News

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s top government spokesperson said Monday that the number of babies born this year is below last year’s record low. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the low birthrate is a “critical situation.” He pledged comprehensive measures to encourage more marriages and births. The total of 599,636

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Shares slumped in Europe and Asia on Monday, with Hong Kong briefly dipping more than 4% following weekend protests in various cities over China’s strict zero-COVID lockdowns. U.S. futures were lower and oil prices fell more than $2 a barrel. The unrest in China is the

By RISKA MUNAWARAH and NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press PIDIE, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia has begun vaccinating children for the polio virus in the country’s conservative province after four were infected with the highly contagious disease that was declared eliminated less than a decade ago. The virus was first detected in October in a 7-year-old boy

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Prince William and the Princess of Wales will be looking to focus attention on their Earthshot Prize for environmental innovators when they make their first visit to the United States in eight years this week, a trip clouded by tensions with William’s brother, Prince Harry, and his

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Europol says law enforcement authorities in six different countries have joined forces to take down a “super cartel” of drugs traffickers controlling about one third of the cocaine trade in Europe. The European Union crime agency said on Monday that 49 suspects were arrested during the investigation,

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s top court has upheld a ruling to let a veteran British lawyer defend pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai at his national security trial this week despite fierce opposition from the pro-Beijing camp. Lai, the 74-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily, was arrested after

By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA Associated Press KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal’s main ruling party is leading in last week’s parliamentary elections with most of the votes counted. Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s Nepali Congress party however is short of securing a majority in the House of Representatives, the lower house of Parliament. Deuba’s party has won

By OMAR FARUK Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somali forces are still trying to flush out armed assailants who attacked a hotel in the capital more than 12 hours after the attack began. They have been battling with the militants since Sunday, with reports of gunfire heard Monday morning. Extremist group al-Shabab has claimed

By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Toru Kubota, a Japanese journalist who was arrested while covering a protest in military-ruled Myanmar and detained for more than three months, says his experience has made him more determined to tell the story of people there. Kubota was arrested in July and released on Nov. 17

By DAKE KANG Associated Press SHANGHAI (AP) — Barely a month after granting himself new powers as China’s potential leader for life, Xi Jinping is facing a wave of public anger of the kind not seen for decades, sparked by his draconian “zero COVID” program that will soon enter its fourth year. Demonstrators poured into

BEIJING (AP) — The government says a rocket carrying three astronauts to finish construction of China’s space station will blast off Tuesday. The China Manned Space Agency said the crew includes a veteran of a 2005 space mission and two first-time astronauts. It said the Shenzhou-15 mission will be launched late Tuesday night. Officials say

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Britain’s top envoy for the Indo-Pacific says Australia’s shift to nuclear-powered submarines will assure its South Pacific neighbors of the UK’s commitment to regional security. Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the minister of state for the Indo-Pacific, told Australia’s National Press Club the submarines would provide to its Pacific