Japan

[ad_1] HONG KONG – A century ago, prevailing microeconomic theories defined economies as a continuous flow of spot transactions between individual buyers and sellers.But Nobel laureate economist Ronald H. Coase observed in the 1930s that, in practice, market economies are organized into firms, which consist of individuals coming together to conduct economic activities according to plans and priorities set by management. The reason, he concluded, is that market transactions are […]

[ad_1] Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (center) sits next to Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (second from left) and others, while watching a cultural performance at the Tashichhodzong monastery in Thimpu, Bhutan, in August 2019. | AFP-Jiji People line up to vote at a polling station in Thimpu in October 2018. | AFP-Jiji Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (left) walking along with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi during […]

[ad_1] Suzu, Ishikawa Pref. – A woman in her 90s trapped for five days under the rubble by a huge earthquake in Ishikawa Prefecture was rescued against the odds, but snow and storms were expected to complicate relief efforts Sunday.At least 126 people died in the magnitude-7.5 tremor on New Year's Day and its aftershocks — a toll that is sure to rise, with 222 others reported missing to local […]

[ad_1] Rishi Sunak wanted to show strength last week as he claimed victory on his pledge to clear the backlog of U.K. asylum cases. Instead, the prime minister underscored what allies fear is a growing political weakness.The British prime minister took office in late 2022 promising to govern with "integrity, professionalism and accountability” — an attempt to distance himself from his two predecessors, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. Five targets […]

[ad_1] Reuters – China's annual Ice and Snow Festival, with its fairy-tale ice sculptures, opened late last week, attracting throngs of tourists who shuffled carefully over the slippy ice and snow and dragged their children in sledges around the park.This year the ice park spans 810,000 square meters with 250,000 cubic meters of sculptured ice, harvested from the nearby frozen Songhua River, and lit up at night with colorful lights.The […]

[ad_1] GAZA/JERUSALEM – Water purifiers, medical supplies and tent poles are among items Israel has blocked from entering Gaza on aid trucks, according to an Egyptian Red Crescent document seen by Reuters and sources in Gaza, but Israel denied blocking any such items.Under a policy that long pre-dates the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and ensuing war in Gaza, Israel inspects trucks bound for the Palestinian enclave to stop […]

[ad_1] U.S. President Joe Biden learned of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization last week several days after the fact and received no advance notice from Pentagon officials, people familiar with the matter said.The Defense Department announced Austin’s hospitalization at Walter Reed Medical Center on Friday, four days after he was admitted on Jan. 1 and without providing specifics on his ailment or the elective treatment he received.Several U.S. senators privately […]

[ad_1] Washington – U.S. President Joe Biden kicked off his first campaign event of the year, squarely making the case to voters that his predecessor Donald Trump is a danger to democracy and shouldn’t be returned to the White House.Biden’s remarks Friday offered some of his sharpest warnings yet about the threat he says Trump poses to the country’s institutions, a message Biden is placing at the center of his […]

[ad_1] English words can be heard amid the general hubbub in Japanese at the counter as a small group of overseas tourists mingle with locals over drinks and food at a homey bar in a big-city neighborhood.The group of travelers is on a "snack" tour in which they bar hop through an area of Tokyo with an English-speaking guide — just one activity that has sprung up to cater to […]