Dollar rises above 100 yen for 1st time in 4 years The dollar has risen above 100 yen for the first time in more than four years as currency traders persist in selling the Japanese currency in reaction to Tokyo's aggressive credit-easing moves. More
In Germany, a U.S. beer invasion Almost 65 years after Allied planes flew Western supplies into blockaded Berlin, a new American import is arriving by air: craft beer. The beer is being flown in as part of a new surge of German interest in American brewing, upending a centuries-old relationship in which German beer defined the golden standard for brewing and Americans emulated it. More
Cyprus parliament approves bailout Cyprus' lawmakers approved on Tuesday a multi-billion bailout agreement with international creditors aimed at preventing the crisis-hit country from going bankrupt. More
Calls For France To Repay Haitian ‘Freedom Tax’ Grow Louder France’s negotiation tactics following the Haitian Revolution of 1804 are the foundation of renewed calls for France to repay Haiti. 04/21/2024 - 2:31 pm | View Link
Los Angeles homeless build ramshackle house on side of busy freeway as Democrat mayor asks city's rich and famous to help with crisis by offering affordable long-term housing ... It follows the controversial mansion tax, which introduced a four percent levy on all homes over $5 million in a bid to generate funds for homelessness prevention. The tax has been widely derided ... 04/17/2024 - 2:23 am | View Link
Rich in Resources, This Nation Is Failing Anyway. Here’s Why. It seemed reasonable that such a sparsely populated country—only five million people, compared with France’s 65 million—would ... prompting 70,000 people to flee their homes. 04/17/2017 - 9:49 pm | View Link
Rags-to-riches tales, revenge plots, and plenty of twists—Chinese viewers are loving what they can find in internet “micro-dramas,” the latest big thing in Chinese entertainment of vertically-shot shows posted on social media with episodes that have runtimes of just a few minutes or less.
But Chinese authorities, wary of losing control over messaging, aren’t loving the new medium so much—and are cracking down on the booming micro-drama industry.
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Unlike legacy television productions with longer production schedules and larger budgets—and strict government oversight—the micro-drama industry has risen through the proliferation of low-budget, quickly made mini-shows that often cost only a fraction of the time and money to put in front of viewers, and until recently, were largely unregulated.
Not known for award- or acclaim-worthy scripts or acting but rather for their pure bingeworthiness, micro-dramas tend to lean into familiar tried-and-tested themes, like love affairs, family disputes, and tensions between the rich and poor.
Read More: China’s Solution to Inequality?
(WASHINGTON) — The U. S. will provide Ukraine additional Patriot missiles for its air defense systems as part of a massive $6 billion additional aid package, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Friday.
The missiles will be used to replenish previously supplied Patriot systems. The package also includes more munitions for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, or NASAMS, and additional gear to integrate Western air defense launchers, missiles and radars into Ukraine’s existing weaponry, much of which still dates back to the Soviet era.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed the need for Patriots early Friday with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a coalition of about 50 countries gathering virtually in a Pentagon-led meeting.
Mass graves with hundreds of bodies were discovered last weekend at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis and Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, prompting serious concerns about war crimes, according to the OHCHR, the U. N.’s human rights office.
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Much remains unknown about the victims, but the discovery of the bodies comes after Israeli troops ended their two-week operation at Al-Shifa Hospital in early April.
King Charles III is set to visit a cancer treatment center with his wife, Queen Camilla, on Tuesday to mark his return to public-facing duties after receiving treatment and recuperating following his cancer diagnosis, Buckingham Palace said Friday.
The Palace announced in February that the King, 75, had been diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer.
HANOI, Vietnam — The head of Vietnam’s parliament has resigned, according to state media, making him the latest senior member of government to leave office amid an ongoing anti-corruption campaign that’s shaken the country’s political and business elites.
The resignation of National Assembly Chair Vuong Dinh Hue adds to growing instability in the country.
For months, Fujikawaguchiko, a Japanese resort town, has been swarmed with tourists eager to soak in the views of Mount Fuji, the country’s tallest mountain. The visitors have also taken a particular interest in one specific parking lot, which offers a picturesque view of the famed volcano in the background of a convenience store.
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As the spot surged in popularity after earning a reputation on social media for being “very Japanese,” a local official told AFP, throngs of tourists have wreaked havoc, sometimes parking their cars without permission, leaving litter behind, and even climbing onto the roof of a nearby dental clinic in hopes of a better vantage point for the perfect shot.