Three Israeli hostages freed in Gaza; Israel releases 369 Palestinians in exchange

Tokyo, 16 February, /AJMEDIA/ Hamas released Israeli hostages Iair Horn, Sagui Dekel Chen and Sasha (Alexander) Troufanov in Gaza on Saturday and Israel freed some 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees… Read more

Germany’s Scholz rebukes Vance; defends Europe’s stance on hate speech and far right

Tokyo, 16 February, /AJMEDIA/ German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivered a strong rebuke on Saturday to U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s attack on Europe’s stance toward hate speech and the far… Read more

Serbia’s protesting students and supporters of the president hold parallel rallies as tensions spike

Tokyo, 16 February, /AJMEDIA/ Serbia’s striking students and supporters of populist President Aleksandar Vucic held parallel rallies Saturday as both marked the country’s Statehood Day with notably contrasting messages. The… Read more

Trump keeps tariffs drumbeat going, with autos targeted next

Tokyo, 16 February, /AJMEDIA/ U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday kept alive his drumbeat of tariff threats, saying levies on automobiles would be coming as soon as April 2, the… Read more

TEPCO takes on challenge of making space for Fukushima nuclear debris

Tokyo, 16 February, /AJMEDIA/ Workers at Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant have started dismantling water storage tanks to free up space for tons of nuclear debris, 14 years after the… Read more

Man dies after falling into river while clearing snow from bridge in Niigata

Tokyo, 16 February, /AJMEDIA/ A 67-year-old man died after falling about 20 meters into a river while clearing snow from a bridge in Uonuma, Niigata Prefecture, police said Sunday. According… Read more

Only 9% of Japanese people have used generative AI: survey

Tokyo, 16 February, /AJMEDIA/ While 61 percent of Japanese people are aware of generative artificial intelligence, only 9 percent have used it, according to a survey, highlighting the challenges Japan… Read more

Ohtani throws 1st bullpen of spring training, taking a step toward possibly pitching

Tokyo, 16 February, /AJMEDIA/ Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani threw his first bullpen of spring training on Saturday, taking a step toward possibly pitching for the first time since… Read more

President Ilham Aliyev: Relations of friendship and cooperation between Azerbaijan and Lithuania have good traditions

Tokyo, 16 February, /AJMEDIA/ President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to his Lithuanian counterpart, Gitanas Nausėda, on the occasion of Lithuania’s national holiday.… Read more

Azerbaijani FM heads to Serbia for working visit

Tokyo, 16 February, /AJMEDIA/ Jeyhun Bayramov, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, has departed for Serbia for a working visit. As part of the trip, FM Bayramov will engage in bilateral… Read more