The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.

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Travel agency H.I.S. expects record 53 bil. yen loss amid pandemic

TOKYO - Travel agency H.I.S. Co. said Saturday it expects to report a record net loss of 53 billion yen ($465 million) for the year ending this month, its second straight year in the red, as the coronavirus wreaks havoc on the industry.

The Japanese firm's latest result follows the 25 billion yen loss it made in the previous fiscal year. Revenue for the current year is expected to fall 70 percent to 125 billion yen, it said, adding it will not pay an annual dividend.

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Biden admits to France's Macron that U.S. sub deal was "clumsy"

ROME - President Joe Biden on Friday admitted to his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that the United States was "clumsy" in its handling of a U.S.-British nuclear submarine deal with Australia that stunned Paris and created a diplomatic rift.

The bilateral talks, held in Rome ahead of the Group of 20 summit, was the first in-person meeting between the two leaders since ties soured over the deal, which was announced in September as an initiative of a new "AUKUS" security partnership.

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Japan party leaders make final appeals before Sun. general election

TOKYO - Japan's political leaders made their final appeals to voters on Saturday, a day before the general election to decide whether to give Prime Minister Fumio Kishida a mandate for his COVID-19 and economic policies.

The Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito are looking to retain a majority in the 465-seat House of Representatives, the powerful lower chamber of parliament, with the outcome hinging on dozens of battleground constituencies.

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Husband of Japanese former princess not on N.Y. bar exam pass list

TOKYO - The name of the newlywed husband of former princess Mako Komuro was not on the pass list of the New York state bar examination released Friday by its organizer.

The results were announced days after Kei Komuro married the niece of Emperor Naruhito. The couple are planning to start a new life in New York as early as next month.

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ANA to cut workforce by 9,000 in 5 years, 2nd yr of net loss likely

TOKYO - ANA Holdings Inc. said Friday it will slash around 9,000 employees within five years as the Japanese airline expects to remain in the red for the second straight year with a 100 billion yen ($880 million) net loss in fiscal 2021, underscoring the severity of the hit from the fallout of COVID-19.

In an attempt to lower fixed costs, the parent of All Nippon Airways Co. will reduce the workforce, mostly in Japan, including ground staff and flight attendants, to around 29,000 in fiscal 2025, down 20 percent from fiscal 2020, through retirement and by curbing new hiring.

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Aide to Myanmar's ousted leader Suu Kyi gets 20 years for sedition

YANGON - A Myanmar court sentenced Win Htein, who is known as a close aide to ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, to 20 years in prison for sedition on Friday, local and other media reported.

It is believed to have been the first guilty verdict rendered against a senior member of the formerly ruling National League for Democracy party since the military deposed a civilian government led by it in a February coup.

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U.S. envoy says Washington committed to Taiwan's self-defense

TAIPEI - The head of the de facto U.S. embassy in Taiwan expressed concern on Friday about China's ongoing actions to undermine stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region, reaffirming Washington's commitment to helping the island defend itself.

The director of the American Institute in Taiwan, Sandra Oudkirk, said at her first press conference since taking office in July that the United States has a shared and abiding interest in peace and stability across the strait, which Washington considers central to its security and that of the broader Indo-Pacific region.

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Japan approves taxi ride-sharing from Nov. for greater convenience

TOKYO - Japan's transportation ministry said Friday it will approve taxi-sharing services nationwide from next week, allowing strangers to ride the same vehicle in a bid to offer users greater convenience while boosting the productivity of operators.

Through taxi-sharing, which will require users to make reservations through a smartphone app, users pay less than they would for an individual taxi. At the same time, operators are better able to meet demand even in areas facing a shortage of drivers.

==Kyodo

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