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(Removes byline) BEIJING (Reuters) -Old problems in China-Japan relations are intertwined with new ones, and the challenges cannot be ignored if the countries wish to have a “healthy” relationship, China’s top diplomat said on Tuesday. A foreign ministry statement said Yang Jiechi, who spoke with Japanese national security chief Takeo Akiba on the phone, said both …

China’s top diplomat says new, old China-Japan problems intertwined Read More »

TOKYO (Reuters) – Foreign tourists visiting Japan will be required to wear masks, take out private medical insurance and be chaperoned throughout their stay, the government said on Tuesday, as it plans a gradual opening from two years of COVID-19 restrictions. Only visitors on package tours will be allowed in during the first phase of …

Japan to open to tourists after two years but only with masks, insurance, guides Read More »

By Joori Roh and Soo-hyang Choi SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea and the United States staged a joint air power demonstration on Tuesday during a visit by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, who said there would be a strong and clear response if North Korea were to conduct a nuclear test. The demonstration, …

S.Korea, U.S. showcase air power during U.S. official’s Seoul visit Read More »

HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam on Tuesday dismissed its health minister Nguyen Thanh Long, after he was accused of violating the ruling Communist Party’s rules and allegedly causing losses to the state budget, state media reported. The sacking of the minister comes amid an intensifying anti-corruption drive in the Southeast Asian country that was launched in …

Vietnam sacks health minister amid anti-graft drive Read More »

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea reported 61,730 more people with fever symptoms amid its first-ever coronavirus outbreak, North Korean state media KCNA said on Tuesday. (Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi; Editing by Chris Reese)

By Nailia Bagirova SHUSHA, Azerbaijan (Reuters) – The area around Shusha was once called the “Switzerland of Azerbaijan” for its wooded hills and mild climate – a nickname that belies a history of periodic violence between ethnic Azerbaijanis and Armenians stretching back more than a century. A year and a half ago, Azerbaijani forces retook …

Azerbaijan works to revive recaptured Karabakh resort of Shusha Read More »

NUR-SULTAN (Reuters) -Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev pledged on Monday to make good on plans to push through democratic reforms in Kazakhstan, after a clear majority of voters approved constitutional amendments he had laid out in a referendum. The Central Election Commission said that 77.18% of Sunday’s votes were in favour of the amendments, which decentralise …

Kazakh leader pledges reform after referendum win Read More »

(Reuters) – Russia, hit by Western sanctions, has called on the BRICS group of emerging economies to coordinate measures to stabilise the economic situation, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Monday. Siluanov told a ministerial and central bankers’ meeting of the BRICS countries, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, that …

Russia calls for coordinated BRICS action against global economic risks Read More »