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Japan to beef up its defense with drones, AI and missiles, defense budget plans show

Japan plans to use drones, artificial intelligence and new methods of warfare as it adapts its defense strategies to suit changing times, according to details of an 8.9 trillion yen ($55.6 billion) budget request for the coming fiscal year disclosed by the Defense Ministry on Monday.

The preliminary total is only a small increase from the 8.8 trillion yen ($55 billion) defense budget requested for this fiscal year. It will be much higher eventually, but further details will come later this year after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government approves the new security and defense strategy aimed at strengthening Japan's counterstrike capability.

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Djokovic loses in opening round of US Open for first time, falling in 5 sets to Navone

Novak Djokovic grinded through physical and internal ailments, made one mistake after another and could not find what it took to beat a feisty, younger opponent who was not intimidated under the lights against tennis' most decorated player.

The 39-year-old is out of the U.S. Open after a first-round defeat to Mariano Navone on Sunday night, losing 7-6 (5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in a five-set marathon that lasted four hours and 36 minutes. It was the longest opening match of a Grand Slam in Djokovic's career and became his earliest exit in one in two decades, dating to the 2006 Australian Open. He had never lost in the first round at the U.S. Open.

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Japanese automakers Nissan and Honda agree to work together on software for cars

Japanese automakers Nissan and Honda entered a deal to jointly develop computer parts and software for vehicles set to enter the market in fiscal 2029, both sides said Monday.

Under the deal, Nissan, based in the port city of Yokohama, and Tokyo-based Honda will share standardized parts in "core ECUs," or electronic control units, as well as software.

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Nepal floods expose risks to hydropower in warming Himalayas

Workers shoveled thick mud from a flood-ravaged power station in central Nepal, trying to revive a key node that supplies electricity to more than 20,000 people. But as they cleared debris from equipment buried by last week's catastrophic floods, there was hope the plant would not simply be rebuilt in the same place, beside the river that destroyed it.

In Nepal, up to 900 workers are unaccounted for from a dozen hydropower projects, according to the Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal, with hundreds believed trapped in tunnels. In Nepal and China combined, over 900 people have died and 4,700 are missing.

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World shares are mixed and oil prices surge after US strike on Iranian rocket launchers

Shares were mixed in Europe and Asia and U.S. futures declined Monday on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve may raise interest rates soon.

In early European trading, Germany's DAX lost 0.9% to 26,339.04, while the CAC 40 in Paris edged 0.1% lower, to 8,390.43. Markets in Britain were closed for a bank holiday.

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School starts soon in Lebanon but thousands still shelter in them during war

Eleven-year-old Fatima Khashab helps her mother tidy the small area where their family sleeps, in a row of makeshift living quarters in a school gymnasium.

About 200 families are sheltering in the school in Lebanon's southern coastal city of Tyre. Most are from villages farther south that have been destroyed in the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah or are occupied by Israeli forces, like Fatima's hometown of Mansouri.

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Leaders of China, Russia and India meet to counter US influence

The leaders of China, Russia and India are among the heads of state gathering in Kyrgyzstan this week for the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a group billed as a counterweight to U.S. global influence.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are scheduled to attend the events in Bishkek, the capital of the Central Asian nation.

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Movie stars, timely documentaries and awards hopefuls convene at Venice Film Festival

August can be a dreary month for Hollywood glamour, but the Venice Film Festival is on the horizon to kick off the busy fall film festival season in style.

There will be plenty of stars gracing the red carpets when the 83rd edition of the festival kicks off Wednesday on the Lido: Noel and Liam Gallagher, Robert Pattinson, Rooney Mara, George Clooney and Penélope Cruz are among those expected to attend. Some of the films may even become Oscar nominees.

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Icelandic voters reject proposal to restart negotiations to join European Union

Iceland's voters rejected restarting negotiations to join the European Union in a referendum that pitted concerns about geopolitical stability against keeping national control of Iceland's prized fisheries, officials said Sunday.

Opponents defeated the measure by a margin of 52.8% to 47.2%, the National Electoral Commission said. The result puts the divisive issue to rest for now — more than a decade after a euroskeptic government ended EU talks that had begun after the 2008 financial crisis.

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Rescue efforts intensify after Nepal-Tibet flooding as deaths climb past 900

Rescuers were trying to find trapped workers in at least a dozen hydroelectric plant sites Monday after catastrophic flooding in Nepal and Tibet killed at least 900 people and left more than 4,700 missing.

Multiple foreign teams were assisting local rescuers to find workers in multiple tunnels at Nepal's power plants on the rivers that flooded last Wednesday.

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