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The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. logo at the TSMC Museum of Innovation in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on May 29. Analysts say TSMC's longer-term outlook, which hinges on demand for the high-end chips used to train and host artificial intelligence models, should remain intact.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 17, 2024

TSMC bulls expect strong results to support record-high shares

TSMC is seen as more resilient than its key equipment supplier, ASML Holding, whose outlook cut sparked a slide in global chip stocks.
A Palestinian boy holds up a portrait of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during a rally in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, on Friday.
WORLD
Oct 19, 2024

Hamas mourns Sinwar, vowing no hostage release until war ends

The killing of Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the deadliest attack in Israeli history, had raised hopes of a turning point in the war.
China's strategic government support has enabled it to lead in the production and supply chains for renewable technologies, including wind turbines, solar panels and electric vehicles.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 22, 2024

What happens when China becomes the green tech superpower?

What should be of more concern is the “soft power” that Beijing will acquire by mastering the green tech sector.
The Washington Post newspaper's headquarters is seen on K Street in Washington in May 2019.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 26, 2024

Washington Post to no longer endorse presidential candidates

The change is significant for the Post, which uncovered the Watergate scandal and has a long history of standing up to those in power.
Refugees from Darfur in eastern Chad on July 8. A major surge in fighting in Sudan has taken a searing toll on civilians, killing hundreds of people in aerial bombings and revenge attacks in late October, as Africa’s largest war shifts into a higher gear after the end of seasonal rains.
WORLD
Oct 27, 2024

Hundreds killed in days as war in Sudan surges

Territory has changed hands; a prominent commander has switched sides; and retreating fighters have sexually assaulted, kidnapped and killed villagers.
Bleached corals in Koh Mak, Thailand, on May 8
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Oct 28, 2024

Earth's biodiversity crisis in numbers

The COP16 biodiversity summit in Cali, Colombia, enters its second week to assess progress toward halting and reversing nature's destruction by 2030.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Warren, Michigan, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 2, 2024

Democrats have a plan if Trump prematurely declares election victory

Trump said he hoped to be able to declare victory on Election Day, but experts have cautioned that it could be days before the final result is known.
Royal Canadian Navy Commander Vice Adm. Angus Topshee inspects an honor guard with Maritime Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Adm. Akira Saito during a meeting at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 2024

Canada Navy chief sees more chances for multiservice exercises with Japan

Ottawa has been gradually boosting its military engagement with Asian partners since unveiling its Indo-Pacific Strategy in late 2022.
In a group interview at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Thursday, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya declined to make predictions about the Liberal Democratic Party’s approach to any revisions to the Status of Forces Agreement, but said he believes “some wisdom will probably come about” from planned talks within the party.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 4, 2024

Top diplomat says Foreign Ministry will ‘quietly examine’ revising SOFA pact

Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya says finding a "mutually acceptable" solution to issues in the pact governing the U.S. military presence in Japan is key.
Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk speaks during a rally for Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. president Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 5.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 6, 2024

Elon Musk-led election falsehoods hang over vote as tally begins

Elon Musk has become Republican candidate Donald Trump’s most high-profile donor and supporter.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, walks on stage during a campaign rally at Huntington Place in Detroit on Oct. 18. President-elect Trump is not known for adherence to a disciplined and rigorous personnel selection process, but behind the scenes his advisers and allies have been preparing lists of candidates for the most important jobs in his administration.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 9, 2024

Trump weighs key personnel choices, schooled by his first-term experience

The president-elect held his first formal transition meetings and has been given lists of candidates, but is calling around to friends and allies for ideas.
Japanese exporters could be hit by higher U.S. tariffs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 11, 2024

Trump tariffs could have a significant impact on Japanese exports

The U.S. president-elect has promised 10% to 20% duties on all goods coming into the United States.
Gaetz speaks at a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump in Henderson, Nevada, on Oct. 31.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 14, 2024

Matt Gaetz is Trump’s pick for attorney general

The pick reflects Donald Trump’s determination to choose as the nation’s top law enforcement official a fierce defender who will not resist his directives.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks to House Republicans on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 14, 2024

‘Call anytime you want’: Trump roils G20 with disdain for rules

World leaders who didn’t experience Donald Trump’s first merry-go-round are quickly learning how he likes to operate.
Relatives of the victim of an accident in the city of Oita held a news conference on Nov. 5, following the first hearing of the jury trial.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 14, 2024

Justice Ministry panel proposes stricter criteria for dangerous driving

Experts are advocating for the introduction of specific numerical thresholds for speed and blood alcohol content, addressing criticisms of ambiguity in the current law.
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Nov 18, 2024

In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation

The latest edition of the Japan Writers Conference was a friendly forum for anglophone writers to connect and converse.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (right) and First Lady Rosangela da Silva attend the Independence Day military parade in Brasilia, Brazil, on Sept. 7, 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 18, 2024

Lula’s wife curses out Elon Musk on eve of Brazil’s G20

Brazil's first lady took aim at the billionaire owner of the X platform at an event while talking about the need to regulate social media networks and combat fake news.
The Bluesky social network has soared to one of the top positions in social network downloads in app stores in the past week since the U.S. election. The company reported a recent gain of 700,000 new users joining the social media platform, an alternative to X.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 18, 2024

How Bluesky, alternative to X and Facebook, is handling explosive growth

Bluesky’s meteoric growth underscores its role as a decentralized alternative to traditional social networks, prioritizing user control and developer creativity.
Demonstrators march to show support for immigrant families in New York on Nov. 9. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump confirmed on Monday that he intended to declare a national emergency and use the U.S. military in some form to assist in his plans for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 19, 2024

Trump confirms plans to use the military to assist in mass deportations

The president-elect's team believes use of vast holding facilities could enable accelerated deportations of immigrants who fight their expulsion from the country.
While the ETH Zurich is an outlier for now in Switzerland, the decision has shone a spotlight on how universities in the German-speaking world are attempting to balance national security concerns with academia’s imperative to pursue open scholarship and collaboration across borders.
WORLD / Society
Nov 23, 2024

Swiss university applies stricter measures to Chinese students

Switzerland’s top technical university justified the move as complying with laws to counter international espionage.
Randy's Donuts in Inglewood, California. Replicas of the giant doughnut sculpture will be installed, where possible, at shops in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 24, 2024

An iconic 32-foot doughnut might give Randy’s an edge in Japan

The doughnut had a cameo in “2012,” where it is seen rolling down the street as an enduring symbol of end-time. Now the brand looks to tackle the tough Japanese market.
Workers install solar panels at the Khavda Renewable Energy Park of Adani Green Energy in the village of Khavda, in India, on April 12.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 28, 2024

Adani allegations cast light on barriers to India's ambitious solar drive

India's states are unprepared for a rapid rise in renewable generating capacity, lack adequate transmission infrastructure and storage.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers his policy speech at the Lower House of parliament in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 29, 2024

Ishiba sticks to the basics in second policy speech

Rather than expand on his broader vision, Ishiba chose to focus on less-contentious individual policy matters.
While Donald Trump’s legacy and the future ideological direction of the country remains uncertain, the U.S. still retains a democratic future and a dynamic character.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2024

The post-cold war era is finished. Liberalism and democracy will go on.

For now, the weirder, stranger future the U.S. is entering still looks like a democratic future.
A farmer burns straw stubble after harvesting a paddy field on the outskirts of Jind in India's Haryana state on Nov. 26.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Dec 3, 2024

The farm fires helping to fuel India's deadly air

Burning is a cheap way to clear fields for new crops, making it hard for farmers to shift to other methods despite the consequences.
World Anti-Doping Agency Director-General Olivier Niggli speaks during the agency's symposium in Lausanne, Switzerland, in March.
OLYMPICS
Dec 4, 2024

Anti-doping agency froze out investigators who warned about China

The decision by WADA’s leaders to keep its own investigators in the dark raises new questions about WADA's response to possible doping by Chinese athletes.
This threat of H5N1 avian flu has been exacerbated by inadequate testing, delayed genetic data and insufficient containment measures, with powerful agricultural interests influencing the response.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 4, 2024

A bird flu pandemic would be one of the most foreseeable catastrophes in history

The threat of H5N1 avian flu has been exacerbated by inadequate testing, delayed genetic data, and insufficient containment measures.
Vissel Kobe players celebrate after clinching the J1 league title for the second straight season, on Sunday at Noevir Stadium Kobe.
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 8, 2024

Vissel Kobe defends J1 championship after roller-coaster title race

The defending champions cruised past Shonan Bellmare 3-0 at home thanks to goals from Taisei Miyashiro, Yoshinori Muto and Takahiro Ogihara.
The United Nations once projected the world’s population would peak at 10.3 billion in the 2080s, but now expects 700 million fewer inhabitants by 2100.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 4, 2024

Why falling fertility is not a crisis

The current population decline mirrors past transitions like the industrial revolution, where smaller families fueled economic growth and innovation.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands inside the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris ahead of a ceremony to mark its reopening following a 2019 fire, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 10, 2024

Trump plays 'shadow president' on world stage

He does not take office until Jan. 20, but he is already acting as if he is U.S. president.

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