OSAKA -- Sharp will sell smart televisions equipped with Roku streaming capabilities in the U.S. starting in spring 2022, returning to the American consumer TV market after a six-year absence.

The Osaka-based company looks to roll out 50- to 75-inch liquid crystal display TVs with superhigh-definition 4K display. The sets will be made at a Mexican plant run by Taiwanese parent Foxconn, the world's leading contract electronics assembler, which is strong at keeping costs

NEW DELHI -- India's economy is now doing better than before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, an index compiled by Nomura Singapore shows, as the South Asian country overcomes a mass outbreak that brought its health care system to its knees earlier this year.

But chip and energy shortages have begun to impact India's manufacturing sector, casting shadows over the path to a full and lasting recovery. Farmer protests, once again picking up momentum after a coronavirus-induced lull, could also lead to

TOKYO -- A split over the near-term use of coal power threatens international cooperation at the United Nations climate summit later this month, pitting European proponents of an early exit with China, India and other countries opposed to quitting.

The disagreement could stymie an accord at the 26th U.N. Climate Change Conference of the Parties, or COP26, even after warming scenarios outlined in a recent report underscored the increasingly urgent need to cut carbon emissions.

Preparations for the meeting come as energy prices soar

TOKYO/NEW YORK -- Ten naval vessels belonging to China and Russia passed through a narrow chokepoint in the north of Japan, Tokyo's Defense Ministry said Monday.

The warships sailed eastward toward the Pacific Ocean, likely as part of "Naval Interaction 2021," a joint maritime exercise the two navies are conducting this month.

This is the first time that Chinese and Russian warships are known to have passed the Tsugaru Strait together. The strait is between Japan's main island of Honshu and the

PALO ALTO, U.S.-- Apple announced a new Mac laptop powered by its latest-generation in-house chips, as the U.S. tech giant continues its two-year transition from Intel processors for its computer lineup.

The new processors, the M1 Pro and M1 Max, are 70% faster than the M1, its original self-designed silicon for Macs, and are the "most powerful chips Apple has ever built," the company said.

At its third

Tobias Harris is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, an independent, nonpartisan policy institute. He is the author of "The Iconoclast: Shinzo Abe and the New Japan."

At a press conference following the dissolution of Japan's House of Representatives last week, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida offered stark words about the choice facing voters in the Oct. 31 general election.

"The age is at a turning point," Kishida said. "Which way it moves will determine the future of Japan.

BEIJING -- The Chinese Communist Party is planning a key historical overview previously issued only under Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping as President Xi Jinping steps up his push to secure a third term as leader at the party congress next fall and usher in a new age.

The Central Committee will review a "key resolution on the major achievements and historical experience of the party's 100 years of endeavors" during a Nov. 8-11 plenary session, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Monday after a Politburo decision

TOKYO -- Japan will urge petroleum-producing nations to raise output and ease the soaring global oil prices that have hurt both corporate earnings and household budgets.

The plan to lobby oil producers, in collaboration with the International Energy Agency, is based on directives by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Tokyo also looks to offer state support for affected industries, as officials from relevant ministries met Monday to discuss ways to address the oil price rally.

"The government as a whole will respond swiftly to make sure there is no disruption to

SHANGHAI -- China's economic growth continued to decelerate in the third quarter, as gross domestic product came in at 4.9%, softened by the country's zero-tolerance COVID measures and energy shortages.

The year-on-year GDP growth rate, published on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics for the three-month period through September, was below the median 5% expansion forecast by 29 economists in a Nikkei poll released earlier this month.

The figure slid from 7.9%