Japan

[ad_1] Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen called on Beijing to help maintain peace in the region in a New Year’s speech, two weeks before a hotly contested election dominated by debate over the island’s ties with China."We hope that both sides of the Taiwan Strait can return to healthy and constructive exchanges,” Tsai said. "We will not provoke or submit, but we will earn the international community’s trust and deepen our […]

[ad_1] A powerful earthquake measuring a 7 on the Japanese scale — the strongest on the scale — rocked central Japan on Monday, prompting a tsunami warning for a broad swath of the country's western coast. The tsunami warning urged people to quickly leave coastal areas of Ishikawa, Niigata, Toyama and Yamagata prefectures, with over 1.2 meter waves reaching the Noto Peninsula’s Wajima Port in Ishikawa — where a rare […]

[ad_1] Seoul – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told his top military officers to use maximum force against South Korea and the United States if they initiate a military confrontation, state media reported Monday.Seoul and Washington have ramped up defense cooperation in the face of a record-breaking series of weapons tests by Pyongyang over the past year.At a meeting with North Korea's major commanding officers in Pyongyang on New […]

[ad_1] Washington – U.S. President Joe Biden was getting ready to leave the White House for an audacious flight to Israel to demonstrate solidarity after Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack when suddenly the trip seemed to be falling apart before it even began.An explosion at a Gaza Strip hospital had reportedly killed or wounded hundreds, the Palestinians were blaming Israel, and Arab leaders were refusing to meet with Biden when […]

[ad_1] Brisbane, Australia – Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka looked solid on her return to elite tennis after 15 months out as she beat Germany's Tamara Korpatsch 6-3 7-6(9) in the first round of the Brisbane International on Monday. The 26-year-old from Japan last competed on tour at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in September 2022 and had her first child, daughter Shai, in July before stepping up […]

[ad_1] COPENHAGEN/DUBAI/CAIRO – U.S. helicopters repelled an attack by Iran-backed Houthi militants on a Maersk container vessel in the Red Sea, sinking three ships and killing 10 militants, according to accounts by American, Maersk, and Houthi officials on Sunday.The naval battle occurred Sunday as the attackers sought to board the Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou, Maersk and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said. Helicopters from the USS Eisenhower and USS Gravely joined the […]

[ad_1] The world's leading contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., could infuse new momentum into pay hikes that outpace price increases in inflation-plagued Japan, an essential element Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has long pursued.TSMC's generous compensation packages to recruit for a new plant in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, can serve as a wakeup call to manufacturers not just around the area but in other regions of the country, economists say.The spillover […]

[ad_1] In 2023, the Chinese economy showed signs of faltering as various issues came home to roost.This all flew in the face of what was meant to be an upbeat post-pandemic period for the world’s No. 2 economy.There was an expectation that China, which implemented some of the harshest pandemic controls in the world, would swing into growth mode, but instead its economy has been roiled by a spiraling real […]

[ad_1] Paris – Jubilant crowds bid farewell on Sunday to the hottest year on record, closing a turbulent 12 months marked by clever chatbots, climate crises and devastating wars in Gaza and Ukraine.Much of the world's population — now more than 8 billion — is hoping to shake off high living costs and global tumult in 2024, which will bring elections concerning half the world's population and the Paris Olympics.In […]