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Efforts by Russia and China to shape U.S. politics through propaganda and cyberattacks have been less pronounced during this year’s election cycle than they were in 2016 and 2020, Microsoft said on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 18, 2024

Microsoft sees slowing in Russian and Chinese efforts to sway U.S. vote

Researchers concluded that there have been few signs of people being broadly swayed by sophisticated deepfake videos made with AI by the nation-states.
Ideal or not, the reality of the world is that one currency, the U.S. dollar, is first among equals.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2024

Asian currencies can't fight the dollar on a rampage

Markets tend to reflect economic performance. And ideal or not, the reality of a world is one currency, the U.S. dollar, is truly first among equals.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda hinted at a chance of a rate hike in the second half of this year by highlighting the likelihood of improvement in the price trend.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 18, 2024

More economists see BOJ rate hike in October, flag July risk

All 54 economists except for one predict no policy change at the central bank’s two-day meeting ending on April 26.
Iran is now enriching uranium to up to 60% purity and has enough material enriched to that level, if enriched further, for two nuclear weapons, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency's theoretical definition.
WORLD / Politics / EXPLAINER
Apr 19, 2024

As the 2015 nuclear deal crumbles, how close is Iran to weaponization?

With the possibility of Israel retaliating, a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander said the nation might review its "nuclear doctrine."
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks as he announces a preliminary agreement with Intel for a major CHIPS and Science Act award, during a visit to the Intel Ocotillo Campus in Chandler, Arizona, on March 20.
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Apr 19, 2024

Latest Biden chip deal highlights U.S. semiconductor successes

Samsung is the latest beneficiary of Washington’s efforts to shore up precarious supply chains and protect its national security interests.
Finding capital needed to start a business can be challenging. But for many women in the Global South, it’s not just difficult — it’s often impossible.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2024

Women entrepreneurs could make the world $6 trillion richer

When a woman walks through the door with a good idea, a smart business plan and a dream to improve her future, lenders too often see only risk.
Four-piece Atarashii Gakko! and Okinawan rapper Awich (center) shared the Mojave Stage at 88Risings’s “Futures” showcase at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival last weekend.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 19, 2024

Japanese acts seize Coachella's spotlight — and this ain't your typical J-pop

Yoasobi, Awich and Atarashii Gakko! shine at the California festival, proving just how much J-pop has made strides in reaching international audiences.
Sunrockers fans at a game in Tokyo in March.
BASKETBALL / B. League
Apr 20, 2024

'Mr. Incredible' and Japan’s improbable bid to compete with the NBA

Japan is a latecomer to basketball’s global expansion, but it has stratospheric expectations for its future.
People attend a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and to call for the release of hostages kidnapped in the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Tel Aviv on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 21, 2024

Fears over Iran buoy Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu at home. For now.

The PM's political future seemed bleak following October's deadly attack by Hamas militants, with critics blaming him for the security failure.
Ukrainian gunners from the 14th Separate Mechanized Brigade fire at the enemy from a position near the town of Kupyansk, in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 22, 2024

U.S. aid gives Kyiv respite but battlefield shift remains far off

Much will depend on how quickly U.S. assistance can get to the front line.
Chinese swimmer Zhang Yufei poses with her gold medal after winning the women's 200-meter butterfly during the Tokyo Games.
OLYMPICS
Apr 22, 2024

Chinese doping case sends swimming world into uproar and exposes bitter rifts

The disclosure of an incident that had been a secret for more than three years has drawn strong reactions from athletes, coaches and others.
Palestinian Ambassador to the U.N. Riyad Mansour speaks at the U.N. Security Council on Thursday after a resolution calling for the recognition of Palestinian statehood failed when it was vetoed by the U.S.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2024

The urgency of Palestinian statehood

The U.N. Security Council rejected Palestine's membership bid last week. But Palestinian statehood remains the only viable path to peace, for Israel too.
Chinese athletes take part in the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Games in July 2021.
OLYMPICS
Apr 23, 2024

WADA rejects cover-up charge over investigation into Chinese swimmers

Reports claimed that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine ahead of the Tokyo Games.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's use of divisive language himself raised alarm that it could inflame right-wing vigilantes who target Muslims, and brought up questions about what had prompted his shift in communication style.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 23, 2024

Modi calls Muslims ‘infiltrators’ who would take India’s wealth

The language was unusually direct for a leader who normally lets others do the dirtiest work of polarizing Hindus against Muslims.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has repeatedly expressed his commitment to bring about a revision of the Political Funds Control Act during the current session of parliament, which is slated to end on June 23.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 23, 2024

LDP pledges tougher action on errant lawmakers in reform blueprint

The ruling party will seek to review legislation on the handling of political funds in the wake of a slush funds scandal involving its members.
People backing Ukraine gather outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Tuesday. The Senate on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to approve a long-stalled $95 billion package of aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 24, 2024

Congress passes Ukraine aid bill in boost to Kyiv — and Taipei — after long delay

The package, which had been delayed amid objections from Republican hard-liners, could be signed into law as soon as this week.
Ryu Shionoya, former chairman of the General Council of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, speaks at a news conference at the parliamentary building on Tuesday after he left the party.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 24, 2024

Ryu Shionoya quits LDP, ending scandal-linked punishment process

With the acceptance of the resignation, the LDP's process of punishing party lawmakers involved in the political funds scandal concluded.
Tests for patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease. According to the Alzheimer's Association, the disease is estimated to affect more than 6 million Americans.
WORLD / Science & Health / FOCUS
Apr 24, 2024

Alzheimer's drug adoption in U.S. slowed by doctors' skepticism

There is an entrenched belief among some doctors that treating the memory-robbing disease is futile.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Taro Aso, vice president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, in New York on Tuesday. The Japanese government’s top spokesman on Wednesday played down the meeting as one conducted "in the capacity of one lawmaker" and “without the government’s involvement.”
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 24, 2024

Japan's former PM Aso meets Trump for talks on security and economy

The visit highlights behind-the-scenes moves by Tokyo to cultivate ties with the Trump camp ahead of November’s U.S. presidential election.
Despite the potential benefits AI might have for bank customers, like finding the best interest rates, there are concerns about the destabilizing effects it may have on financial stability.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2024

Generative AI is coming for your bank. Maybe.

Tech investors reckon that supersmart agents will soon upend the business model of traditional banks, but there are caveats.
Race walker Nanako Fujii wears thick-soled shoes during a national race walking event in Kobe on Feb. 18.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 25, 2024

Japanese race walkers slow to embrace thick-soled shoes

The key benefit of athletes wearing thick-soled shoes is that they are propelled forward by the bounce generated by the soles of the shoes.
Palestinian women in Gaza sit amid the rubble of a residential building they once lived in, which was destroyed by an Israeli raid earlier this month.
COMMENTARY
Apr 25, 2024

Biden must prove he doesn't have a double standard for Israel

If the U.S. wants to convince the world that it doesn't have a double standard, it should condition military aid to Israel on its use of American weapons.
When comparing Ukraine’s military situation in 2024 to Europe’s in 1941, Russia’s defeat seems entirely possible.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2024

Ukraine is far from doomed

When comparing Ukraine’s situation in 2024 to Europe’s in 1941, Russia’s defeat seems entirely possible.
WADA President Witold Banka attends the World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium in Lausanne, Switzerland on March 12.
OLYMPICS
Apr 25, 2024

Britain and Australia call for WADA review amid China scandal

WADA has been under fire since confirming media reports that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine.
The Mount Holland lithium mine is a glimpse of the future of what Western Australia hopes will be a new, greener stage of development.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2024

On lithium’s frontier, miners are betting on a greener second act

Despite weak prices for the metal deemed critical to energy transition, they are gearing up for a rebound in demand for batteries and electric vehicles.
Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
WORLD / Politics
Apr 26, 2024

Israel prepares forces as conflict with Hezbollah intensifies

Israeli forces have been exchanging cross-border fire with Hezbollah almost daily since October as the potential for an all-out war only grows.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is welcomed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a ceremony at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing last October.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 27, 2024

Half of Russia's payments to China made through middlemen

The intermediaries are legal entities from jurisdictions considered "friendly" to Russia, sources said.
Palestinian children stand amid the debris of a house destroyed by overnight Israeli bombardment in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 28, 2024

Some U.S. officials say Israel may be violating international law in Gaza

A joint submission from four U.S. bureaus raised "serious concern over non-compliance" with international humanitarian law.
The combined market capitalization of shares listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime section stood at roughly ¥970 trillion at the end of last month.
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2024

TSE Prime's market cap nears ¥1 quadrillion two years after shake-up

The total market capitalization of the new top tier has grown some 40% while the number of companies fell 10%.
At the State Department, an eight-person group informally known as "the firm” is taking steps to help embattled nations when China responds to political disputes with what the U.S. and its allies call "economic coercion."
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 29, 2024

U.S. ‘firm’ steps in when China is seen as a bully, not a partner

At the U.S. State Department, an eight-person group is taking steps to help nations when China responds to political disputes with "economic coercion."

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami