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Nikkei stock index closes at all-time high

TOKYO, Japan, Oct. 21 Kyodo - A financial data monitor in Tokyo on Oct. 21, 2025, shows the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average at an all-time closing high of 49,316.06. Stock buying was spurred by optimism for fresh economic steps as ruling Liberal Democratic Party head Sanae Takaichi was elected Japan's first female prime minister in parliament earlier in the day. (Kyodo)

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LDP head Takaichi elected Japan's 1st female PM

A large screen in Beijing shows the news report that Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi was elected Japan's first female prime minister in parliament on Oct. 21, 2025.

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LDP head Takaichi elected Japan's 1st female PM

A large screen in Beijing shows the news report that Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi was elected Japan's first female prime minister in parliament on Oct. 21, 2025.

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Japan Lower House Elects Takaichi New Prime Minister - Tokyo

Yoshihiko Noda L), head of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, votes during the extraordinary session of the House of Representatives in Tokyo, Japan, October 21, 2025. Sanae Takaichi, leader of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party LDP), was officially elected the country's prime minister on Tuesday after winning in both houses of parliament, becoming the country's first female leader. Photo by Xinhua/Jia Haocheng/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Nikkei stock index closes at all-time high

A financial data monitor in Tokyo on Oct. 21, 2025, shows the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average at an all-time closing high of 49,316.06. Stock buying was spurred by optimism for fresh economic steps as ruling Liberal Democratic Party head Sanae Takaichi was elected Japan's first female prime minister in parliament earlier in the day.

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Nikkei stock index closes at all-time high

A financial data monitor in Tokyo on Oct. 21, 2025, shows the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average at an all-time closing high of 49,316.06. Stock buying was spurred by optimism for fresh economic steps as ruling Liberal Democratic Party head Sanae Takaichi was elected Japan's first female prime minister in parliament earlier in the day.

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Nikkei stock index closes at all-time high

A financial data monitor in Tokyo on Oct. 21, 2025, shows the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average at an all-time closing high of 49,316.06. Stock buying was spurred by optimism for fresh economic steps as ruling Liberal Democratic Party head Sanae Takaichi was elected Japan's first female prime minister in parliament earlier in the day.

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Nikkei stock index closes at all-time high

A financial data monitor in Tokyo on Oct. 21, 2025, shows the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average at an all-time closing high of 49,316.06. Stock buying was spurred by optimism for fresh economic steps as ruling Liberal Democratic Party head Sanae Takaichi was elected Japan's first female prime minister in parliament earlier in the day.

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LDP head Takaichi elected Japan's 1st female PM

A television screen in Tokyo shows the news report that ruling Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi was elected Japan's first female prime minister in parliament on Oct. 21, 2025.

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Canada: Convoy of Evacuees Arrives in Opaskwayak Cree Nation Amid Wildfires

Thousands of people in Manitoba have been forced to evacuate as massive, out-of-control wildfires sweep through the province, prompting a monthlong state of emergency. This video, recorded Wednesday, May 28, shows a convoy of evacuees arriving in the areas surrounding Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN), The Pas, and the Rural Municipality of Kelsey.

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Judo: Japan national women's team gets 1st female head coach

Maki Tsukada, the women's 78-kilogram judo gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics, speaks at a press conference in Tokyo on Oct. 9, 2024, after assuming the post of head coach of Japan's national women's judo team. The nation's judo governing body decided earlier in the day on the first female head coach of its women's national team.

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Judo: Japan national women's team gets 1st female head coach

Maki Tsukada, the women's 78-kilogram judo gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics, speaks at a press conference in Tokyo on Oct. 9, 2024, after assuming the post of head coach of Japan's national women's judo team. The nation's judo governing body decided earlier in the day on the first female head coach of its women's national team.

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Judo: Japan national women's team gets 1st female head coach

Maki Tsukada, the women's 78-kilogram judo gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics, speaks at a press conference in Tokyo on Oct. 9, 2024, after assuming the post of head coach of Japan's national women's judo team. The nation's judo governing body decided earlier in the day on the first female head coach of its women's national team.

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Mexico Likely To Have 1st Female President

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo receives the registration of sole pre-candidate for the presidency of Mexico by the National Regeneration Movement party, the Labor Party and the Green Party at an event at the WTC Convention Center in Mexico City, Mexico, November 19, 2023. Mexico appears all but certain to elect its first ever female head of state after Claudia Sheinbaum was confirmed in September as the governing party's candidate in next year's presidential election. The former Mexico City mayor will face off against Xochitl Galvez, who is leading the opposition coalition. Ms Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old trained scientist, is a close ally of leftist President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador. Photo by Luis Barron/Eyepix Group/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Mexico Likely To Have 1st Female President

The general secretary of the National Regeneration Movement party, Citlali Hernandez and Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, sole candidate for the presidency of Mexico, at the WTC Convention Center in Mexico City, Mexico, November 19, 2023. Mexico appears all but certain to elect its first ever female head of state after Claudia Sheinbaum was confirmed in September as the governing party's candidate in next year's presidential election. The former Mexico City mayor will face off against Xochitl Galvez, who is leading the opposition coalition. Ms Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old trained scientist, is a close ally of leftist President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador. Photo by Luis Barron/Eyepix Group/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Mexico Likely To Have 1st Female President

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo receives the registration of sole pre-candidate for the presidency of Mexico by the National Regeneration Movement party, the Labor Party and the Green Party at an event at the WTC Convention Center in Mexico City, Mexico, November 19, 2023. Mexico appears all but certain to elect its first ever female head of state after Claudia Sheinbaum was confirmed in September as the governing party's candidate in next year's presidential election. The former Mexico City mayor will face off against Xochitl Galvez, who is leading the opposition coalition. Ms Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old trained scientist, is a close ally of leftist President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador. Photo by Luis Barron/Eyepix Group/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Mexico Likely To Have 1st Female President

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo receives the registration of sole pre-candidate for the presidency of Mexico by the National Regeneration Movement party, the Labor Party and the Green Party at an event at the WTC Convention Center in Mexico City, Mexico, November 19, 2023. Mexico appears all but certain to elect its first ever female head of state after Claudia Sheinbaum was confirmed in September as the governing party's candidate in next year's presidential election. The former Mexico City mayor will face off against Xochitl Galvez, who is leading the opposition coalition. Ms Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old trained scientist, is a close ally of leftist President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador. Photo by Luis Barron/Eyepix Group/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Mexico Likely To Have 1st Female President

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo receives the registration of sole pre-candidate for the presidency of Mexico by the National Regeneration Movement party, the Labor Party and the Green Party at an event at the WTC Convention Center in Mexico City, Mexico, November 19, 2023. Mexico appears all but certain to elect its first ever female head of state after Claudia Sheinbaum was confirmed in September as the governing party's candidate in next year's presidential election. The former Mexico City mayor will face off against Xochitl Galvez, who is leading the opposition coalition. Ms Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old trained scientist, is a close ally of leftist President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador. Photo by Luis Barron/Eyepix Group/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Mexico Likely To Have 1st Female President

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo receives the registration of sole pre-candidate for the presidency of Mexico by the National Regeneration Movement party, the Labor Party and the Green Party at an event at the WTC Convention Center in Mexico City, Mexico, November 19, 2023. Mexico appears all but certain to elect its first ever female head of state after Claudia Sheinbaum was confirmed in September as the governing party's candidate in next year's presidential election. The former Mexico City mayor will face off against Xochitl Galvez, who is leading the opposition coalition. Ms Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old trained scientist, is a close ally of leftist President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador. Photo by Luis Barron/Eyepix Group/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Mexico Likely To Have 1st Female President

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo receives the registration of sole pre-candidate for the presidency of Mexico by the National Regeneration Movement party, the Labor Party and the Green Party at an event at the WTC Convention Center in Mexico City, Mexico, November 19, 2023. Mexico appears all but certain to elect its first ever female head of state after Claudia Sheinbaum was confirmed in September as the governing party's candidate in next year's presidential election. The former Mexico City mayor will face off against Xochitl Galvez, who is leading the opposition coalition. Ms Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old trained scientist, is a close ally of leftist President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador. Photo by Luis Barron/Eyepix Group/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Mexico Likely To Have 1st Female President

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo receives the registration of sole pre-candidate for the presidency of Mexico by the National Regeneration Movement party, the Labor Party and the Green Party at an event at the WTC Convention Center in Mexico City, Mexico, November 19, 2023. Mexico appears all but certain to elect its first ever female head of state after Claudia Sheinbaum was confirmed in September as the governing party's candidate in next year's presidential election. The former Mexico City mayor will face off against Xochitl Galvez, who is leading the opposition coalition. Ms Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old trained scientist, is a close ally of leftist President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador. Photo by Luis Barron/Eyepix Group/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Mexico Likely To Have 1st Female President

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo receives the registration of sole pre-candidate for the presidency of Mexico by the National Regeneration Movement party, the Labor Party and the Green Party at an event at the WTC Convention Center in Mexico City, Mexico, November 19, 2023. Mexico appears all but certain to elect its first ever female head of state after Claudia Sheinbaum was confirmed in September as the governing party's candidate in next year's presidential election. The former Mexico City mayor will face off against Xochitl Galvez, who is leading the opposition coalition. Ms Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old trained scientist, is a close ally of leftist President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador. Photo by Luis Barron/Eyepix Group/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Mexico Likely To Have 1st Female President

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo receives the registration of sole pre-candidate for the presidency of Mexico by the National Regeneration Movement party, the Labor Party and the Green Party at an event at the WTC Convention Center in Mexico City, Mexico, November 19, 2023. Mexico appears all but certain to elect its first ever female head of state after Claudia Sheinbaum was confirmed in September as the governing party's candidate in next year's presidential election. The former Mexico City mayor will face off against Xochitl Galvez, who is leading the opposition coalition. Ms Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old trained scientist, is a close ally of leftist President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador. Photo by Luis Barron/Eyepix Group/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Mexico Likely To Have 1st Female President

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo receives the registration of sole pre-candidate for the presidency of Mexico by the National Regeneration Movement party, the Labor Party and the Green Party at an event at the WTC Convention Center in Mexico City, Mexico, November 19, 2023. Mexico appears all but certain to elect its first ever female head of state after Claudia Sheinbaum was confirmed in September as the governing party's candidate in next year's presidential election. The former Mexico City mayor will face off against Xochitl Galvez, who is leading the opposition coalition. Ms Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old trained scientist, is a close ally of leftist President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador. Photo by Luis Barron/Eyepix Group/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Mexico Likely To Have 1st Female President

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo receives the registration of sole pre-candidate for the presidency of Mexico by the National Regeneration Movement party, the Labor Party and the Green Party at an event at the WTC Convention Center in Mexico City, Mexico, November 19, 2023. Mexico appears all but certain to elect its first ever female head of state after Claudia Sheinbaum was confirmed in September as the governing party's candidate in next year's presidential election. The former Mexico City mayor will face off against Xochitl Galvez, who is leading the opposition coalition. Ms Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old trained scientist, is a close ally of leftist President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador. Photo by Luis Barron/Eyepix Group/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Mexico Likely To Have 1st Female President

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo receives the registration of sole pre-candidate for the presidency of Mexico by the National Regeneration Movement party, the Labor Party and the Green Party at an event at the WTC Convention Center in Mexico City, Mexico, November 19, 2023. Mexico appears all but certain to elect its first ever female head of state after Claudia Sheinbaum was confirmed in September as the governing party's candidate in next year's presidential election. The former Mexico City mayor will face off against Xochitl Galvez, who is leading the opposition coalition. Ms Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old trained scientist, is a close ally of leftist President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador. Photo by Luis Barron/Eyepix Group/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Mexico Likely To Have 1st Female President

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo receives the registration of sole pre-candidate for the presidency of Mexico by the National Regeneration Movement party, the Labor Party and the Green Party at an event at the WTC Convention Center in Mexico City, Mexico, November 19, 2023. Mexico appears all but certain to elect its first ever female head of state after Claudia Sheinbaum was confirmed in September as the governing party's candidate in next year's presidential election. The former Mexico City mayor will face off against Xochitl Galvez, who is leading the opposition coalition. Ms Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old trained scientist, is a close ally of leftist President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador. Photo by Luis Barron/Eyepix Group/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Mexico Likely To Have 1st Female President

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo receives the registration of sole pre-candidate for the presidency of Mexico by the National Regeneration Movement party, the Labor Party and the Green Party at an event at the WTC Convention Center in Mexico City, Mexico, November 19, 2023. Mexico appears all but certain to elect its first ever female head of state after Claudia Sheinbaum was confirmed in September as the governing party's candidate in next year's presidential election. The former Mexico City mayor will face off against Xochitl Galvez, who is leading the opposition coalition. Ms Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old trained scientist, is a close ally of leftist President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador. Photo by Luis Barron/Eyepix Group/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Giant panda cub born at Moscow Zoo

STORY: Giant panda cub born at Moscow Zoo DATELINE: Aug. 31, 2023 LENGTH: 00:01:51 LOCATION: Moscow CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT SHOTLIST: 1. various of giant panda and cub 2. SOUNDBITE (Russian): SVETLANA AKULOVA, Head of the Moscow Zoo 3. various of giant panda and cub STORYLINE: A giant panda cub has been born at the Moscow Zoo, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Wednesday. The cub, weighing about 150 grams, was born last week to a young pair of giant pandas, Ruyi (male) and Dingding (female), that arrived in Moscow in April 2019 from China's southwestern province of Sichuan. "This unique and very rare event is the result of the coordinated work of our specialists and our Chinese colleagues," Sobyanin said in a Telegram post, describing the birth of the cub as a significant event for Russia and the global environmental community as a whole. The newborn is the first ever panda cub born in Russia. The Moscow Zoo called the birth "very unique", considering that Ruyi and Dingding are still quite

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Biden Picks 1st Female Admiral To Lead Navy

Handout file photo dated June 1, 2018 shows Vice Adm. Lisa M. Franchetti, commander, U.S. 6th Fleet and Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO, answers questions at a local media press conference during the exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2018 pre-sail conference in Klaipeda, Lithuania. US President Biden has chosen a female admiral to lead the US Navy, the first time a woman has been nominated to head a Pentagon military service branch. Lisa Franchetti is a former head of the US 6th Fleet and US naval forces in South Korea, and has also served as an aircraft carrier strike commander. Her nomination must still be confirmed by the US Senate. If confirmed as Chief of Naval Operations she will be the first woman to become a member of the elite group of senior military officers who make up the Joint Chiefs of Staff. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Justin Stumberg via ABACAPRESS.COM

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Biden Picks 1st Female Admiral To Lead Navy

Handout file photo dated October 25, 2019 shows Vice Adm. Lisa Franchetti, commander of U.S. 6th Fleet, reviews the recruit ceremonial honor guard during a pass in review graduation ceremony at Recruit Training Command (RTC) in Great Lakes, Illinois. US President Biden has chosen a female admiral to lead the US Navy, the first time a woman has been nominated to head a Pentagon military service branch. Lisa Franchetti is a former head of the US 6th Fleet and US naval forces in South Korea, and has also served as an aircraft carrier strike commander. Her nomination must still be confirmed by the US Senate. If confirmed as Chief of Naval Operations she will be the first woman to become a member of the elite group of senior military officers who make up the Joint Chiefs of Staff. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Spencer Fling via ABACAPRESS.COM

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Biden Picks 1st Female Admiral To Lead Navy

Handout file photo dated August 15, 2018 shows Vice Adm. Lisa M. Franchetti, commander, U.S. 6th Fleet and commander, Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO, observes Romanian Navy Day celebrations in Constanta, Romania. US President Biden has chosen a female admiral to lead the US Navy, the first time a woman has been nominated to head a Pentagon military service branch. Lisa Franchetti is a former head of the US 6th Fleet and US naval forces in South Korea, and has also served as an aircraft carrier strike commander. Her nomination must still be confirmed by the US Senate. If confirmed as Chief of Naval Operations she will be the first woman to become a member of the elite group of senior military officers who make up the Joint Chiefs of Staff. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jonathan Nelson via ABACAPRESS.COM

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Biden Picks 1st Female Admiral To Lead Navy

Handout file photo dated June 9, 2018 shows Vice Adm. Lisa M. Franchetti, center, commander of U.S. 6th Fleet and Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO), and Rear Adm. Guy Robinson, right, OBE, Royal Navy, deputy commander of STRIKFORNATO, visit the Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Carson City (T-EPF 7) at Bornholm Island in Denmark during exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS). US President Biden has chosen a female admiral to lead the US Navy, the first time a woman has been nominated to head a Pentagon military service branch. Lisa Franchetti is a former head of the US 6th Fleet and US naval forces in South Korea, and has also served as an aircraft carrier strike commander. Her nomination must still be confirmed by the US Senate. If confirmed as Chief of Naval Operations she will be the first woman to become a member of the elite group of senior military officers who make up the Joint Chiefs of Staff. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist America A. Henry

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Biden Picks 1st Female Admiral To Lead Navy

Handout file photo dated July 7, 2019 shows Vice Adm. Lisa M. Franchetti, commander of U.S. 6th Fleet, was honored with sideboys as she enters a reception provided by the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) as part of Ukrainian Navy Day, which coincides with exercise Sea Breeze. US President Biden has chosen a female admiral to lead the US Navy, the first time a woman has been nominated to head a Pentagon military service branch. Lisa Franchetti is a former head of the US 6th Fleet and US naval forces in South Korea, and has also served as an aircraft carrier strike commander. Her nomination must still be confirmed by the US Senate. If confirmed as Chief of Naval Operations she will be the first woman to become a member of the elite group of senior military officers who make up the Joint Chiefs of Staff. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Fred Gray IV via ABACAPRESS.COM

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Biden Picks 1st Female Admiral To Lead Navy

Handout file photo dated July 7, 2019 shows Vice Adm. Lisa M. Franchetti, commander of U.S. 6th Fleet, front, and Adm. Ihor Voronchenko, commander of the Ukrainian navy, back right, salute as a Ukrainian patrol boat gets underway from Odesa Port during Ukrainian Navy Day, which coincides with exercise Sea Breeze 2019, in Odesa, Ukraine. US President Biden has chosen a female admiral to lead the US Navy, the first time a woman has been nominated to head a Pentagon military service branch. Lisa Franchetti is a former head of the US 6th Fleet and US naval forces in South Korea, and has also served as an aircraft carrier strike commander. Her nomination must still be confirmed by the US Senate. If confirmed as Chief of Naval Operations she will be the first woman to become a member of the elite group of senior military officers who make up the Joint Chiefs of Staff. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Kyle Steckler via ABACAPRESS.COM

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Biden Picks 1st Female Admiral To Lead Navy

Handout file photo dated October 25, 2019 shows Vice Adm. Lisa Franchetti, commander of U.S. 6th Fleet, delivers remarks inside Midway Ceremonial Drill Hall during a pass in review graduation ceremony at Recruit Training Command (RTC) i Great Lakes, Illinois US President Biden has chosen a female admiral to lead the US Navy, the first time a woman has been nominated to head a Pentagon military service branch. Lisa Franchetti is a former head of the US 6th Fleet and US naval forces in South Korea, and has also served as an aircraft carrier strike commander. Her nomination must still be confirmed by the US Senate. If confirmed as Chief of Naval Operations she will be the first woman to become a member of the elite group of senior military officers who make up the Joint Chiefs of Staff. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Spencer Fling via ABACAPRESS.COM

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Biden Picks 1st Female Admiral To Lead Navy

Handout file photo dated May 11, 2018 shows Vice Adm. Lisa Franchetti, commander, U.S. 6th Fleet, delivers remarks during the closing ceremony of exercise Phoenix Express 2018 in Souda Bay, Greece. US President Biden has chosen a female admiral to lead the US Navy, the first time a woman has been nominated to head a Pentagon military service branch. Lisa Franchetti is a former head of the US 6th Fleet and US naval forces in South Korea, and has also served as an aircraft carrier strike commander. Her nomination must still be confirmed by the US Senate. If confirmed as Chief of Naval Operations she will be the first woman to become a member of the elite group of senior military officers who make up the Joint Chiefs of Staff. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ryan U. Kledzik via ABACAPRESS.COM

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Biden Picks 1st Female Admiral To Lead Navy

Handout file photo dated May 27, 2019 shows Vice Adm. Lisa M. Franchetti, commander of U.S. 6th Fleet, greets Tunisian naval officers at the Tunisian Ministry of Defense in Tunis, Tunisia. US President Biden has chosen a female admiral to lead the US Navy, the first time a woman has been nominated to head a Pentagon military service branch. Lisa Franchetti is a former head of the US 6th Fleet and US naval forces in South Korea, and has also served as an aircraft carrier strike commander. Her nomination must still be confirmed by the US Senate. If confirmed as Chief of Naval Operations she will be the first woman to become a member of the elite group of senior military officers who make up the Joint Chiefs of Staff. U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Cmdr. Amelia Umayam via ABACAPRESS.COM

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Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon resigns

STORY: Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon resigns DATELINE: Feb. 16, 2023 LENGTH: 0:02:13 LOCATION: London CATEGORY: POLITICS SHOTLIST: 1. STANDUP (English): ZHAO XIAONA, Xinhua correspondent 2. SOUNDBITE (English): NICOLA STURGEON, Scotland's First Minister 3. various of Edinburgh STORYLINE: STANDUP (English): ZHAO XIAONA, Xinhua correspondent "Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced her resignation at a press conference in Edinburgh on Wednesday. She will remain in office as the first minister and leader of the Scottish National Party until a successor is in place. Sturgeon became party leader and head of the Scottish government in November 2014 following Scotland's independence referendum that year." SOUNDBITE (English): NICOLA STURGEON, Scotland's First Minister "Today, I am announcing my intention to step down as first minister and leader of my party. And I will remain in office until my successor is in place." Sturgeon is Scotland's first female first minister and the longest-ser

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Noda's 1st trip to Okinawa

ITOMAN, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda offers flowers at the Himeyuri no To monument commemorating a corps of female students recruited as nurses for Japanese soldiers during the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, in Itoman, Okinawa Prefecture, on Feb. 26, 2012. Noda made his first visit to the prefecture as head of the government the same day in a bid to persuade Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima during a meeting the following day to accept a long-stalled plan for the relocation of a key U.S. base within the southern island prefecture.

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Japan to field female bureaucrat to head green fund

TOKYO, Japan - Undated file photo shows Naoko Ishii, deputy vice minister of finance of Japan. The Japanese government said Nov. 15, 2011, it will field Ishii as a candidate to head the Global Environmental Facility, a green fund linked to the World Bank and other international development bodies. If elected as chief executive officer of the GEF by its governing body in June 2012, Ishii would become the Japanese ministry's first female official to lead an international institution.

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Japanese tea ceremony performed in UAE

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Japanese women (L side, standing) serve tea to local female students in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 20 during a traditional Japanese tea ceremony held under Sen Genshitsu, former head of the Urasenke school. Events to introduce the Japanese tea ceremony by the school, which began Oct. 18, are the first to be held in the Middle East region.

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Japanese tea ceremony performed in UAE

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - A Japanese woman (L) serves tea to a local female student in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 20 during a traditional Japanese tea ceremony held under Sen Genshitsu, former head of the Urasenke school. Events to introduce the Japanese tea ceremony by the school, which began Oct. 18, are the first to be held in the Middle East region.

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Upper house president ends 30-year career in parliament

TOKYO, Japan - House of Councillors President Chikage Ogi is seen off by upper house staff in front of the Diet building in Tokyo on July 27 as she ends her 30-year career as a parliamentarian. Ogi had served as president of the upper chamber of the Diet since 2004 and was the country's first female head of the upper house.

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Upper house president ends 30-year career in parliament

TOKYO, Japan - House of Councillors President Chikage Ogi is seen off by upper house staff in front of the Diet building in Tokyo on July 27 as she ends her 30-year career as a parliamentarian. Ogi had served as president of the upper chamber of the Diet since 2004 and was the country's first female head of the upper house.

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Panel submits report proposing allowing female monarchs

TOKYO, Japan - Hiroyuki Yoshikawa (L), head of a government panel on imperial succession, on Nov. 24 hands in a final report to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, which proposes allowing females and their descendants to ascend Japan's imperial throne, a step that would pave the way for 3-year-old Princess Aiko, the only child of Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako, to eventually become Japan's first female monarch since the 18th century.

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2nd wave of main GSDF force to head for Iraq mission

ASAHIKAWA, Japan - A female member of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) is seen among some 150 troops of the GSDF's Northern Army's 2nd Division leaving their garrison in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, on March 12 to head for Kuwait on a mission to help rebuild Iraq. About some 10 female members will join the mission for the first time.

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Nakayama becomes 1st female ward mayor in Tokyo

TOKYO, Japan - Hiroko Nakayama, a former head of the Secretariat to Audit and Inspection Commissioners of the Tokyo metropolitan government, won a mayoral election on Nov. 24 for Shinjuku Ward. She became the first female ward mayor in Tokyo's 23 wards.

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Football: J-League's first female J1 chief referee

Yoshimi Yamashita (C) stands alongside her fellow officials ahead of a J1 football game between FC Tokyo and Kyoto Sanga at the National Stadium in Tokyo on Sept. 18, 2022. She became the first female head referee for a J-League first division game.

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Football: J-League's first female J1 chief referee

Yoshimi Yamashita (C) watches the captains shake hands ahead of a J1 football game between FC Tokyo and Kyoto Sanga at the National Stadium in Tokyo on Sept. 18, 2022. She became the first female head referee for a J-League first division game.