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

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SoftBank landline services hit by disruption

TOKYO - SoftBank Corp. said its landline telephone services in eastern Japan were affected by a disruption Saturday, with customers facing difficulties in making phone calls, including to emergency numbers.

The company said the disruption began at around 1:46 p.m. and the failure could impact hundreds of thousands of lines in parts of Hokkaido as well as the Tohoku, Kanto and Koshinetsu regions, it said.

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Australia rips China over "unsafe, unprofessional" naval interaction

SYDNEY - Australia said Saturday it had expressed serious concerns to China over an "unsafe and unprofessional" interaction between Australian naval divers and a Chinese warship earlier this week, which resulted in minor injuries.

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said in a statement the incident occurred Tuesday when Australia's Toowoomba, a long-range frigate, was conducting diving operations to clear fishing nets from its propellers in international waters inside of Japan's exclusive economic zone.

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Taiwan opposition parties fail to agree on joint presidency bid

TAIPEI - Taiwan's two main opposition parties failed Saturday to agree on a joint presidential bid for the January leadership election, casting doubts over their chance to beat the current front-runner of the ruling party as the clock ticks toward the formal registration deadline.

The main opposition Nationalist Party, also known as the Kuomintang, and the second-largest opposition Taiwan People's Party, had been expected to announce candidates for president and vice president under a joint ticket based on poll results on Saturday, but they disagreed over how to use polling data.

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APEC leaders' declaration makes no reference to Israel-Hamas conflict

SAN FRANCISCO - Asia-Pacific leaders on Friday made no reference to Russia's invasion of Ukraine or the Israel-Hamas war in their joint declaration released after an annual summit, laying bare their disunity over the two ongoing conflicts even as they sought to boost economic cooperation.

The leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum reaffirmed in San Francisco the importance of the rules-based multilateral trading system and market-driven economic integration, and said they "remain committed to improving the quality of life for all our people, and to creating a resilient and sustainable future."

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Soka Gakkai lay Buddhist group leader Ikeda dies at 95

TOKYO - Daisaku Ikeda, the longtime leader of the lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai, one of the largest religious groups in Japan, and founder of Komeito party, the junior coalition partner of the country's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, died of old age Wednesday, the group said. He was 95.

Ikeda died at a Soka Gakkai facility in Tokyo, the group said. He became the third president of Soka Gakkai, with a claimed membership of over 8.27 million households, in 1960. The group provides a powerful electoral base for Komeito.

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Japan cracking down on illegal taxis as tourism boom drives demand

CHIBA, Japan - Japanese authorities are stepping up surveillance of unlicensed taxis at Narita airport near Tokyo, as a spike in the number of arrivals increases demand for transport into the capital.

Transport ministry officials handed out hundreds of fliers stating "Beware! Unlicensed taxis are illegal and unsafe!" in English and Chinese to arriving international visitors in early November at the airport in Chiba Prefecture.

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Football: Japan come back to hammer Argentina 5-2 in Olympic warmup

SHIZUOKA, Japan - Yuito Suzuki's brace propelled Japan to a 5-2 comeback win over Argentina in an under-22 international friendly Saturday as the two nations geared up toward their respective Paris Olympic football qualifiers next year.

The attacker for Danish side Brondby found the bottom right corner from the edge of the box to level at 2-2 in the 66th minute, then tapped home for the lead nine minutes later in a memorable return to IAI Stadium in Shizuoka, home to his former club Shimizu S-Pulse.

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Figure skating: Miura wins 1st Grand Prix event, Sato 2nd in Finland

ESPOO, Finland - Japan's Kao Miura won his first figure skating ISU Grand Prix series event on Saturday after tallying 274.56 points in the Grand Prix Espoo in Finland to edge out compatriot Shun Sato.

The 18-year-old Miura led after the short program on Friday and his 181.02 in the free skate was enough to keep him atop the standings at Espoo Metro Areena in the fifth event of the series.

==Kyodo

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