Japanese prime minister faces tests at home and abroad

Tokyo, Japan (CNN) -- It was not a quiet weekend for the prime minister of Japan, facing a diplomatic test abroad from China and questions at home about his leadership.

Sitting down with CNN -- his first interview with an international television network -- Prime Minister Naoto Kan answered wide-ranging questions from pressing economic issues leading up to the upcoming APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit, to the diplomatic challenges from economic superpower China.

Kan is a leader looking for a path out of a maze of domestic and international hurdles. He faces the monetary monster that is the sharply rising yen, that's prompting corporations like Toyota and Nissan to push production and jobs outside of Japan. Diplomatically, he is in the middle of a major test with China, a country wielding growing strength in the world economy, and a superpower that's just surpassed Japan in economic might.

Rescuers save family adrift at sea for 6 days

(CNN) -- Rescuers spotted a family of four who had been lost at sea for six days and helped them safely to shore in the Pacific island nation of Kiribati, authorities said.

Teams from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Royal New Zealand Air Force found the family Saturday.

They had gone missing October 31 after setting sail from Kiribati in a four-meter (13-foot) aluminum boat, Maritime New Zealand said in a statement.

Obama endorses India's bid for Security Council

In another major sign of growing ties between the two nations, President Barack Obama on Monday used a speech before India's parliament to endorse India's bid for permanent membership on the United Nations Security Council.