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Smoke billows as wildfires driven by high winds destroy a large part of the historic town of Lahaina in Mauii County, Hawaii, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Aug 10, 2023

Hawaii wildfires kill 36 as 'apocalypse' hits resort city

Multiple neighborhoods were burnt to the ground as the western side of the island was nearly cut off.
Japan's wholesale inflation slowed in July year-on-year due to softer energy costs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 10, 2023

Japan's wholesale inflation slowed in July for seventh month

The slowing pace of increases, due to softer energy utility costs, suggest pressures that drove up consumer prices are running their course.
People buy food at stalls promoting China's digital yuan, or e-CNY, during the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing in September 2022.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 10, 2023

With blockchain 'bridge', China challenges U.S. dollar dominance

A Beijing-backed digital prototype for sending money around the world without relying on U.S. banks is advancing quickly.
Logistics companies have started asking truck drivers to use sleep-tracking devices.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 10, 2023

Japan truck industry monitors drivers' sleep ahead of overtime cap

Firms are asking drivers to use mattress sleep trackers and wearables as they ready for an expected industry-wide crunch once overtime is limited.
Policemen stand guard outside the hospital where presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was taken after being shot at a rally in Quito on Wednesday. Mr. Villavicencio, a 59-year-old journalist, was one of eight candidates in the Aug. 20 presidential election.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 10, 2023

Ecuador presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio assassinated

A suspect in the crime later died of injuries sustained in a shoot-out. The violence injured nine others, including a candidate for the legislature.
A bulk carrier transits through Cocoli Locks at the Panama Canal, on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama, on April 19.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 11, 2023

Drought-hit Panama Canal lets more unbooked ships pass

Around 70% of canal traffic comes from or goes to the U.S., where retailers like Walmart, Amazon and Target prep for winter holiday sales.
Japan midfielder Yui Hasegawa controls the ball during a training session in Auckland on Tuesday.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
Aug 11, 2023

Rejuvenated Nadeshiko Japan 'ready to fight against anyone'

Japan, a sagging power suddenly revived, might be the most impressive contender remaining in the Women's World Cup.
As long as coal plants are still operating, it is a good idea to make them capture their carbon dioxide emissions. But the sooner that coal is replaced by renewables, the better it will be for the planet.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 11, 2023

Carbon capture and the changing economics of power generation

Carbon capture policies could unwittingly extend the life of dirtier energy sources.
An office of OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, in San Francisco. The firm recently assured corporate partners that their data would not be used to train the chatbot further.
BUSINESS
Aug 12, 2023

ChatGPT fever spreads to U.S. workplace, sounding alarm for some

Some 28% of respondents to an online poll on artificial intelligence said they regularly use ChatGPT at work.
Leaders at Sweden's Psychological Defense Agency, a state agency, in Stockholm
WORLD / Society
Aug 14, 2023

Sweden is not staying neutral in Russia’s information war

Officials say the Kremlin has targeted Sweden with a concerted psychological campaign to discredit the country and undermine its bid to join NATO.
Liudmila Sezonova, a honey merchant, with her son Albert, in their home in Kupiansk, Ukraine
WORLD
Aug 14, 2023

They endured one Russian occupation. Now, they fear a second.

The Ukrainian city of Kupiansk was liberated last year. With fighting at their doorstep, residents fear what a second Russian occupation would mean.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks to the media after a Grand Jury brought back indictments against former president Donald Trump and his allies in their attempt to overturn the state's 2020 election results, in Atlanta on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 15, 2023

Trump and advisers charged in Georgia for 2020 election scheme

The indictment cites a number of crimes that Trump or his associates allegedly committed from before the Nov. 3, 2020, election until September 2022.
The yen has depreciated about 3% since the Bank of Japan decided to tolerate higher benchmark bond yields on July 28.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 15, 2023

Yen weakens toward level that prompted September intervention

The currency has depreciated about 3% since the Bank of Japan decided to tolerate higher benchmark bond yields on July 28.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 15, 2023

Return of Chinese group tours to Japan to bring economic boost

The average amount of spending by individual Chinese tourists is the second largest at ¥338,238, just behind ¥358,888 by travelers from the U.K.
An attendee walks past a wall decorated with binary code during July's World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 15, 2023

Beijing aims to regulate China’s AI sector while maintaining edge

Like Europe, China is moving ahead with government oversight of what may be the most promising — and controversial — technology of the last 30 years.
A trader on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on July 26
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 15, 2023

U.S. loss of AAA badge shows shift in views on government debt

Fitch Ratings flagged not only U.S. governance but also higher rates driving up debt service costs, an aging population and rising health care spending.
Cirebon-1, an 11-year-old coal power station in West Java, Indonesia, is set to close early, sparing the planet millions of tons of carbon dioxide.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 16, 2023

Indonesian facility shows cutting coal is a hard sell for banks

The early closure of the Cirebon-1 coal plant could be a decarbonization model for Asia, but big banks have been shy about fueling the transition.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 16, 2023

Yen option traders unfazed by risk of intervention from Japan

Option traders see little likelihood of intervention even if the yen weakens to ¥145.90 against the dollar.
The Internal Revenue Service headquarters in Washington. A conservative group's charge that a liberal network is abusing its tax-exempt status mirrors similar allegations made against a right-wing activist.
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2023

U.S. ‘dark money’ donor groups trade accusations of tax evasion

Though the allegations by both sides are partisan, legal experts say the concerns they raise have been taken seriously by the IRS in the past.
Moscow has begun testing its new digital ruble with consumers this week.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 16, 2023

Russia tests digital ruble for sanctions evasion and social control

Development of the digital ruble took off after Western sanctions blocked Russia from parts of the global banking system.
Lahaina resident Annelise Cochran poses for a portrait on Monday, after speaking about her harrowing escape from the flames of the fires in Maui.
WORLD
Aug 16, 2023

'The ocean saved my life': How one Hawaii survivor escaped the flames

Surrounded by flames on Hawaii's scenic Lahaina boardwalk, jumping into the sea was her only choice.
People walk along Shanghai's main shopping area on March 14. China's economic activity data has been missing forecasts, raising worries that the country is approaching a crunch point.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 16, 2023

As China's economy slows, economists ask how much worse it can get

The demise of the country's growth has been mistakenly forecast before. Is this time different?
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda
BUSINESS / Markets / ANALYSIS
Aug 16, 2023

As yen enters intervention range, Japan's policymakers hold fire

With Japan now reaping some benefits from a weaker currency, intervention may not come as quickly as it did last year.
The BOJ’s monetary easing has kept the benchmark yield on 10-year JGBs below 1% for over a decade, and most traders have never experienced a major surge in rates that would put them at risk of large writedowns.
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2023

Traders who survived the 1980s become must-have hires in Japan

With the benchmark yield on 10-year JGBs below 1% for over a decade, most traders have never experienced a surge in rates that would put them at risk.
The ocean has absorbed a whopping 90% of the warming that’s occurred in recent decades as a result of increasing greenhouse gases. Shipping is responsible for a large portion of those emissions, pumping out more than a billion tons in 2018.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 16, 2023

Shipping's quest for greener fuel runs into climate complications

Three-and-a-half years ago, a new rule was established to cut ships’ sulfur emissions. Yet some scientists have linked that to warmer ocean temperatures.
A farmer harvests jasmine flowers on the outskirts of Madurai, India. Jasmine has been used for millennia in India to honor the gods, and the valuable scent is now being snapped up as an essential ingredient for global perfumes.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 16, 2023

Scent of luxury: India's jasmine infuses global perfume

Jasmine's fragrant flowers have been used for millennia in India to honor the gods, and the scent is a key part of world-famous perfumes.
The Vinfast booth at the 2022 New York International Auto Show in New York on April 14, 2022
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 16, 2023

Vietnamese EV-maker Vinfast surges in U.S. trading debut

The company’s shares gained 255% on Tuesday in New York, giving it a market value above U.S. auto giants such as Ford Motor and General Motors.
Kimono-clad visitors take selfie photographs at Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2023

In July, Japan welcomed most overseas visitors since pandemic hit

The weak yen is helping to boost tourism and contribute to a surge in growth for the world's third-largest economy.
Both Mizuho Bank and Mizuho Securities USA are currently before the courts regarding discrimination lawsuits from former employees.
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2023

Ex-Mizuho VP sues bank alleging bias against non-Japanese staff

According to the suit, much of the discrimination surfaced in response to a request for extended paternity leave.
New Paraguayan President Santiago Pena (left) shakes hands with Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te at the presidential residence in Asuncion, Paraguay, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 16, 2023

Lai’s Paraguay trip shows Taipei’s embrace of diplomatic partners

The visit has also reignited a hotly debated topic in Taiwan — whether the struggle with China over diplomatic recognition is still worth it.

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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