China embarks on world's largest hydropower dam, capital markets cheer
China's Premier Li Qiang announced construction had begun on what will be the world's largest hydropower dam, on the eastern rim of the Tibetan Plateau, at an estimated cost of at least $170 billion, the official Xinhua news agency said, Reuters reported.
Commencement of the hydropower project, China's most ambitious since the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze, was seized by Chinese markets as proof of economic stimulus, sending stock prices and bond yields higher on Monday.
Made up of five cascade hydropower stations with the capacity to produce 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, equal to the amount of electricity consumed by Britain last year, the dam will be located in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo. A section of the river tumbles 2,000 metres (6,561 feet) in a span of 50km (31 miles), offering huge hydropower potential, according to Reuters.
Russia launches drones, missiles at Ukraine, kills one in Kyiv
Russia launched a fresh wave of drone and missile strikes on Ukraine in an overnight attack on Monday, killing one person, wounding seven others and causing multiple fires in Kyiv, city officials said, Reuters reported.
Explosions lit up the night sky as the high-pitched whine of drone engines echoed off the walls of the capital's high-rise buildings.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said rescuers and medics were working on sites across four districts of the capital. A subway station in central Kyiv, commercial property, shops, houses and a kindergarten were damaged, city officials said, according to Reuters.
Japan's PM vows to stay on despite bruising election loss
Japan's ruling coalition has lost its majority in the country's upper house, but Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said he has no plans to quit, BBC reported.
Voters went to the polls on Sunday for the tightly-contested election, being held at a time of frustration at the coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior partner Komeito over rising prices and the threat of US tariffs.
Speaking after polls closed on Sunday, the prime minister said he "solemnly" accepts the "harsh result" but that his focus was on trade negotiations.
Having already lost its majority in Japan's more powerful lower house last year, the defeat will undermine the coalition's influence, according to BBC.
'Japanese First' party emerges as election force with tough immigration talk
The fringe far-right Sanseito party emerged as one of the biggest winners in Japan's upper house election on Sunday, gaining support with warnings of a "silent invasion" of immigrants, and pledges for tax cuts and welfare spending, Reuters reported.
Birthed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the party broke into mainstream politics with its "Japanese First" campaign.
The party won 14 seats adding to the single lawmaker it secured in the 248-seat chamber three years ago. It has only three seats in the more powerful lower house.
"The phrase Japanese First was meant to express rebuilding Japanese people's livelihoods by resisting globalism. I am not saying that we should completely ban foreigners or that every foreigner should get out of Japan," Sohei Kamiya, the party's 47-year-old leader, said in an interview with local broadcaster Nippon Television after the election, according to Reuters.
