HONG KONG -- China's crackdown on the tech industry has reached the fast-growing online securities sector, with shares in Futu Holdings and Up Fintech Holding both suffering a major blow in the U.S. following abrupt criticism from Chinese authorities.

Amid regulatory uncertainties, mainland investors are having difficulties in remitting money in their offshore securities trading accounts back to their mainland bank accounts.

In an online article published in mid-October, the People's Daily, the official newspaper for the Chinese Communist Party, warned

TOKYO -- Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida has decided to appoint former Defense Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi as foreign minister, Nikkei has learned. The new cabinet is expected to be formed on Wednesday.

Kishida has told executives of the parties in the ruling coalition of his decision.

The move comes after Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party appointed former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi to the No. 2 post of secretary-general. At the moment, Kishida is doubling as foreign minister.

Hayashi belongs to Kishida's faction within the LDP and

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- After a daylong standoff, Democrats set aside divisions between progressives and centrists to pass a $1 trillion package of highway, broadband and other infrastructure improvements, sending it on to President Joe Biden to sign into law.

The 228-to-206 vote is a substantial triumph for Biden's Democrats, who have bickered for months over the ambitious spending bills that make up the bulk of his domestic agenda.

Biden's administration will now oversee the biggest upgrade of America

BANGKOK -- The National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG), a pro-democracy group, has decided to issue its own "bonds" worth $1 billion. It aims to establish itself as the legitimate government of Myanmar after the military seized power in the country in February.

NUG announced on Thursday that in addition to issuing bonds and lottery tickets it would collect income and corporate taxes from citizens and businesses. Funds raised through the bond issuance and other means will be used to support those who have lost their jobs

GUANGZHOU, China -- A 20-year-old student from China at the University of Toronto in Canada recently made an online purchase of a shirt from China's Li Ning brand and sent it to her father as a birthday present. The brand looked fresh and was popular on social media, she said, adding that she liked the "China" logo written in Chinese on the shirt.

The sports apparel market in China has long been dominated by American and European brands such as Nike and Adidas, but

HO CHI MINH CITY -- Once shoppers enter certain fashion stores or mattress retailers in Vietnam, the cameras roll and the computers get to work -- calculating what percentage of people talk to the staff or make a purchase, and dozens of other metrics.

Crunching the numbers for these retail clients is Palexy, one of Vietnam's few startups bringing machine learning into the physical world and expanding in Asia.

The company compares its services to the data analysis that e-commerce sites already use to target customers, but in

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Colin L. Powell, the trailblazing soldier-diplomat who rose from humble beginnings to become the first Black secretary of state, was remembered by family and friends Friday as a principled man of humility and grace whose decorated record of leadership can serve as a model for generations to come.

"The example of Colin Powell does not call on us to emulate his resume, which is too formidable for mere mortals," his son, Michael, said in a touching tribute at his father's

TOKYO -- The Japanese government announced on Friday that it will reopen its borders for business people and students, starting on Monday, although restrictions on overseas tourist arrivals will remain in place for now.

The country will lift the entry ban for business people, students and technical trainees. For business people who are fully vaccinated, the mandatory self-isolation period will be cut to a minimum three days.

As many as 370,000 people are waiting to enter the country. They have already been issued

BEIJING -- Uniqlo will launch a global flagship store in one of Beijing's leading fashion districts Saturday, a key step in its aggressive expansion strategy in China that aims to open 100 stores year.

The Sanlitun location is Uniqlo's first global flagship in the Chinese capital and the third in mainland China. It includes an exhibit featuring traditional embroidery from the Miao ethnic minority, which participates in one of Uniqlo's community service initiatives, and is also the first Chinese store to sell flowers.

"We