LONDON -- At last weekend's G-7 summit in Cornwall, England, leaders agreed on a new infrastructure investment partnership with a focus on "clean and green growth" in developing countries -- a plan that the group of rich democracies hopes to frame as an alternative to China's Belt and Road initiative.

The leaders' communique said the G-7 countries will "step change" their approach to infrastructure financing. Experts say the partnership's success lies in mobilizing private finance and ensuring high standards

PALO ALTO, U.S. -- U.S. software developer Niantic will launch augmented reality game "Transformers: Heavy Metal" later this year.

Nintendo and other Japanese companies have invested in Niantic, the company behind the breakout "Pokemon Go," which racked up more than 1 billion downloads globally. "Transformers: Heavy Metal" will become the second AR game app featuring characters that originated in Japan.

In "Transformers: Heavy Metal," players join the Guardian Network and team up with the Autobots

SINGAPORE -- Israel's agriculture technology companies are seeking business opportunities in Southeast Asia, as countries like Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines look to the Middle East for ways to boost food production.

Israeli agritech innovations have increasingly made their way into the farming communities in Southeast Asia through bilateral agricultural programs.

Israel expanded its cooperation with Thailand by marking the opening of a second greenhouse facility in Petchburi province in October. This followed its installation of the first greenhouse in 2018 as a demonstration unit for farmers in the

TOKYO -- India's 13-month border standoff with China has proved a boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Make in India" campaign as the nation's ban on military imports bolsters the domestic weapons industry.

The Indian government last month revealed a new list of 108 military items that must be procured at home, expanding the blacklist to over 200 items, from assault rifles to helicopters and radar systems.

This followed a catalog of 101 restricted items issued in August

DUBAI (Reuters) -- Ebrahim Raisi, a hardline judge who is under U.S. sanctions for human rights abuses, secured a landslide victory on Saturday in Iran's presidential election after a contest marked by voter apathy over economic hardships and political restrictions.

With all 28.9 million ballots counted, Raisi was elected with a tally of 17.9 million, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said on state TV. Turnout in Friday's four-man race was a record low of around 4

TOKYO -- Data-based journalism has played a powerful role during the pandemic in delivering accurate news quickly and will continue to be a great tool for reporters, experts said at The Future of Journalism symposium sponsored by Nikkei on Saturday.

Speakers and panelists, including some attending online, gathered at Waseda University in Tokyo to discuss the role news media should play as the coronavirus pandemic causes a distortion of truth, from the efficiency of vaccines and public policy to how widespread cases are and the best methods to reduce infections. The

TOKYO -- Japanese energy company Eneos and plant engineer Chiyoda will build a facility that manufactures hydrogen without carbon dioxide emissions at one-third the current cost, a breakthrough in the nation's push toward decarbonization.

The plant will use a proprietary electrolysis technology to significantly lower necessary investment, with the aim of bringing down the price of hydrogen to 330 yen, or roughly $3, per kilogram. Eneos and Chiyoda are looking at Australia and other locations as candidates to build the plant in 2030

YANGON/BANGKOK -- Myanmar's military on Feb. 1 detained State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint in the country's first coup since 1988, bringing an end to a decade of civilian rule.

The Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy had won a landslide in a general election in November . But the military has claimed the election was marred by fraud.

For all our coverage, visit our Myanmar Coup page.

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SEOUL -- At first glance, the massive Samsung semiconductor fabrication plant seems almost out of place in Pyeongtaek, which not that long ago was known more for its open pastures and barracks that housed thousands of American troops.

But this port city 50 km south of South Korea’s capital has transformed into a high-tech hub over the past decade.

"It was only 10 years ago this place used to be a pasture smelling of manure," a 65-year-old cab driver said.