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U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Washington on Dec. 10.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 24, 2024

Biden launches new Chinese chip trade probe, which will be handed off to Trump

The effort could offer Trump a ready avenue to begin imposing some of the hefty 60% tariffs he has threatened on Chinese imports.
Internally displaced Syrians from eastern Ghouta queue for food in a Damascus countryside in April 2018.
WORLD / Society
Dec 24, 2024

Global hunger crisis deepens as major nations skimp on aid

The United Nations says that, at best, it will be able to raise enough money to help about 60% of the 307 million people it predicts will need humanitarian aid next year.
Christians take selfies after a Christmas Eve Mass at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia, on Tuesday, ahead of the 20th anniversary of a magnitude 9.1 earthquake that struck the coast of Sumatra on Dec. 26, 2004, triggering a huge tsunami across the Indian Ocean.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 25, 2024

Blogs to Bluesky: Social media shifts responses after 2004 tsunami

In two decades, the online social media landscape has experienced a vast change, allowing information — as well as rumor and misinformation — to flow in real time.
The United Nations headquarters in New York
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 25, 2024

Japan to stay the third-largest U.N. contributor

The share of Japan's contribution to the United Nation's regular budget will drop by about 1 percentage point from the current level to 6.930%.
Katsumi Arase (left), head of the Central Council for Education, receives from State Minister of Education Arata Takebe a consultation document asking the panel to consider ways to give schools more discretion in setting their curriculum, at the education ministry on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 25, 2024

Japan eyes more discretion for schools in upcoming curriculum revision

A government panel has been tasked with considering ways to give schools more flexibility in determining class hours and content as part of the next curriculum revamp.
A rescuer of the State Emergency Service works to put out a fire in a private house after a drone strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Dec 26, 2024

Russia launches 'inhuman' Christmas Day attacks, Ukraine says

Half a million people in the Kharkiv region were left without heating, in temperatures just a few degrees Celsius above zero.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shakes hands with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Nov. 15 during their meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 26, 2024

Japan and China to continue delicate diplomatic dance in 2025

While Tokyo and Beijing have touted the importance of thawing ties, experts say a number of issues are likely to mean continued hedging by both sides.
People use their smartphones as they sit on motorbikes in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 26, 2024

Sweeping Vietnam internet law comes into force

Under a new law, all tech giants operating in Vietnam must verify users' accounts via their phone numbers or Vietnamese identification numbers.
Children play mahjong during a class held at Satsukigaoka community center in the city of Hiroshima.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Chugoku
Jan 14, 2025

Mahjong enjoys new wave of players that spans generations

Once associated with gambling, mahjong is becoming a popular pursuit for all ages, boosted by pro leagues, apps and "healthy mahjong" for cognitive and social benefits.
A Nissan dealership and a Honda dealership in Tokyo. As the two firms negotiation a potential merger, Nomura Holdings is advising Honda, while Nissan has retained Mizuho Financial Group and Bank of America.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 28, 2024

Honda-Nissan deal sets up next fight for bankers in Japan M&A boom

At roughly $200 billion, the volume of transactions including mergers and acquisitions in the country is up 48% this year.
Corbin Burnes is reportedly taking his talents to Arizona as a member of a deep Diamondbacks starting rotation.
BASEBALL
Dec 28, 2024

Diamondbacks and pitcher Corbin Burnes agree to six-year, $210-million deal

The contract reportedly is for six years and $210 million, but Burnes has the right to opt out after two seasons. It would be the largest contract in Diamondbacks history.
Rohingya refugees Shamshida (left), who had to flee one of the last refuges in Myanmar for the Rohingya Muslim minority, and her sister Manwara in their tent in Teknaf, Bangladesh, on Nov. 5
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 29, 2024

For the Rohingya, tormentors change but not the torment

This violence was not at the hands of the military, though. Instead, it was from a pro-democracy rebel group that was raised to fight the army.
Mikheil Kavelashvili, elected by lawmakers as Georgia's new president, takes an oath during his swearing-in ceremony at the parliament in Tbilisi on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 30, 2024

New Georgian president sworn in; predecessor calls him illegitimate leader

The presidential standoff is seen as a watershed moment in Georgia, which had been regarded as among the most pro-Western of the former Soviet states.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik offers joss sticks at a memorial for the victims of the Jeju Air crash in Muan, South Korea, on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Dec 30, 2024

What caused South Korea's most deadly plane crash?

As South Korean investigators probe the causes of the country's worst-ever aviation disaster on home soil, experts offer a glimpse at what could have gone wrong.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (left) dribbles against Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins in San Francisco on Wednesday.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Dec 31, 2024

LeBron, 40, says he wants to finish his career with the Lakers

The player said his exit would come before he felt he could no longer compete "at a high level."
Students perform a play they produced during a Liberal Arts Japanese class at Aichi Prefectural Kariyahigashi High School, as teacher Tomohiko Hyodo (left) watches.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Jan 13, 2025

Aichi school uses theater to foster communication skills

Liberal Arts Japanese, designed to supplement conventional Japanese language studies, emphasizes practical skills in listening and speaking, the school says.
The strategic partnership agreement between Japan and the European Union took effect on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jan 2, 2025

Japan-EU strategic partnership agreement takes effect

Under the deal, both sides will strengthen cooperation in a wide range of fields, including security, environment and energy, and personnel exchanges.
Gabriela Dabrowski (right) and Erin Routliffe celebrate after winning the doubles final at the WTA Finals in Riyadh on Nov. 9, 2024.
TENNIS
Jan 2, 2025

Gabriela Dabrowski reveals run to Olympic bronze came amid cancer treatment

Dabrowski said her "surreal" second half of the 2024 season included two surgeries and radiotherapy.
Smoke rises from an Israeli strike inside the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 3, 2025

Israeli emigration more than doubles in 2024 amid raging war

Some 82,700 Israelis left in 2024 compared with an average 36,900 for the years 2018 through 2022, Israel's statistics bureau says.
Security personnel stand guard outside the Superdome ahead of the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 3, 2025

Tragedy in New Orleans casts somber mood over Sugar Bowl

Heavy security blanketed New Orleans on Thursday as the Sugar Bowl went off without a hitch.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is shown around by South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul during a working luncheon at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 6, 2025

Blinken fends off questions over U.S. stance on South Korea turmoil

The United States “has confidence in the resilience of South Korea’s democracy and the strength of its institutions,” the U.S. Secretary of State said in Seoul.
Sunset in Taipei. China’s efforts to promote residence permits for Taiwanese people have recently intensified, especially when it comes to targeting those who’ve never traveled to the mainland.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 6, 2025

China enticing Taiwanese to live there stirs concern in Taipei

Taiwanese officials are concerned holders of this permit will be easier to convince to swap their passports for those issued by Beijing.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on Monday to announce his resignation.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 7, 2025

Canada's Trudeau resigns after nine years in power as Liberals force him out

Trudeau, 53, currently the longest-serving leader of any Group of Seven country, bowed to sagging approval numbers and a rebellion within his political party.
The number of passengers who used express services operated by Japan Railways Group companies during the 10-day period through Sunday was 2% higher than in fiscal 2018, surpassing the level seen before the COVID-19 pandemic for the first time.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025

Number of passengers on JR express services during New Year rose 11%, firms say

The figure for the 10-day period through Sunday surpassed the level seen before the COVID-19 pandemic for the first time.
Kinoko no Yama wireless earbuds, which were released by Meiji in March and sold in limited quantities
BUSINESS
Jan 12, 2025

Snack makers try to keep long-selling products 'fresh'

Related products and fan events are being offered by companies in a bid to engage with consumers.
A subsidy for epidural childbirths was one of Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike's campaign promises when she ran for her position last year.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 7, 2025

Tokyo looks to ease the pain — both physical and financial — of childbirth

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is looking to begin offering a subsidy for epidural childbirths in fiscal 2025.
Jean-Marie Le Pen gives a speech on Feb. 3, 1973
WORLD / Politics
Jan 7, 2025

French far-right figurehead Jean-Marie Le Pen dies

The far-right bogeyman of French politics, infamous for his dismissal of the Holocaust and anti-immigrant rhetoric, has died at age 96.
Firms in Japan are becoming more proactive to fend off global rivals and activist investors showing renewed interest in the country after decades of stagnant growth.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 9, 2025

Japan’s ¥36.4 trillion M&A boom expected to grow as activist investors circle

Firms are becoming more proactive to fend off global rivals and activist investors showing renewed interest in the country after decades of stagnant growth.
After meeting with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama (center left) and his Komeito counterpart, Makoto Nishida (center right) answer questions from the media on Thursday at the Prime Minister's Office.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 9, 2025

Ishiba expresses eagerness to visit China soon

A delegation from the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito is set to visit China from Monday through Wednesday
Billionaire Elon Musk speaks during an election rally for then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 5.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 9, 2025

Musk takes slash-and-burn style to Europe after bolstering Trump

The billionaire has honed in on Germany and the U.K., criticizing their governments, questioning their laws and casting doubt on their economic competence.

Longform

Juzo Itami’s “Tampopo” was released Nov. 23, 1985, and though it wasn’t a hit at the time, it has gained a cult following in the years since.
Eat, slurp, love: 'Tampopo' turns 40