Tokyo / AFP Japan fell into a trade deficit in May, the first since January, the finance ministry said on Monday, as renewed yen strength pressured exports. Japanese exports fell for all major regions, including the nation’s biggest trading partner China, as concerns linger over a slowdown in the largest Asian economy as well as other emerging markets. The …

  Bangkok / Tribune News Service The Revenue Department is poised to offer a personal income tax exemption of 10-15 years to foreign experts as part of its relentless effort to draw inbound direct investment to jump-start private investment. The tax waiver would be offered to experts in specific fields that can help strengthen the country’s competitiveness. It is not …

  Seoul / Bloomberg Tesla Motor Inc. is preparing for its debut in South Korea as the US electric-car maker looks to challenge Hyundai Motor Co. at home. The maker of Model S sedans listed on its website four new positions for sales and engineering in South Korea and one recruiter for the country, who’ll be based in Japan. Tesla …

  TOKYO / AP The US robotics expert tapped to head Toyota’s Silicon Valley research company says the $1 billion investment by the giant Japanese automaker will start showing results within five years. Gill Pratt told reporters that the Toyota Research Institute is also looking ahead into the distant future when there will be cars that anyone, including children and …

  WASHINGTON / AP Democrats get their long-sought votes on gun control a week after the massacre in Orlando, Florida, but election-year politics and the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA) dim any prospects for changes in the nation’s laws. The Senate was to vote on Monday night on four measures — two sponsored by Republicans, two by Democrats. All are …

  Vienna / AFP Austria’s highest court began a public hearing on Monday on a legal challenge to May’s presidential election brought by the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), whose candidate only narrowly lost. The Constitutional Court’s open session was due to last four days and hear 90 witnesses. It aims to rule before the scheduled swearing-in of the election winner, Alexander …

  BRUSSELS / AP Brussels remains on high alert with increased security after a weekend sweep which left three in jail facing terrorism charges. The MIVB metro system says a half dozen subway stations have reduced entry on request from authorities but all subway lines were running during the morning rush hour on Monday. On Saturday, authorities charged three men with …

  London / AFP British lawmakers prepared to pay tribute to a slain MP in a rare show of unity on Monday as the EU referendum campaign entered its final stretch with rival camps vying to seize the momentum. Politicians will return to parliament, which had been in recess, for a special sitting to pay tribute to Jo Cox, a …

  Luxembourg / AFP EU foreign ministers on Monday agreed to boost the bloc’s anti-people smuggling operation in the Mediterranean to include training of the Libyan coastguard and enforcing a UN arms embargo. Ministers also agreed to extend Operation Sophia’s mandate by one year, a statement said, as the European Union tries to stem a flood of migrants from North …

  Oaxaca / AFP Unknown gunmen opened fire as police and teachers clashed in southern Mexico during a protest that left six people dead and more than 100 injured, authorities said. The violence erupted as police threw tear gas at the protesters to end a week-long barricade that was blocking a road in Asuncion Nochixtlan, a town in Oaxaca state, …