In brief: Moody’s downgrades Japan rating

Tokyo – Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Japan’s credit rating, citing the country’s weak growth prospects, massive government debt and constant political turmoil.

Moody’s cut Japan’s government bond rating to Aa3 from Aa2. The new rating is three notches below Moody’s top Aaa rating. It said the outlook for the rating is stable in a statement released early in the Asian financial day today.

The downgrade puts Moody’s Japan rating in line with other major agencies. Both Standard & Poor’s and Fitch rate Japan AA-, three notches below their top AAA ratings.

In May, Moody’s warned it could downgrade Japan after the world’s No. 3 economy slipped back into recession in the first quarter due to tumbling output and exports following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Frequent administration changes have prevented Japan’s government from adopting effective long-term economic and fiscal policies, Moody’s said.

No illegal drugs in Winehouse’s body

London – Amy Winehouse had no illegal drugs in her system when she died, and it is still unclear what killed the singer, her family said Tuesday.

The family said in a statement that toxicology tests showed “alcohol was present” in the singer’s body but it hasn’t yet been determined if it contributed to her death.

The 27-year-old soul diva, who had battled drug and alcohol addiction for years, was found dead in her London home on July 23, and an initial post-mortem failed to determine the cause of death.

A statement released by spokesman Chris Goodman on the family’s behalf said “toxicology results returned to the Winehouse family by authorities have confirmed that there were no illegal substances in Amy’s system at the time of her death.” The statement did not mention whether any legal drugs were found.

It said the family awaited the outcome of an inquest that is due to begin in October.

Winehouse’s father, Mitch, has said his daughter had beaten her drug dependency three years before her death, but he admitted she was still struggling to control her drinking after several weeks of abstinence.

Kurd rebels killed in Iraq, Turks say

Ankara, Turkey – Turkey’s military said Tuesday airstrikes on suspected Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq this week have killed an estimated 90 to 100 guerrillas and warned that it would press ahead with offensives against the group both inside Turkey and across the border.

The military also said in a statement posted on its website that more than 80 separatist rebels were injured in six days of cross-border air raids that began Aug. 17, hours after eight soldiers and a government-paid village guard were killed in an ambush by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, near the border with Iraq.

The rebels have denied any losses, insisting that areas hit by the Turkish warplanes were long-abandoned bases.