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Record-breaking heat wave grips western United States

A record early heat wave striking the western United States on Friday is a one-in-500-year event and almost certainly the result of human-caused climate change, experts say. The heat has been toppling records this week and is set to continue into the weekend across western cities while expanding eastward. Four locations in the desert area near the California-Arizona border registered 44.4 degrees Celsius on Friday, a US national record for March. The readings were recorded near Yuma and Martinez Lake in Arizona, and around Winterhaven and Ogilby in California. Read: Intense heatwave grips US, triggering record-breaking temperatures Already, 65 cities have recorded new March highs, ranging from Arizona and California to Idaho, Weather.com reported. Death Valley reached 40°C on Thursday, while typically cool and foggy San Francisco tied its historic March record at 29°C. In Colorado, skiers were seen hitting the slopes shirtless. The National Weather Service issued extreme heat warni...
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China, Japan agree to restart ruling party talks after six-year hiatus

China and Japan have agreed to resume regular talks between their ruling parties for the first time in six years, officials from Japan's coalition government said on Wednesday. Ties between Asia's top two economies have been strained by issues including Japan's concerns about China's maritime activities in the East and South China Seas, and China's protests against Japan's release of treated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean. But the agreement to restart the talks comes after Chinese Premier Li Qiang praised what he called a restart in relations with US-allied Japan and South Korea after their leaders met for the first three-way summit in four years on Monday. The three agreed to revive trade and security dialogue hampered by global tensions. Toshimitsu Motegi, secretary-general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, reached the agreement on talks with Liu Jianchao, who leads the Communist Party's body in charge of managing ties with foreign political parties, during Liu's visit to Tokyo on Wednesday. Liu "specifically requested to restart the Japan-China ruling party exchange council. Secretary-General Motegi expressed his approval", Tatsuya Ito, an LDP lawmaker present at the meeting, told reporters. Read also: China's premier hails 'new beginning' with US-allied South Korea, Japan Makoto Nishida, a lawmaker from the LDP's junior coalition partner Komeito who was also present at the talks, confirmed a decision had been made for the exchanges to resume. The details of how and when the talks would start have not yet been finalised, Ito added. The ruling party talks were previously held around once a year but have not taken place since 2018. Liu, who has kept up a busy schedule since he came into office in 2022, stoking expectation he is being groomed to become China's next foreign minister, also met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa earlier on Wednesday. Kishida told Liu that he wanted to build stable and constructive ties with China and that exchanges between political parties were important for developing relations.

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