▽China Moves to Three-Child Policy to Boost Falling Birthrate - Bloomberg China will allow all couples to have a third child, a surprise move aimed at slowing the nation’s declining birthrate as risks to the economy’s long-term prospects m…

▽Covid: Wuhan lab leak is ‘feasible’, say British spies | The Sunday Times British intelligence agencies now believe it is “feasible” that the global pandemic began with a coronavirus leak from a Chinese research laboratory.In a significan…

▽Hong Kong changes electoral law, reduces direct public vote : The Asahi Shimbun Hong Kong’s legislature on Thursday passed a bill amending electoral laws that drastically reduces the public’s ability to vote and increases the number of pr…

▽Japan extends COVID-19 state of emergency to June 20 as Olympics loom The Japanese government on Friday extended the COVID-19 state of emergency in Tokyo, Osaka and seven other prefectures by three weeks to June 20 -- just over a month be…

▽The Virus Lab Theory’s New Credibility - WSJ President Biden on Wednesday ordered U.S. intelligence to dig deeper into the origins of Covid-19, a reversal after he reportedly ordered a State Department investigative unit shut down. Mr. Bi…

▽Trump investigation: Manhattan district attorney convenes grand jury to hear evidence, weigh potential charges - The Washington Post Manhattan's district attorney has convened the grand jury that is expected to decide whether to indict fo…

▽Risk of Nuclear War Over Taiwan in 1958 Said to Be Greater Than Publicly Known - The New York Times When Communist Chinese forces began shelling islands controlled by Taiwan in 1958, the United States rushed to back up its ally with milit…

▽Tokyo Olympics: anger in Japan at IOC call to make ‘sacrifices’ | The Guardian The International Olympic Committee’s insistence that “sacrifices” must be made to ensure the Games go ahead in Tokyo regardless of the coronavirus situation i…

▽Japan's Juvenile Law Amended for Tougher Penalties - JIJI PRESS The revised juvenile law will come into force on April 1, 2022, together with the revised Civil Code, which will lower the age of adulthood in Japan from 20 to 18.Criminal ca…

▽DR Congo: Volcano eruption prompts Goma evacuation | DW The Congolese government said it was evacuating Goma, a city of nearly 2 million people, after the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo. Lava reached the city's airport but stopped short of …

▽More wining and dining of Japanese ministry officials surfaces in broadcaster's probe - The Mainichi A special investigation panel set up by broadcasting firm Tohokushinsha Film Corp. has turned up several more occasions where its employe…

▽House passes bill to create Jan. 6 commission amid strong GOP opposition The House on Wednesday voted 252-175 to create an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, but the bill faces a different landsca…

▽Pelosi calls for U.S. and world leaders to boycott China's 2022 Olympics | Reuters U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday called for a U.S. diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, criticizing Chin…

▽Japan's pandemic-hit economy logs record contraction in FY 2020 Japan's economy in fiscal 2020 shrank a real 4.6 percent from the previous year, the sharpest annual contraction on record, as the coronavirus pandemic dealt a debilitating b…

▽Survey: Suga Cabinet approval rating ties record low of 33% : The Asahi Shimbun The approval rating for the Suga Cabinet plummeted to 33 percent, matching the lowest level since the administration was formed in September, while dissatisfa…

▽China's Zhurong Mars rover touches down on the red planet China's space program took a major leap today when it successfully landed the Zhurong rover on Mars, marking the country’s first landing on another planet. Teams will now prepare t…

▽Suga Cabinet support rate falls to record 32.2% in Jiji poll | The Japan Times The approval rate for Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s Cabinet stood at 32.2% in May, the lowest level since its launch in September, a Jiji Press monthly opini…

▽Japan to expand COVID-19 state of emergency to 3 more prefectures The Japanese government decided Friday to expand a COVID-19 state of emergency covering Tokyo and other areas to three more prefectures, a surprise move that comes as infec…

▽UK's Johnson announces COVID-19 inquiry next year Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced an inquiry next year into the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic that is likely to focus on why the United Kingdom suffered Europe's worst death toll …

▽Japan Enacts Bill to Launch Digital Agency - JIJI PRESS The Diet, Japan's parliament, on Wednesday enacted a package of digital transformation bills including one to establish a digital agency advocated by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.Th…

▽Taiwan holds out hope of 11th-hour invitation to World Health Assembly with support of the West | South China Morning Post Taiwan has not yet received a long sought-after invitation from the World Health Organization despite a growing int…

▽Sweden faces 'last chance' on Ericsson's fate in China over 5G equipment test involvement after Huawei fallout: source - Global Times Chinese mobile operators have invited Swedish firm Ericsson to participate in their 5G equipment test an…

▽Chinese rocket debris lands in Indian Ocean | The Japan Times Remnants of China’s biggest rocket landed in the Indian Ocean on Sunday, with most of its components destroyed upon re-entry into the atmosphere, ending days of speculation ove…

▽Colonial pipeline: Cyberattack forces major US fuel pipeline to shut down - CNNPolitics A cyberattack forced the temporary shut down of one of the US' largest pipelines Friday, highlighting already heightened concerns over the vulnerabili…

▽Japan to extend COVID-19 state of emergency | NHK WORLD It's been almost two weeks since the latest state of emergency came into effect in four Japanese prefectures including Tokyo and Osaka. Now the government is set to extend the measur…

▽India’s worst COVID record: Over 400,000 new cases, 3,980 deaths | Al Jazeera India has reported more than 400,000 coronavirus infections over the last 24 hours, while the number of dead from the virus rose to a record 3,980.The South Asi…

▽Navy officer casts doubt on Chinese man's dinghy story - Focus Taiwan A Taiwanese naval officer is skeptical that a Chinese national who illegally entered Taiwan this past weekend made his way across the Taiwan Strait in a dinghy, as the …

▽Japanese dies in India after Coronavirus infection, lack of vacant bed｜Arab News Japan A 48-year-old Japanese woman died in the Indian capital of New Delhi after novel coronavirus infection, Jiji Press learned Monday.It is believed to be…

▽Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan Withdraw Military Units From Border After Deadly Armed Clashes Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have completed the withdrawal of their military units from border areas as part of an agreed pullback following a series of de…

▽Panasonic mulls reducing TV production, shifting some to China's TCL - The Mainichi Panasonic Corp. is considering shifting production of small and midsize televisions to Chinese home appliance maker TCL Corp. as the Japanese electronics …