Reuters

By Kentaro Sugiyama

TOKYO (Reuters) -Top Japanese companies agreed to wage increases of an average 5.58% at annual labour talks that wrapped up in March, the Keidanren business lobby's preliminary data showed on Monday, representing the heftiest pay hike in 33 years.

The average wage increase at the "shunto" spring wage talks this year exceeded last year's finalised 3.99% increase and came close to the 5.6% recorded in 1991.

The... (continue reading...)

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Slavyansk oil refinery, located in the Krasnodar region, was damaged after a weekend drone attack, state-run TASS reported on Monday, citing a company security official.

Six drones crashed onto the territory of the oil refinery in Slavyansk in Russia's southern Krasnodar region in early hours of Sunday, according to local officials. Interfax news agency reported the refinery halted work after the attack.

"There... (continue reading...)

PARIS (Reuters) - Paris-based quantum computer startup company Pasqal announced it had signed a partnership with Saudi Arabia's state oil giant Aramco to install the first quantum computer in the country.

Pasqal will install, maintain, and operate a 200-cubit quantum computer scheduled for deployment in the second half of 2025.

"Through this partnership, we'll be at the forefront of accelerating commercial adoption of this transformative... (continue reading...)

(Reuters) - Taiwan President Lai Ching-te took office on Monday, having won election in January.

Following are key facts on relations between Taiwan and China:

POLITICS

- China has claimed Taiwan through its "one China" policy since the Chinese civil war forced the defeated Kuomintang (KMT), or Nationalists, to flee to the island with their Republic of China government in 1949, and has vowed to bring it under Beijing's rule,... (continue reading...)

By Martin Coulter

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s artificial intelligence (AI) safety institute will open an office in the United States, hoping to foster greater international collaboration on the regulation of a fast-moving technology.

Government officials said the institute’s new office in San Francisco would open this summer, recruiting a team of technical staff to complement the organisation’s work in London and strengthen ties... (continue reading...)