achieved the highest number of victories during the WTA tour.