The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Zelenskyy says no cease-fire unless Russia withdraws troops
KYIV - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview that his country will not agree to a cease-fire unless Russia withdraws its troops, while expressing concerns about international attention becoming "unfocused" on the situation in Ukraine amid the Middle East conflict.
"There will be an understanding of peace and security in the future only if Russian troops are not on our territory," the president said on Tuesday while talking with Asian media outlets, including Kyodo News, at his office in Kyiv.
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Ex-U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger dies at 100
WASHINGTON - Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who played a pivotal role in opening ties with China in the 1970s and continued to shape Washington's foreign policy, died Wednesday at his home in Connecticut, his consulting firm said. He was 100.
Kissinger was arguably the most powerful secretary of state in the 20th century whose accomplishments included helping the United States exit from the Vietnam War through the Paris Peace Accords and thaw relations with the Soviet Union by pursuing a policy of detente.
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Japan urges U.S. to ground Ospreys in nation after fatal crash
TOKYO - Japan has urged the United States to ground Osprey military aircraft operating in the Asian country following a fatal crash on Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said.
The Osprey, which crashed near a small island off the coast of southwestern Japan, made an emergency call to ask for permission to land on a nearby airport about 10 minutes before the accident, the transport ministry said Thursday.
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Olympics: Sapporo left out as IOC signals 2030, 2034 games hosts
PARIS - The International Olympic Committee on Wednesday named Salt Lake City, Utah, as its preferred host for the 2034 Winter Olympics, extinguishing Sapporo's hopes of hosting the games.
The northern Japan city had explored the possibility of hosting in 2034 after dropping its bid for the 2030 Winter Games in the wake of bid-rigging and bribery scandals linked to the Tokyo Olympics held in the summer of 2021.
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Japan's ex-Foreign Minister Maehara to form new party
TOKYO - Former Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara said Thursday that he has decided to leave the opposition Democratic Party for the People, which has recently moved closer to the ruling bloc, to form a new force in parliament.
Maehara, who was also transport minister in an earlier government led by the now-defunct Democratic Party of Japan, served as deputy chief of the labor union-backed DPP. He was defeated by Yuichiro Tamaki in the party's leadership race in September.
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Sumitomo Mitsui taps deputy head as CEO after predecessor's death
TOKYO - Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. said Thursday that Deputy President Toru Nakashima will be promoted to president and CEO after his predecessor Jun Ota died last week.
The appointment of Nakashima, 60, will take effect on Friday, the company said. Ota died of pancreatic cancer on Saturday.
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Hong Kong journalist goes missing following business trip to Beijing
HONG KONG - An award-winning reporter from Hong Kong has gone missing following a business trip to China in late October, people close to the matter told Kyodo News on Thursday.
Minnie Chan, the South China Morning Post reporter, became unreachable after visiting Beijing to cover Xiangshan Forum, a three-day international security forum that ended Oct. 31, said the people, mainly her friends, expressing their worries that Chan may be under investigation by mainland authorities.
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Philippines expecting release of nationals held hostage by Houthis
MANILA - The Philippines on Thursday said Filipino seafarers held hostage by Yemen-based, Iran-backed Houthi rebels who seized their vessel in the Red Sea in mid-November will likely be set free.
Teresita Daza, spokeswoman of the Philippine Foreign Affairs Department, said the 17 seafarers are in good health and "will eventually be released."
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Video: Monk returns to fire-ravaged temple in Hawaii's Lahaina
