US treasury secretary Henry Paulson said today that the global economy was as strong as he had ever seen and that reforms in China would help lessen the kind of market volatility that had recently rocked international stock markets.

THE Bank of Japan (BOJ) raised its main interest rate yesterday by a quarter percentage point to 0.50%, the highest in more than a decade, but the yen retreated as the central bank signalled caution on further increases.

A jittery world lashed out at North Korea today with fresh threats of harsh sanctions, a day after its nuclear test.

A Japanese woman was allegedly raped on Okinawa island today, and a witness said the attack appeared to involve US servicemen, police said.