Japan hikes interest rates to 30-year-high
The Bank of Japan hiked interest rates to a 30-year high of 0.75 percent on Friday, the first increase since January, as it said the economy had shown signs of improvement.
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Brazil's top court strikes down law blocking Indigenous land claims
Brazil's top court struck down a law on Thursday that limits Indigenous people's rights to their ancestral lands, the latest twist in a long legal battle over native territory.
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Conway falls for 227 as New Zealand pass 500 in West Indies Test
Opener Devon Conway's epic innings ended on 227 Friday as the West Indies showed some fight after lunch on day two of the third Test, but New Zealand piled on the runs to go past 500 at Mount Maunganui.
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'We are ghosts': Britain's migrant night workers
"We are ghosts on the night shift," says Leandro Cristovao from Angola, who has worked the graveyard shift at a south London market for seven years.
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Asian markets rise as US inflation eases, Micron soothes tech fears
Asian markets rose Friday as a below-forecast read on US inflation boosted hopes for another interest rate cut next month, while blockbuster earnings from chip firm Micron helped soothe nerves over a tech bubble.
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Giant lanterns light up Christmas in Catholic Philippines
In the Christmas-mad Philippines, thousands cheer as hand-crafted lanterns towering six metres (20 feet) high light up the night sky in San Fernando, northwest of the country's capital.
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TikTok: key things to know
TikTok boasts over a billion users worldwide, including more than 170 million in the United States, it says -- nearly half the country's population.
Read moreEU agrees 90-bn-euro loan for Ukraine, but without Russian assets
EU leaders struck a deal Friday to provide Ukraine a 90-billion-euro loan to plug its looming budget shortfalls -- but failed to agree on using frozen Russian assets to come up with the funds.
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Upstart gangsters shake Japan's yakuza
When Takanori Kuzuoka began climbing the criminal career ladder, he didn't fancy joining Japan's old-school yakuza, with their tattoos, rigid hierarchy and codes of honour.
Read moreEU fails to agree Russian asset plan for Ukraine
EU leaders failed Friday to agree a deal on using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine -- with overnight talks pivoting instead towards providing Kyiv a loan backed by the bloc's common budget.
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