Reuters

By Kirsty Needham

(Reuters) - Protesters and a thousand French police reinforcements were playing a "game of cat and mouse" in New Caledonia, ahead of the arrival of France's President Emmanuel Macron after the worst riots in 40 years in the French territory, pro-independence groups said on Wednesday.

France's High Commission said Macron would be accompanied by ministers for defence and interior for Thursday's talks, and some 100 members... (continue reading...)

TOKYO (Reuters) - A senior Chinese Communist Party official plans to visit Tokyo this month to meet with leaders from Japan's ruling parties and discuss resuming regular talks between the parties for the first time since 2018, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported on Wednesday.

Arrangements are being made for Liu Jianchao, who leads the Communist Party's body in charge of managing ties with foreign political parties, to travel to Japan for a meeting on... (continue reading...)

By Wayne Cole

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian shares edged higher on Wednesday as anxious investors dared to hope AI-diva Nvidia could meet sky-high expectations, while keeping a wary eye on the outlook for U.S. and UK interest rates.

New Zealand's central bank offered a sobering assessment of its inflation problems, warning that rates would have to be higher for longer to bring them to heel in a shock to local markets.

That saw... (continue reading...)

By Brad Brooks and Steve Gorman

(Reuters) -A powerful tornado ripped through a small Iowa town on Tuesday, killing multiple people and leaving at least a dozen injured, authorities said.

Images from the town of Greenfield show a path of utter destruction, with homes reduced to splinters, debris strewn everywhere and several large wind turbines toppled.

"This tornado has devastated a good portion of this town," said Sgt. Alex... (continue reading...)

By Khanh Vu

HANOI (Reuters) -Vietnam's parliament elected police minister To Lam as the state president on Wednesday, in a move analysts see as a "stepping stone" for Lam to bid later for the position of chief of the ruling Communist Party, the country's top job.

Lam's election followed the appointment on Monday by Vietnam's National Assembly of its new chairman, former deputy Tran Thanh Man, possibly bringing to a temporary end two-months of... (continue reading...)