Reuters

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan lodged a protest against Beijing on Friday after four armed Chinese coastguard vessels entered waters that Tokyo considers its territory.

The Japanese government said it was the first time that four Chinese vessels carrying what appeared to be cannon entered its territorial waters in the East China Sea surrounding the disputed islands, which Tokyo calls the Senkaku and Beijing calls the Diaoyu.

"I am not in a... (continue reading...)

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's new yuan loans likely rebounded in May from April, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, as the central bank told lenders to quicken bank lending to support the economy.

Chinese banks are expected to have issued 1.255 trillion yuan ($173.92 billion) in new yuan loans last month, compared to 730 billion yuan in April, according to the median estimate in a survey of 18 economists.

However, the forecast put the value... (continue reading...)

(Reuters) - GameStop's shares surged more than 30% in premarket trading on Friday as investors geared up for the YouTube return of "Roaring Kitty", the stock influencer whose recent social media posts have sparked a rally in so-called meme stocks.

The video game retailer's shares jumped 35% to $62.50 in heavy volume.

"Roaring Kitty", whose real name is Keith Gill, returned to social media platform X in mid-May, after a three-year hiatus,... (continue reading...)

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Twelve people were injured on Friday following an explosion and fire at a home-improvement chain store in northeastern Romania, a government emergency response agency said.

The fire has been extinguished and search and rescue teams were looking for more potential victims inside the store, the response unit said.

(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

By Issifou Djibo, Alessandra Prentice and David Lewis

AGADEZ, Niger (Reuters) - At the bus station in Agadez, a town in northern Niger that serves as a gateway to the Sahara, a dozen men – their faces masked by turbans and sunglasses – clambered onto the back of a battered pickup truck headed across the desert to Libya.

Several men with legs dangling over the side of the vehicle shouted "Italy, Italy!", gripping short wooden poles... (continue reading...)