Japan

"This year, we have seen a massive increase," Magnus Gerell, an associate professor and criminologist at Malmo University, told SVT on Sunday. "It is an extremely high number and a very large increase compared to recent years. The development is also driven by the fact that more of the victims (of shootings) die," Gerell said.

This year's laureates received their awards in the Concert Hall on Saturday, Xinhua News Agency reported. This year's laureates include: Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser and Anton Zeilinger (physics); Carolyn R. Bertozzi, K. Barry Sharpless and Morten Meldal (chemistry); Svante Paabo (physiology or medicine); Annie Ernaux (literature); and Ben S. Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip H. Dybvig (economics).

The latest opinion poll by Kyodo News has shown that the approval rating for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet was down 4.5 percentage points from 37.6 in the previous poll conducted in late October, a record low since Kishida took office in October 2021, Xinhua news agency reported.

In a report by South Asia Director, Meenakshi Ganguly, the New York-based human rights watch dog stated that to stabilise the economy, international creditors should agree to restructure Sri Lanka's debt so the country could secure final approval for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan and financing from other global agencies.

The two Prime Ministers on Friday highlighted the importance of cooperation between Finland and Sweden, particularly in the future NATO membership, Xinhua news agency reported. "This relationship plays a particularly important role in the current crises. Concrete areas where cooperation should be strengthened include developing security of supply and countering hybrid threats," the Finnish government said in a statement.

According to the Finance Ministry, the deficit stood at 11.01 trillion yen ($73 billion) in the first half of fiscal 2022 since April, marking the biggest for any fiscal half-year period since record keeping began, reports Xinhua news agency.

The new government was announced by Kristersson after delivering his Statement of Government Policy in parliament. It includes Foreign Affairs Minister Tobias Billstrom, Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson, Defence Minister Pal Jonson, Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer, EU Affairs Minister Jessika Roswall, and Energy, Business and Industry Minister Ebba Busch.

The investigation has been launched based on "the right to ask questions" under the Religious Corporations Act, with the probe marking the first time the government here has exercised the right, reports Xinhua news agency. The result of the probe could see the sect lose its status as a religious corporation and its tax benefits.

"In Sweden, we have pre-trial confidentiality. We are working on exactly how we formulate our answer," Swedish Television (SVT) quoted Andersson as responding to the Russian request, Xinhua news agency reported. "This is an exceptional event," Andersson told journalists on one of the Swedish Coast Guard's vessels in the port of Karlskrona not far from the leak sites.

Hosoda told parliamentary representatives in a meeting on the issue that as well as four gatherings he previously admitted to attending between 2018 and 2019 hosted by the sect, he attended four more events and sent three messages, reports Xinhua news agency.