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MIT professor Yasheng Huang  argues that the seeds of China’s decline were planted as far back as the 6th century with the implementation of the famed and stifling Keju civil-service examination system.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 14, 2024

Understanding China’s political economy

The seeds of China’s decline were planted as far back as the 6th century, with the implementation of the stifling Keju civil-service examination system.
The massive Gemini fiasco unveils critical questions about artificial intelligence's role and accountability in decision-making.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 15, 2024

Google’s bad Gemini rollout did the world a favor

Part of the difficulty in grappling with AI’s full implications is the huge effort that has gone into devising models that express themselves like humans.
Members of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council stage a "menthol funeral" to draw attention to the annual toll of smoking-related deaths outside the White House in Washington on Jan. 18.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 16, 2024

Smokes and votes: Could menthol cigarette ban sway U.S. election?

A proposed ban from President Joe Biden's administration on the mint-flavored smokes has miffed some Black Americans, a key Democratic Party base.
Hezbollah members take part in the funeral of four members of one family killed by in an Israeli air raid in southern Lebanon, on March 11 in Blida, near the border with Israel.
WORLD / FOCUS
Mar 16, 2024

Hezbollah tells Iran it would fight alone in any war with Israel

Hezbollah, a sworn enemy of Israel, has shown support for Hamas in the form of limited volleys of rockets fired across Israel's northern border.
The de facto border of Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia in Khurvaleti, Georgia
WORLD
Mar 17, 2024

Breakaway Georgian region is discussing becoming part of Russia, says local official

Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states in 2008 after Russia repelled a Georgian military attempt to retake South Ossetia.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) speaks during a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz following their meeting in Jerusalem on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 18, 2024

Israeli PM says civilians can leave crowded Rafah before invasion

But the question "where should they go" remain unanswered as Israel continues its offensive against Hamas over five months after Gaza plunged into war.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 18, 2024

Shimomura testimony fails to shed light on LDP funds scandal

Former Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Hakubun Shimomura had hinted that he would finally provide some answers to key questions.
U.S. President Joe Biden (right) is welcomed to Israel by the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. The relationship between the two leaders has since soured.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2024

Biden and Netanyahu are going from frenemies to enemies

President Biden has warned the Israeli prime minister about crossing a red line, but that may cause more trouble than good, as history teaches us.
Nigerian naira being counted in Lagos, Nigeria. Cash transfers offer a transformative solution to multidimensional poverty.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 15, 2024

A global cash transfer fund could end extreme poverty

Cash transfers offer a transformative solution to multidimensional poverty, and are aided by improvements in internet and phone coverage.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with the media at his campaign headquarters in Moscow on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 18, 2024

Five takeaways from Putin’s orchestrated win in Russia

Putin always seeks to project an image of political stability and control, which the carefully choreographed presidential votes are designed to burnish.
Humility, recognition of cultural blind spots and a renewed effort are needed to find common ground between China and the United States.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2024

Addressing the 'blind spots' in U.S.-China relations

The dwindling opportunities for unofficial dialogue between scholars and experts from the U.S. and China are also driving by mutual suspicion and fear.
Indian National Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi (center) with other party leaders of the I.N.D.I.A alliance in New Delhi in December 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 19, 2024

Anti-Modi alliance in India is faltering as election nears

Absent a clear vision that presents the Indian electorate with an alternative to the ruling BJP, the Congress-led alliance faces an uphill task in polls.
Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Philippines' president, speaks during an interview in Manila on Tuesday. Marcos said the threat to his nation from China's sweeping claims in the South China Sea is growing but argued that his government's efforts to assert sovereignty over disputed areas aren't meant to start a conflict by "poking the bear." 
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 20, 2024

Marcos warns on China threat, says he’s not ‘poking the bear’

But since the threat has grown, Manila "must do more" to defend its territory, the Philippine president says.
The annual South by Southwest Conference (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, was held on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 20, 2024

Will AI help or hurt workers? At SXSW, that depends on who you ask.

According to a global survey from Slack, 42% of office workers say they’re excited about AI, but some 27% find the prospect concerning.
Australia and China have rapidly improved their diplomatic relations since the election of the center-left Labor government in May 2022, including the restoration of high-level official meetings and the lifting of trade sanctions imposed by Beijing at the height of tensions.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 20, 2024

China and Australia face difficult diplomatic road after trade spat

Hurdles exist in the form of persistent political differences and increased competition between Beijing and Canberra’s principal ally, the U.S.
Hong Kong leader John Lee (center) with lawmakers after they passed the city's new security law. Hong Kong has fast-tracked into law domestic security legislation that critics say could muzzle open economic discussion and tighten control over foreign bodies operating in the global finance hub.
BUSINESS
Mar 20, 2024

Hong Kong's new security law only deepens challenges for financial hub

While the city’s role as a financial center dwarfs that of rivals, more firms are choosing Singapore as their Asian base.
 A cow is prepared for slaughter at a facility in Corbas, France.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 2024

Does religious freedom trump animal welfare?

The European Court of Human Rights found that protecting the welfare of animals is part of the legitimate government objective of protecting public morals.
Palestinians walk past the ruins of houses destroyed during Israel's military offensive in Gaza City on March 20.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 21, 2024

The war in Gaza has left a power vacuum, and scant planning to fill it

Experts have dismissed a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as vague and an unrealistic effort to procrastinate on serious action.
European Council President Charles Michel during a news conference in Brussels on Feb. 1
WORLD / Politics
Mar 21, 2024

EU leaders to discuss using profits from Russian assets to arm Ukraine

EU leaders have voiced alarm about the state of the war in recent weeks, with ammunition-starved Ukrainian forces struggling to hold back Russian troops.
Giant cut-outs of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other party leaders are positioned beside a road in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on Feb. 25.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 21, 2024

Hardships and broken promises no hindrance for Modi in India's rural north

If India's prime minister earns a third term in office, it will be in spite of the state of the rural and farming economy — not because of it.
A co-production between Hiroshi Koike Bridge Project and the Grotowski Institute in Wroclaw, Poland, “N/Kosmos” features performers from Poland and Japan, each of whom mostly uses their native tongue.
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 21, 2024

‘N/Kosmos’ puts on a dazzling display of controlled chaos

Stage director Hiroshi Koike welcomes pandemonium in his latest genre-fluid production in collaboration with Polish electronic musician Waclaw Zimpel.
A new brain wave study published Friday suggests that hearing the names of their favorite toys actually activates dogs' memories of those objects.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 23, 2024

'Good boy!' Dogs do understand us, says new study

A new study published suggests that hearing the names of their favorite toys actually activates dogs' memories of those objects.
An electronic stock board in Tokyo on Thursday. Signs that deflation has ended are driving investors to bet ever more on Japan’s economic growth.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 23, 2024

Japan’s stock boom gets broader support than just exporters

Signs that deflation has ended are driving investors to bet ever more on Japan’s economic growth.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen in action during qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Mar 23, 2024

Max Verstappen continues pole perfection in Australia

It was the irrepressible Dutchman's third pole out of three this season and fourth in succession dating back to 2023.
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.
The Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani delivers a statement during a news conference at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Monday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 26, 2024

Ohtani denies betting on baseball and accuses ex-interpreter of lying and theft

The baseball star expressed shock over the gambling scandal involving his long-time ex-interpreter, in his first public comments on the matter.
A law enforcement officer patrols the scene of the gun attack at the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 26, 2024

Moscow shooting poses awkward questions for Russia's intelligence agencies

Western security analysts say agencies may have its hands full dealing with the war in Ukraine and political opposition.
A view of apartment buildings with writing on a wall that reads "Here we build (ourselves)," in the Franc-Moisin neighborhood of Saint-Denis, a northern Paris suburb, on March 13. The Seine-Saint-Denis department north of Paris will host a number of events for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with venues including the Stade de France and Aquatics Centre, as well as the Olympic Village.
WORLD / Society
Mar 26, 2024

Amid Olympic redevelopment, have troubled Paris suburbs won gold?

The Paris Olympics will take place mostly on the other side of a ring road that divides the capital from some of its poorest and most notorious suburbs.
Maritime Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Adm. Ryo Sakai during a news conference at the Defense Ministry on Tuesday
JAPAN / Society
Mar 27, 2024

Japan MSDF punishes two officers for 'power harassment'

One was hit with a three-month suspension, while the other will see his pay cut by one-sixth for one month.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 28, 2024

Tigers remain the Central League's team to beat as rival Giants loom

While Hanshin may be favored to repeat, the rest of the league will be waiting to pounce should the Kansai club falter.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan