The Japanese Cabinet on Friday approved a record 8.7 trillion yen ($55 billion) defense budget for 2025 as Japan accelerates building up its strike-back capability with long-range cruise missiles and starts deploying Tomahawks to fortify itself against growing threats from China, North Korea and Russia. The Cabinet-endorsed draft defense budget marks the third year of Japan’s ongoing five-year military buildup under the national security strategy adopted in 2022. The defense spending is part of the more than 115 trillion yen ($730 billion) national budget bill — also a record — that requires parliamentary approval by March to be enacted.
Japanese stocks rose Friday on a weaker yen after a muted day on Wall Street following the Christmas holiday. The yen was "marginally stronger" on Friday, Bloomberg reported, after data showed inflation in Tokyo rose for a second month in December.
Rain and high winds were expected roll through parts of Oregon and Washington, while fog settled over an area from Kansas City to Chicago.
South Korea's acting president faced an impeachment vote on Friday, as the country struggled to shake off political turmoil sparked by his predecessor's martial law declaration that shocked the world.Han Duck-soo took over as acting president from President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was suspended following a parliamentary vote over his move to impose martial law on December 3.
Early indications suggest a Russian anti-aircraft system may have downed the passenger jet that crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, a US official told CNN as Azerbaijan held a day of mourning for the dozens of victims of the disaster.
Canada's new finance minister Dominic LeBlanc and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly will meet aides to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in Florida on Friday to discuss the risks of imposing new trade tariffs, the Canadian government said. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on imports from Canada when he takes office in January unless the country reduces the flow of migrants and fentanyl into the U.S. LeBlanc's office said in a statement on Thursday that the two ministers would highlight "the negative impacts that the imposition of 25% tariffs on Canadian goods would have on both Canada and the United States."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is proposing that cosmetic products containing talc should be tested using standardized methods to detect asbestos, a potential contaminant, according to documents posted on the federal register on Thursday.
China's leader Xi Jinping wants the recent spree of mass killings that shocked the country not to happen again. The attacks, where drivers mow down people on foot or knife-wielding assailants stab multiple victims, are not new in China. Local officials were quick to vow to examine all sorts of personal disputes that could trigger aggression, from marital troubles to disagreements over inheritance.
NJDOT crews are evaluating how to repair a sinkhole on I-80 eastbound near Exit 34 in northern New Jersey. Here's what you need to know.
They clung on through years of conflict in Myanmar but a surge of fighting has driven tens of thousands more Rohingya to flee, escaping with little more than harrowing tales of war.Yet many Rohingya remained until the escalation of fighting this year created a new surge of refugees.
Holiday travelers setting out for what is expected to be one of the busiest travel weekends of the year are already facing delays as a severe round of storms rolls into the Southern US.
Key members of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet traveled to Florida on Thursday for talks with representatives of US President-elect Donald Trump, as Ottawa works to avert a potentially devastating trade war.Newly appointed Finance Minister Dominic Leblanc and Foreign Minister Melanie Joly flew to Palm Beach, Florida, "to meet with officials from the incoming Trump administration," Leblanc spokesman Jean-Sebastien Comeau said in a statement sent to AFP. Trump has vowed to impose
The OpenAI issue was caused by an "upstream provider," according to the artificial intelligence organization.
Two top Canadian Cabinet ministers are visiting Palm Beach to talk border security and trade with the incoming Donald Trump administration as Trump threatens tariffs on all Canadian products. New Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly will be in Palm Beach, Florida on Thursday for the talks this week, said Jean-Sébastien Comeau, a spokesman for LeBlanc. LeBlanc said last week he would meet with Tom Homan, Trump’s incoming “border czar,” after Christmas to discuss Canada’s plan to secure the border as part of a bid to avoid the sweeping tariffs.
Israeli air strikes pummelled Sanaa's international airport and other targets in Yemen on Thursday, with Huthi rebel media reporting six deaths.The rebel-held capital's airport was struck by "more than six" attacks, with raids also targeting the adjacent Al-Dailami air base, a witness told AFP. Yemen's civil aviation authority said the strikes occurred as the UN aircraft "was getting ready for its scheduled flight", adding that the airport planned to reopen on Friday.
An Iowa school teacher is accused of banning slang popular among Gen Alpha, prompting a fight over the First Amendment.
A former Peruvian congressional official on Thursday denied having set up a prostitution ring in the legislature providing sexual favors to lawmakers in return for votes.He said he had no connection to sexual workers providing services to members of congress, "much less that these services have been used to generate votes in favor of a bill."
"As for concrete bilateral events, I can say that the appropriate plans are actively being drawn up," ambassador Igor Morgulov told RIA. "What can be said that is no secret, in terms of priority, is that the chairman of the People's Republic of China is expected in Russia next year."
Israeli forces unleashed a series of strikes on the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and the western city of Hodeidah on Thursday, killing at least six people and injuring dozens more, the Iran-backed Houthis said in a statement where it vowed to retaliate.
A plane passenger taken into custody after boarding a Delta flight from Seattle to Hawaii without a boarding pass.
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