Briefly
JAPAN
FY 2022 sees record $161b trade deficit
Japan posted a trade deficit of 21.73 trillion yen ($161.36 billion) in fiscal 2022 ending March, marking a new record, the government said in a report on Thursday. According to the Finance Ministry, the country's imports far outpaced exports from a year earlier, with imports leaping 32.2 percent compared to a 15.5 percent increase in exports. For March alone, the Finance Ministry said in its preliminary report that Japan logged a trade deficit of 754.5 billion yen.
UNITED STATES
2 black teens shot after mistaking wrong car
Two African American teenage cheerleaders were shot after one of them mistakenly opened the door of a wrong vehicle at a supermarket parking lot near Austin, Texas, local media reported on Wednesday. The suspect, 25-year-old Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr, was taken into custody hours later on Tuesday in Elgin, about a 50-minute drive from Austin, the Elgin Police Department said in a news release.
UNITED NATIONS
Guterres to host intl meeting on Afghanistan
The United Nations secretary-general is convening an international meeting on Afghanistan from May 1 to 2 in Doha, Qatar, where envoys will seek a "durable way forward "for the war-ravaged nation, his spokesman said on Wednesday. Antonio Guterres will host the closed-door gathering featuring special envoys on Afghanistan from various countries who aim to "clarify expectations" on concerns, including the Taliban authorities' restrictions on women, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
ECUADOR
Landslide death toll rises to 43
The death toll from a March 26 landslide in central Ecuador's Chimborazo Province rose to 43, the Attorney General's Office said on Wednesday. Heavy rains sparked a massive nighttime landslide that buried buildings, streets and everything else across 24.3 hectares, according to the Risk Management Secretariat. In addition, 45 people remained missing, 43 suffered injuries and 32 were rescued. The landslide destroyed 163 houses and left 1,034 people homeless.
Agencies - Xinhua
