IRAN

Tehran denies starting nuclear talks with US

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Wednesday rejected a recent claim by the US president that Tehran and Washington were holding nuclear talks. He made the remarks in an address to reporters in Tehran, one day after US President Donald Trump said the United States was talking to Iran and that Tehran wanted "very badly" to make a deal. Baghaei said: "No negotiation process currently exists between Iran and the United States."

JAPAN

Govt to pay damages over airbase noise

A Japanese court on Wednesday ordered the government to pay around 3.9 billion yen ($25 million) in damages to residents around Atsugi airbase near Tokyo for health hazards and psychological distress due to noise, local media reported. Presiding Judge Nobuhiro Okada at the Yokohama District Court said the jarring noise "caused damage that exceeded what could be tolerated in social life" in the case brought by around 8,000 nearby residents and others regarding the Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kyodo News reported.

GERMANY

China returns as top trading partner

China has reclaimed its title as Germany's top trading partner, dethroning the United States, official figures showed on Wednesday. Total trade between Europe's biggest economy and China from January to September this year grew slightly to nearly 186 billion euros ($215 billion), according to the federal statistics agency Destatis. During the same period, trade between Germany and the US dropped by almost 4 percent to just under 185 billion euros, it said. China had already been Germany's top trading partner from 2016 to 2023, but the US jumped into the top spot in 2024.