1. The U.S. Senate has unanimously passed legislation to support the establishment of human rights and democracy in Hong Kong, where protests have continued for months.
2. Japan and South Korea have failed to hammer out their differences over Japan’s export controls in the second round of bilateral talks at the World Trade Organization.
3. Shinzo Abe has become Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, after breaking a record set more than a century ago.
1. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a major reversal of the U.S. policy on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
2. Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam is calling on the remaining protesters holed up inside a university to come out peacefully and end a dangerous situation.
3. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s total tenure has tied the country’s record for the longest-serving prime minister.
1. Yahoo Japan and major messaging app provider Line have reached an agreement to merge.
2. Japan and South Korea remain apart over an intelligence-sharing pact between the two countries after talks between their defense ministers.
3. Registration of candidates for Taiwan’s presidential election in January will begin on Monday.
1. The defense ministers of Japan and South Korea are meeting in Thailand, as an intelligence-sharing pact between the two countries is due to expire next Saturday.
2. A bomb explosion has killed 18 civilians in a northern Syrian town, which is effectively under Turkish control.
3. Scuffles have broken out in Paris between police and demonstrators on the first anniversary of the movement challenging President Emmanuel Macron’s policies.
1. Hong Kong police are intensifying criticism of student protesters, saying some universities in the territory have become bases for the rioters.
2. A senior U.S. State Department official says Washington is trying to persuade South Korea to reverse its decision to end an intelligence-gathering pact with Japan.
3. A Japanese university team researching Nazca Lines in Peru have discovered an additional 143 geoglyphs.
1. Yahoo Japan and Softbank Group and messaging app Line are negotiating toward a tie-up, according to sources close to the matter.
2. U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper says he will urge South Korea to maintain an intelligence-sharing pact with Japan, which is set to expire next week.
3. The top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine has indicated he believes President Donald Trump requested the European country to investigate a firm linked with the son of former vice president Joe Biden.
1. A survey shows that 15 percent of the victims of last month’ Typhoon Hagibis were killed while outdoors because of their work or while commuting.
2. Japan’s space agency says its probe is on its way back to Earth after leaving the asteroid, Ryugu.
3. Japanese businesses and research institutes have set up an organization to promote the development of quantum technology.
1. Japan’s new Emperor and Empress enthralled people in Tokyo and around the nation with a lavish procession through the streets of the capital.
2. Police in Hong Kong say an officer opened fire to protesters.
3. Japan posted a current account surplus of 1.6 trillion yen, or about 15 billion dollars in September.