介绍:
Japan unveils new cabinet lineup, ushering in new defense chief
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has unveiled his new cabinet lineup, following his re-election to the Japanese leadership earlier in the day this Wednesday.
The cabinet looks virtually the same.
The one significant change sees 57-year-old Gen Nakatani take over as Defense Minister.
He's replacing Akinori Eto, who declined the reappointment due to a political funding scandal he's currently embroiled in.
Other key ministers, including deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, Foreign Minister Fumio Keshida and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihida Suga, have retained their posts.
The new cabinet line-up is likely to push forward Shinzo Abe's economic policies, known as Abenomics.
It's also likely to give the green-light to accelerating the legislation connected to the changes in Japan's defense policies.
No pro-India party secures majority in Indian-controlled Kashmir
No pro-India political party has managed to garner an outright majority in the local elections in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
The People's Democratic Party, which is headed by a well-known Indian Muslim, has secured 28 seats in the 87-strong regional assembly.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist BJP managed to secure 25 seats.
While that outcome is sizeable for the BJP in the predominantly-Muslim region of Kashmir, it still comes up well short of the ruling national party's ambition of 44 seats in Kashmir.
Sony decides to release "The Interview" on Christmas at some theaters
Sony has announced it will launch a "limited" theatrical release of the controversial film "The Interview" on Christmas Day.
The film has been the center of controversy after hackers attacked the Sony website earlier this month in an apparent retaliation against the film.
The movie itself, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, is a comedy connected to an assassination attempt on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Last week, Sony announced it was going to cancel the film's release due to threats posted online by a group of hackers who claimed responsibility for the cyberattack of its system.
The attack on Sony saw the hackers release a number of films online which had not yet hit theatres.
The move is said to have cost Sony millions in lost theatre revenues.
First ever stock exchange to be established in Myanmar
Myanmar's government is teaming up with a pair of Japanese firms to create the country's first stock exchange.
The Yangon Stock Exchange Joint Venture will be controlled by Myanmar's government, with a 51-percent stake.
The Japanese Daiwa Institute of Research and the Japan Exchange Group will control the rest.
The Yangon Stock Exchange is expected to be established sometime in the coming year.
Nicaragua canal developer plans IPO
The Hong Kong-based company financing the plans to build an expanded version of the Panama canal in neighboring Nicaragua is planning an initial public offering.
The chair of Hong Kong-based Nicaragua Canal Development Investment hasn't said how big the offering may be, or where they might be looking to list.
He does say they're looking for the exchange which will offer the best conditions for them.
Nicaragua Canal Development Investment is teaming up with the government of Nicaragua for the massive project, which is said to be worth around 50-billion US dollars.
The canal, designed to rival the over-century old Panama Canal, is expected to run 278-kilometers between the Caribbean and the Pacific.
The project was officially launched earlier this week.
Once completed, it is expected to be able to handle today's large ships which the Panama Canal can't physically accommodate.
China vows to boost grain yield, farmers' income
The Chinese government is promising it's going to do what it can to maintain a steady grain yield next year as part of its attempt to modernize this country's agriculture sector.
Agriculture Minister Han Changfu says the central government will do its best to keep grain output up, while at the same time, seeing the income of farmers grow by more than 7.5 percent.
The pledge is a constant struggle for the Chinese government, as lower yields means higher demand, which pushes prices up and means more money for the farmers themselves.
The comments follow the completion of the government's annual rural work conference on Tuesday.
China's Nov. Service Trade Deficit Rises
China's foreign service trade deficit has widened slightly in November.
New stats show the gap in the trade in the foreign services sector hit 121 billion yuan in November.
This is up from the 106 billion yuan recorded in October.
Through the first 11 months of this year, the overall service trade deficit stands at 950-billion yuan.
Chinese authorities started to issue monthly data on the services trade in January.
China Train Makers' Merge Nears Completion: Sources
Sources close to the Chinese railway industry say the merger of China's two dominant state-owned trainmakers, CNR and CSR, is now into the final stage.
Personnel adjustments for the new company are going to be made public this coming Monday.
It's unclear how many people may be laid-off in the merger.
The plans to merge the two Chinese train giants is an attempt to create more high-speed train exports through a combined tendering process, as CNR and CSR would often compete against one-another for the same bid.
The combined market value of the two companies is believed to be around 26-billion US dollars.
Trading of the two companies' stocks has been suspended in both Shanghai and Hong Kong since October when the merger was first announced.
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