Tokyo, 27 January, /AJMEDIA/
North Korea fires projectile toward Sea of Japan: S. Korean military
SEOUL – North Korea fired an unidentified projectile on Thursday eastward toward the Sea of Japan, the South Korean military said.
The launch follows a series of missile tests by the North this month.
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U.S. Fed signals rate hike as early as March amid rising inflation
WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it intends to start raising its near-zero interest rate “soon,” paving the way for a rate hike as early as March to tamp down rising inflation that could weigh on the U.S. economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
After a two-day meeting of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, the bank maintained its target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 0.25 percent and decided to continue the tapering of its asset-purchase program, as widely expected.
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Japan consortium, U.S. firm to cooperate on fast reactor
TOKYO – The Japan Atomic Energy Agency and two Japanese companies Wednesday signed an agreement with TerraPower LLC on a fast reactor the U.S. nuclear power firm plans to build with financial assistance from the U.S. Energy Department.
The two sides will discuss nuclear technology cooperation, the memorandum of understanding said, with the discussions likely to focus on the use of sodium as a coolant and information exchange regarding Japan’s experience of operating the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor.
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Japan’s daily COVID-19 cases top 70,000 for 1st time
TOKYO – Japan’s daily count of new COVID-19 cases hit yet another record of over 70,000 on Wednesday as the more transmissible Omicron variant continues its rapid spread in Tokyo and elsewhere.
The tally of 71,633, rising by nearly 10,000 from Tuesday and setting a record high for the second straight day, was reported before Japan expanded quasi-state of emergency measures to a broad swath of its archipelago, from Hokkaido to the southwestern region of Kyushu.
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Spring talks in Europe eyed for U.N. nuclear non-proliferation pact
NEW YORK – The president-designate of a U.N. conference on nuclear nonproliferation is exploring the possibility of holding the gathering in Europe in the spring, moving up the timeline from his earlier proposal of convening the session in August, diplomatic sources said Tuesday.
Gustavo Zlauvinen, who will head the upcoming review conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, known as the NPT, is eyeing the move based on requests from some member states for an early gathering.
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Japan, U.S., Australia, India eye Quad foreign chief talks in Feb.
TOKYO – The Quad group involving Japan, the United States, Australia and India are considering holding talks by their foreign ministers in mid-February in Australia, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.
The gathering of the ministers, if realized, would be their first in-person meeting since October 2020, taking place ahead of a summit of the Quad nations’ leaders which Japan plans to host in spring with the aim of further showcasing the four Indo-Pacific democracies’ deepening ties amid China’s rising clout in the region.
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Beijing Olympics may affect timing of Ukraine invasion: U.S. diplomat
WASHINGTON – The Beijing Winter Olympics could affect the timing of Russia’s possible invasion of Ukraine, as China would apparently be upset to see the events coincide, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Wednesday.
The Olympic Games are slated to be held from Feb. 4 to Feb. 20 and Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly expressed willingness to attend the opening ceremony of the global sporting event.
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Cambodian PM urges Myanmar’s junta chief to stop violence
PHNOM PENH – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday urged Myanmar’s junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing to stop violence in the country where the military seized power in a coup in February last year.
In a virtual meeting with the junta chief, the prime minister of Cambodia, this year’s chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, called for him to implement a five-point consensus of ASEAN, including the end to violence and the dispatch of the group’s special envoy to meet with “all parties concerned” in Myanmar, according to a Cambodian government official.