Japan demands swift release of fishermen detained by Russia
Japan on Wednesday demanded the prompt release of the crews of five fishing boats detained by Russia, saying they were doing nothing wrong and calling for them to be set free on humanitarian grounds.
Tokyo court orders journalist pay damages to reporter Shiori Ito over alleged rape suit
A Japanese court on Wednesday ordered prominent reporter Noriyuki Yamaguchi to pay 3.3 million yen ($30,375.55) in damages to journalist Shiori Ito in a civil lawsuit related to her allegations he had raped her.
Famed Australian corporate raider charged with child pornography offences: media
Australian police have charged former corporate raider Sir Ron Brierley with child pornography offences, Australian media reported on Wednesday.
Fifteen years on, young Indian woman struggles after tsunami ‘took away everything’
Saranya was only nine when the giant waves hit her family’s village in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu on Boxing Day in 2004.
Costa Rica calls for aid, grappling with spike in Nicaraguan refugees
Costa Rica’s president on Tuesday requested urgent international aid for refugees in the small Central American nation, which has taken in tens of thousands of people from Nicaragua after a political crisis triggered months of violent protests.
Ship industry proposes $5 billion research fund to help cut emissions
Shipping associations have proposed creating a research fund with $5 billion raised by the industry to develop technology to help the sector meet U.N. targets on cutting emissions.
In rural China, elderly transgender Sister Liu longs for family life
Morning market shoppers look a little too long in Liu Peilin’s direction as she passes by in a red jacket and gray wig covered in red and pink clips, her cheeks rouged in bright pink and eyeshadow in a matching shade.
French unions refuse Christmas truce in pensions protests
French trade unions failed on Tuesday to achieve the big surge in support they had hoped for in street protests to pressure President Emmanuel Macron to ditch his pension reform, and said there would be no strike truce during Christmas.
U.N. Security Council set for showdown over Syria cross-border aid deliveries
For the past six years the United Nations and other aid groups have been crossing into Syria from Turkey, Iraq and Jordan at four places authorized by the U.N. Security Council to deliver humanitarian assistance to millions of people.
U.S. envoy for North Korea to visit China this week: State Department
The U.S. special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, will visit Beijing on Thursday and Friday, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday, after China and Russia proposed lifting some U.N. sanctions on North Korea.
