Ambient FocusAmbient composer Christina Vantzou selects two hours of music for deep concentration Focus yourself with this immersive two-hour mixtape by ambient composer Christina Vantzou

48 dead as Japan earthquake leaves homes flattened and roads torn apart The number of people killed in a powerful earthquake in Japan which caused homes to collapse and triggered tsunami warnings is now known to be 48 Japan's prime minister, Fumio Kishida, says the quake has caused numerous casualties and they face a "race against time" to rescue survivors Around 1,000 rescuers are searching for p

Play video Child handed over Kabul airport wall to US soldier from BBC

The half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-nam, has been killed in an attack in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian police say he was waiting at the airport for a flight to Macau on Monday when a woman covered his face with a cloth which burnt his eyes. He was using a passport in a different name at the time. The late Kim Jong-il's eldest son is thought to have fled N

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Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had one very important mission at this year's G7 summit: sell his brand of economic policies "Abenomics" to the world, and convince world leaders that they should all agree to spend more money in their economies to avert the next crisis. He failed. Yes, Mr Abe did get an agreement from the G7 that global growth is an urgent priority, and that risks remain - in par

China says up to 300,000 died in Nanjing at the hands of Japan's military A governor of Japan's public broadcaster, NHK, has denied that the Nanjing massacre took place, days after a row over Tokyo's use of war-time sex slaves engulfed the new NHK chief. Naoki Hyakuta made his comments as he campaigned for a right-wing candidate in the Tokyo gubernatorial election. Mr Hyakuta, a prominent novelist

Shinzo Abe's visit will make relations with China worse, says the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes Whatever Shinzo Abe says, any visit to the Yasakuni shrine by a Japanese prime minister is deeply political and sure to cause offence. In the 1960s and 70s, the spirits of scores of convicted Japanese war criminals were "enshrined" there. The most controversial were the 14 "Class A" war criminals, includ

PM Shinzo Abe wants Japan to adopt a more proactive security strategy Japan's cabinet has approved a new national security strategy and increased defence spending in a move widely seen as aimed at China. Over the next five years, Japan will buy hardware including drones, stealth aircraft and amphibious vehicles. The military will also build a new marine unit, an amphibious force capable of retakin

McDonald's has said it is to stop serving Heinz ketchup in its stores after 40 years. The world's biggest fast-food chain said it would drop the ketchup after Bernardo Hees, the former head of rival Burger King, took over as Heinz's chief executive. "We have decided to transition our business to other suppliers over time," McDonald's said. In February, Heinz was purchased in a $28bn (£17.3bn) take