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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Friday that he had OK'd a plan to attack the Gaza city of Rafah on the southern edge of the shattered Palestinian enclave.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 16, 2024

Israel approves plan to attack Rafah but keeps truce hopes alive

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he had OK'd a plan to attack the city on the southern edge of the shattered Palestinian enclave.
People walk past a television showing a news broadcast of a past North Korean missile test, at the main railway station in Seoul on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 18, 2024

North Korea launches three ballistic missiles as top U.S. diplomat visits Seoul

The latest launches came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Seoul for a multinational democracy summit.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches a rocket salvo firing drill at an unconfirmed location in the country in this image released Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 19, 2024

North Korea's Kim oversees 'super-large' rocket launcher drills

The North has claimed the weapon has the capability to be equipped with a tactical nuclear warhead.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo attend a working luncheon at the Sofitel Hotel in Manila on Tuesday. Blinken’s trip, which also touched upon economic cooperation, followed a trade mission visit by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo a week earlier.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 19, 2024

Blinken pledges closer U.S.-Philippine security ties ahead of trilateral summit with Japan

The top U.S. diplomat and his Philippine counterpart also signaled the allies were eyeing ways to "operationalize" security cooperation with Tokyo.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observs a ground test of a solid fuel engine for a new intermediate-range hypersonic missile, at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground on North Korea’s western coast in this digitally altered image released Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 20, 2024

North Korea's Kim oversees hypersonic missile engine test

The isolated country's leader compared "the military strategic value" of the new weapon as being on par with its powerful long-range missiles.
People visit the Huawei stand at the 2024 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last month.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 20, 2024

U.S. weighs sanctioning Huawei’s secretive Chinese chip network

Any move would come after the Chinese telecom giant notched a significant technological breakthrough last year.
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani and his then-interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, attend a news conference at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on March 16, ahead of the 2024 MLB Seoul Series baseball game between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 23, 2024

MLB launches investigation into scandal involving Ohtani and ex-interpreter

MLB is expected to request interviews with all parties, including Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara, the slugger's longtime interpreter and close friend.
A law enforcement officer patrols the scene of the deadly attack at the Crocus City Hall concert hall in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, on Saturday.
WORLD
Mar 24, 2024

Putin vows to punish those behind Russia concert massacre

Officials said 133 bodies had been recovered from the rubble in 24 hours, and doctors were "fighting for the lives of 107 people."
People lay flowers at a makeshift memorial near Crocus City Hall, a concert venue outside Moscow that was the site of a mass shooting on Friday night.
WORLD
Mar 24, 2024

Deadly Moscow attack shatters Putin’s security promise to Russians

The tragedy outside Moscow is a blow to a leader riding an aura of confidence only days after a stage-managed election victory.
North Korean fans cheer on the national team during a World Cup qualifying match against Japan on Thursday in Tokyo.
SOCCER
Mar 24, 2024

The many twists and turns for Japan's canceled World Cup qualifier in Pyongyang

On Sunday, FIFA ultimately determined that the match wouldn't go ahead at all, which could hand Japan a place in the next round.
Some 43% of Gen Z and 41% of millennials say they suffer from a flawed perception of their finances.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 24, 2024

'Money dysmorphia' traps the younger generations

Some 43% of Gen Z and 41% of millennials say they suffer from a flawed perception of their finances.
People lay flowers on Sunday at a memorial near the Crocus City Hall outside Moscow, where over 130 people were killed and more than 140 injured Friday night in an attack.
WORLD
Mar 25, 2024

In Russia, fingers point anywhere but at Islamic State group for concert hall attack

Despite hinting that Ukraine is responsible, Russia has not presented any evidence, and Ukrainian officials have dismissed the accusations.
Japanese Gold medalist Kaori Sakamoto waves to fans during the women's victory ceremony during the World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
Mar 25, 2024

With third straight title, Sakamoto leaves her mark on skating history

Japan's other skaters didn't fare so well in Montreal, with Shoma Uno missing out on achieving the same feat.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 25, 2024

LDP heavyweight Nikai says he won't run for reelection

Toshihiro Nikai, 85, said he had conveyed his decision to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, as the LDP grapples with an ongoing political funds scandal.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister said Monday that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has requested a summit with her brother, hinting that any meeting was unlikely without a policy shift by Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 25, 2024

Japan reaching out to North Korea for Kim-Kishida summit

The sister of leader Kim Jong Un said any summit would hinge on whether Japan was willing to make a "political decision" — likely on the abductee issue.
BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda takes questions during a news conference. The bank's monetary policy overhaul announced last week was known by some Japanese media before it was made public.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 25, 2024

The BOJ has sprung a leak. Japan must investigate.

The bank's policy of disclosing information selectively to certain media is harmful and needs to be looked into, as slip-ups in other countries show.
Both the U.S. and U.K. have announced sanctions against Chinese nationals for cybercrimes.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 26, 2024

U.S. and U.K. accuse China of broad cyberattacks and voter data theft

The revelations add to a growing list of cybersecurity breaches that the U.S. and its allies say are backed by the Chinese government.
Fans wave Chinese national flags during an international friendly match between China and Syria, in Chengdu, China, in 2023.
SOCCER
Mar 26, 2024

Former China soccer chief given life sentence for 'huge' bribery

Chen Xuyuan took advantage of his positions to accept sums totaling 81.03 million yuan, reports said.
A view of the Dali cargo vessel that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge causing it to collapse in Baltimore, Maryland, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Mar 26, 2024

Baltimore bridge collision sends vehicles tumbling into water

Rescuers pulled out two survivors, one in a "very serious condition," and were searching for more after the Francis Scott Key Bridge fell into the water.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 26, 2024

Same-sex partners should get spousal survivor benefits, Supreme Court rules

It is the first time the Supreme Court has reached a judgment on survivors benefits for crime victims who have same-sex partners.
The most significant outcome of Taiwan’s elections is not President-elect Lai Ching-te and the DPP’s victory, but rather the party's loss of the legislature and the return of divided government after a 16-year hiatus.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 27, 2024

A divided government awaits Taiwan's new president

The most significant outcome of Taiwan’s elections is not the DPP’s victory, but rather its loss of the legislature and the return of divided government.
JAPAN / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Mar 28, 2024

What we know so far about Kobayashi Pharma's supplement deaths

The Osaka-based drugmaker is finding itself under further scrutiny as the search to pinpoint the cause of the deaths continues.
Hitoshi Matsumoto
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 28, 2024

Comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto's defamation trial kicks off

Identities of two women accusing the comedian of forcing them into having sex, as reported by Shukan Bunshun, becomes the focus on Day 1.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical President Akihiro Kobayashi (second from left) and other executives apologize for the deaths and other health damage associated with its dietary supplements, in the city of Osaka on Friday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 29, 2024

Kobayashi Pharma says blue mold compound may be cause of health problems

The beni kо̄ji red yeast rice dietary supplements are now linked to five deaths and 114 hospitalizations.
Beni kо̄ji has been widely used in Japan and elsewhere as a food additive, and features prominently in Okinawan cuisine, particularly in a dish called tо̄fuyо̄.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 1, 2024

Beni kōji purveyors fear growing aversion following supplement scandal

The ingredient has long been used in Japan and elsewhere as a food additive, and features prominently in Okinawan cuisine.
Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich (right) with then-wife Dasha Zhukova in 2014. Zhukova's mother, Elena Zhukova, is engaged to media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2024

The oligarch, his ex-wife, her mother and Rupert Murdoch

Were it not for other stories coming out of Russia, Rupert Murdoch's engagement to Roman Abramovich's ex-mother-in-law would have made more headlines.
The moon rises behind the State Historical Museum, the Kremlin's towers and St. Basil's Cathedral in central Moscow on March 21. Russia has dismissed new allegations about its role in Havana syndrome as "groundless."
WORLD / Politics
Apr 2, 2024

'Havana Syndrome' linked to Russian intelligence unit, report says

The U.S. State Department has said it stands by its assessment that no foreign actor is responsible.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has a long-running feud with Qatar-based channel Al Jazeera.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 2, 2024

Israel's Netanyahu vows to ban Al Jazeera broadcasts

The Qatar-based broadcaster slammed the ban as "part of a series of systematic Israeli attacks to silence Al Jazeera."
Japan will provide ¥590 billion in additional subsidies to chip venture Rapidus.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 2, 2024

Japan approves extra ¥590 billion in aid to chip startup Rapidus

The additional funding will help Rapidus buy chipmaking equipment and also develop advanced back-end chipmaking processes.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Izumo destroyer docked in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in November 2021
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2024

Online video of Japanese destroyer may be fake: Defense Ministry

Video seemingly shot by a drone, which are banned around the military base.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan