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Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ From foreign press Japan and Vietnam have agreed to cooperate in their responses to China's increased maritime activities. Japan's Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera met Vietnam's Deputy Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh in Tokyo on Thursday. Onodera said he is concerned over a Chinese warship firing at a Vietnamese fishing ship in the South China Sea in March. He also noted that China used fire-control radar against a Japanese destroyer in January. Onodera referred to China's growing maritime activities, including repeated entries of Chinese ships into Japanese waters near the Senkaku Islands. He said it is important to resolve the issue according to law. He said Japan wants to seek a solution through dialogue. Vinh responded that Vietnam wants to step up defense cooperation with Japan to secure regional peace and security. He also said his country wants to share experiences and information with Japan to overcome the challenges they both face. xxxxxxx Greece's unemployment rate hit another record high in May of 27.6%, according to the country's statistics body. The figure compares with a jobless rate of 23.8% in May last year. The biggest age group without a job remains those aged between 15-24, where the rate is 64.9%. The news emerged ahead of a meeting between Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and US President Barack Obama in Washington. At the meeting, Mr Obama commended the Greek government for taking steps to reduce its debt pile. But he urged Mr Samaras to balance austerity with measures to promote growth and boost jobs. Greece is in its sixth year of recession since 2007. xxxxxxx US talk show host Oprah Winfrey says she was the victim of racism during a recent visit to Switzerland. She said an assistant refused to serve her in an upmarket handbag shop in Zurich. Winfrey, one of the world's richest women, was apparently told the bags on display were "too expensive" for her. Her claims, made to a US television programme, come amid a political row over plans by some Swiss towns to ban asylum-seekers from some public places. Human rights groups have likened the plans - which include banning asylum-seekers from swimming pools, playing fields and libraries - to apartheid. xxxxxxx US Secretary of State John Kerry expects to discuss Syria and the Snowden case among other things with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the meeting of foreign and defence ministers in Washington on Friday. Department of State spokesperson Jen Psaki told journalists that the US would like to discuss a number of issues with Russia, including cooperation on Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea. Kerry and Lavrov will continue their dialogue on Syria and will discuss the efforts to prepare for the Geneva-2 conference.