▽Tokyo daily COVID cases top 1,300 | NHK WORLD Tokyo Metropolitan Government sources say over 1,300 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in the Japanese capital on Thursday.That marks the first time the daily tally has risen above 1,000…

▽Nikkei up 16% in 2020 for highest year-end close since 1989 - Japan Today Tokyo stocks closed lower Wednesday, the final trading session of the year, but the Nikkei index advanced 16 percent in 2020, gaining for the second consecutive yea…

▽Chinese Gaming Company CEO Dies After Alleged Poisoning : NPR The Chinese billionaire CEO of video game developer Yoozoo Group died on Christmas Day following a suspected colleague's alleged poisoning plot.Lin Qi died at the age of 39, ac…

▽Ex-transport minister Hata dies of coronavirus | NHK WORLD Japan's former transport minister Hata Yuichiro, who died on Sunday at the age of 53, has become the first incumbent lawmaker in the country to die of the coronavirus.Hata develop…

▽Bitcoin hits record above $28,000 - CNN Bitcoin is crashing -- upward. It just passed $28,000 and shows no signs of stopping... Bitcoin passed $20,000 for the first time just 11 days ago. Now it's knocking at $30,000's door... But there's…

▽Twitter Will Reset @POTUS Account To Zero Followers After Biden Transition : NPR Right now it's over 33.2 million, but that number will drop to zero after President-elect Joe Biden takes over the official @POTUS account on Inauguration Da…

▽Abe apologies over political funding misconduct | NHK WORLD A political funding scandal that dogged former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resurfaced Thursday as Tokyo prosecutors brought a summary indictment against one of his aides. …

▽Channel 4 under fire for deepfake Queen's Christmas message | The Guardian Channel 4 has sparked controversy and debate with a deepfake video of the Queen as an alternative to her traditional festive broadcast, to be aired on Christmas Da…

▽Taiwan reports 1st local coronavirus case in 253 days - The Mainichi Taiwan reported Tuesday its first locally transmitted case of the novel coronavirus since April, ending a 253-day streak without domestic transmission.Health and Welfare…

▽Prosecutors Question Ex-PM Abe over Dinner Party Scandal - JIJI PRESS The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office's special investigation squad has questioned former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on a voluntary basis over a high-pro…

▽Tokyo governor urges residents not to go out during holiday season | Reuters Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike on Monday urged the capital’s 14 million residents to stay home during the upcoming holiday season to prevent the further spread of c…

▽Ian Hopkins stands down as Manchester Chief Constable | ITV News The Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, Ian Hopkins is to step down from his duties with immediate effect.This follows Greater Manchester Police being put into spe…

▽Road operator: Tunnel likely caused Tokyo cave-in | NHK WORLD A Japanese expressway operator says its work to dig an underground tunnel likely caused a cave-in in a residential area of western Tokyo.East Nippon Expressway announced interi…

▽Japan's review of Avigan as COVID-19 treatment draws blank | The Japan Times Japanese health authorities have been unable to reach a conclusion on the effectiveness of antiviral drug Avigan in treating COVID-19 patients based on the resul…

▽UN strikes agreement with Taliban leaders to set up thousands of schools in insurgent areas The United Nations has reached an agreement with the Taliban leadership to set up thousands of schools inside insurgent-controlled territory.A nat…

▽Man indicted over Kyoto Animation arson attack that killed 36 Japanese prosecutors indicted Wednesday a 42-year-old man over an arson attack in July last year on a Kyoto Animation Co. studio that killed 36 people and injured 33 others.Shi…

▽Japan to halt travel program over New Year holidays amid virus surge The Japanese government will suspend its subsidy program for promoting domestic tourism nationwide during the New Year holidays amid a surge in coronavirus cases, Prime …

▽Hezbollah man convicted in 2005 Hariri bombing sentenced to five life terms in prison | Reuters The U.N.-backed Lebanon Tribunal on Friday sentenced a Hezbollah member convicted of conspiring to kill former Lebanese prime minister Rafik a…

▽Violence in Wistron Bangalore: Violence breaks out at Wistron Corp’s iPhone manufacturing plant near Bengaluru | Times of India The iPhone manufacturing plant, run by Taiwan-based tech giant Wistron Corporation at Narsapura (around 60 km …

▽Iran executes dissident journalist accused of inciting unrest | The Guardian Iran has executed a dissident journalist, a year after he was seized by the country’s elite Revolutionary Guards in Iraq and forcibly repatriated to face trial.R…

▽U.S. sanctions people in China, Jamaica, El Salvador over alleged human rights violations | Reuters The U.S. State Department on Thursday announced sanctions against 17 officials of China and other foreign governments, as well their immed…

▽China Focus: Chinese scientists achieve quantum computational advantage - Xinhua A research team including renowned Chinese quantum physicist Pan Jianwei announced Friday a significant computing breakthrough, achieving quantum computation…

▽Japan town's sole female councillor ousted after accusing mayor of sexual assault | The Guardian The only female member of a town assembly in Japan has been voted out of her seat after she accused the mayor of sexual assault, in a setback…

▽One year since 'first' COVID-19 symptoms in China | NHK WORLD It has been a year since the first person confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus in Wuhan, China, is believed to have begun exhibiting symptoms.Chinese authorities have …

▽Payment Service PayPay Hacked - JIJI PRESS The operator of Japanese smartphone payment service PayPay said Monday that a server containing information on all 2.6 million stores using the service has been hacked.There is a possibility that…

▽Trump orders withdrawal of most US troops from Somalia | DW US President Donald Trump has ordered the removal of most American soldiers from Somalia by early 2021, the Pentagon said in a statement on Friday.Nearly 700 US soldiers are curr…

▽Covid: First batch of vaccines arrives in the UK - BBC News The first consignment of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine has arrived in the UK.It has been taken to a central hub at an undisclosed location, and will now be distributed …

▽China's mishandling of the early stages of Covid-19 pandemic revealed by leaked documents - CNN In a report marked "internal document, please keep confidential," local health authorities in the province of Hubei, where the virus was first…

▽Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai remanded into custody on fraud charge - CNA Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai was remanded into custody on Thursday (Dec 3) after being charged with fraud, the latest in a string of prosecutions brought aga…

▽Hong Kong activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow jailed : The Asahi Shimbun Hong Kong pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam were sentenced to jail on Wednesday on charges related to an unauthorized anti-government protes…