Japan's government said on Friday that it plans to spend 2 trillion yen ($13 billion) to boost domestic production of strategically important semiconductors and generative AI technology.
Almost 50,000 people have been displaced by fighting in northern Myanmar after an alliance of ethnic armed groups launched an offensive against the military two weeks ago, the United Nations said Friday.
Israel has agreed pauses in its offensive in northern Gaza that will allow some civilians to flee heavy fighting, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out any broader ceasefire as a "surrender" to Hamas.
U.S. health authorities on Thursday approved the world's first vaccine for chikungunya, a virus spread by infected mosquitoes that the Food and Drug Administration called "an emerging global health threat.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday opened a conference on humanitarian aid for Gaza by calling for a "ceasefire", echoed by other delegates looking to support the Palestinian territory under bombardment by Israel since the October 7 attack by Hamas.
Iran on Thursday rejected a G7 statement which called on Tehran to stop supporting Hamas militants and taking actions that "destabilize" the Middle East.
