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

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Japan ruling bloc, 2 opposition parties to revise immigration law

TOKYO - Japan's ruling bloc and two opposition parties agreed Thursday to revise a controversial bill that, if passed, would amend an immigration law enabling authorities to deport individuals who apply repeatedly for refugee status.

Following the agreement, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito, along with the two opposition parties, are seeking to vote on the bill as early as Friday at the lower house committee on judicial affairs, lawmakers said.

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S. Korea's Yoon vows to defend freedom with U.S. in Congress speech

WASHINGTON - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday pledged to defend freedom and democracy alongside the United States for years to come during his address to Congress in Washington.

Speaking entirely in English and focusing much of the first part of his speech on the Korean War, Yoon said the alliance was formed to "defend Korea's freedom" but has now acquired global significance on par with its economic power.

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Tokyo Disneyland operator's net profit surges in post-COVID rebound

TOKYO - Oriental Land Co., operator of the Tokyo Disney Resort, said Thursday its net profit rose by around 10 times to 80.73 billion yen ($605 million) for the year ended March, as the number of visitors to the theme parks is increasing amid eased COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

Oriental Land, which runs the Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea parks both located near the Japanese capital, said visitors surged by 83.2 percent to more than 22 million people, which also included a rise in foreign tourist numbers.

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Giant panda Ya Ya returns to China from U.S. after stirring worries

HONG KONG - Beijing-born giant panda Ya Ya returned to China as scheduled on Thursday after a 20-year stay at the Memphis Zoo in the U.S. state of Tennessee, according to Chinese media, after public concern mounted over her health conditions due to possible neglect.

The 22-year-old female giant panda arrived at Shanghai Pudong Airport after a nearly 16-hour flight on a cargo plane. Ya Ya will be quarantined in the city before being transported to Beijing Zoo, the media reported.

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Female member of gov't panel joins meeting at PM's office with baby

TOKYO - A female member of a government panel participated in a meeting at Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's office with her two-month-old baby on Thursday, with the Cabinet pledging to take necessary measures to promote women's empowerment.

Shoko Takahashi, founder of the Japanese personal genome company Genequest Inc. is believed to be the first person to take their newborn to a gathering held at the prime minister's office, according to its secretariat.

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Zelenskyy asks China's Xi to halt military cooperation with Russia

KYIV - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday called on his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to halt military cooperation with Russia, stating that even partial assistance would support Moscow's continued aggression, the presidential office in Kyiv said.

In the first phone talks held between the two leaders since the war started, Zelenskyy stressed to Xi the importance of all countries refraining from providing any support to Russia, including the provision of weapons.

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Baseball: Kurihara grand slam lifts Hawks over Eagles

FUKUOKA - Ryoya Kurihara broke a scoreless tie with a sixth-inning grand slam, leading the SoftBank Hawks to a 5-3 Pacific League win Thursday over the Rakuten Eagles.

With the bases loaded and one out, Kurihara sent a 2-1 pitch from reliever Sora Suzuki over the right-field wall at Fukuoka's PayPay Dome for his fourth home run of the season.

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U.S. economy grows 1.1% in 1st quarter of 2023

WASHINGTON - The U.S. economy grew an annualized 1.1 percent in real terms from January through March, marking the third straight quarter of increase, underpinned by brisk spending despite higher interest rates, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

The first estimate of gross domestic product, however, showed that the world's No. 1 economy sharply slowed after expanding 3.2 percent and 2.6 percent in the third and fourth quarters of last year.

==Kyodo

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