Search - 2023

 
 
U.S. President Donald Trump during the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, on Saturday
WORLD / Politics
Feb 23, 2025

Trump tells CPAC his goal is a ‘lasting’ Republican majority

GOP allies, foreign leaders and Elon Musk joined Trump at CPAC on Saturday, rallying around his vision for tax cuts and government spending.
Under the law, information such as race, social status, medical history and any criminal record is designated as sensitive personal information, and obtaining such information requires prior consent from the individuals concerned.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 23, 2025

Japan may ease privacy rules to aid AI development

The move is intended to make it easier for AI-related businesses to utilize personal information.
Yankees reliever Devin Williams pitches during a spring training workout at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida, on Feb. 14.
BASEBALL / MLB
Feb 23, 2025

Yankees amend famous facial hair policy to allow 'well-groomed beards'

The all-clear for beards was announced by Hal Steinbrenner, the team’s managing general partner whose father started the beard ban — and vigorously enforced it for years.
Visitors listen to a keynote address at Consensus, a cryptocurrency event in Hong Kong on Feb. 15.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 23, 2025

Hong Kong and Singapore lead Asia's drive to cash in on crypto boom

Bitcoin recently hit a record of close to $110,000 while others have also rallied on the back of Trump's pro-crypto promises.
Economic pessimism is rife in the U.K., with households looking to cut their expenses,
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 23, 2025

The reluctant British consumer is a problem for Keir Starmer

Pessimism is rife and households are looking to cut expenses as fear rises over inflation and job losses.
The border crossing near the Thai town of Aranyaprathet and the Cambodian town of Poipet
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 23, 2025

Thai and Cambodian police free 215 foreigners in scam center raid

Hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked by criminal gangs and forced to work in scam centers and illegal online operations across Southeast Asia.
People gather during the public funeral ceremony for Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine, who were killed during Israeli airstrikes last year, on the outskirts of Beirut on Sunday.
WORLD
Feb 23, 2025

Tens of thousands mourn Hezbollah's slain leader Nasrallah in mass funeral

The mass funeral is aimed at showing strength after Hezbollah emerged battered from last year's war with Israel.
The building of new high-rise residential buildings has some alarmed that they could empty and fall into disrepair as Japan's population shrinks.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Feb 24, 2025

The high cost of letting Japan's condos crumble

With rising repair costs, dwindling reserve funds and an aging population of owners, thousands of buildings are at risk of falling into disrepair.
Israeli tanks operate during an Israeli operation in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Sunday.
WORLD
Feb 24, 2025

Israel sends tanks into West Bank, telling troops to ready for 'extended' stay

The move came as a fragile ceasefire in Gaza hit new hurdles, with a pause in the release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees due to be freed.
People ride in cable cars over the Chandragiri hilltop on the outskirts of Kathmandu on Feb. 3.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 24, 2025

Nepal community fights to save sacred forests from cable cars

Five cable car projects have opened in the past two years — and 10 more are under development, according to government figures.
The coal-powered Datang International Zhangjiakou Power Station in Zhangjiakou, in China's northern Hebei province. Many countries support an an aggressive approach to climate change, but face objections by some oil producers and major polluters with rising emissions, such as India and China.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 24, 2025

Nations at odds over major U.N. climate science report

Many countries support an an aggressive approach to climate change, but face objections by some oil producers and major polluters.
Mikaela Shiffrin celebrates after her 100th World Cup victory in Sestriere, Italy, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Alpine skiing
Feb 24, 2025

Mikaela Shiffrin earns historic 100th World Cup victory

Shiffrin won the slalom, finishing 0.61 seconds ahead of second-place Croatian Zrinka Ljutic.
Children do exercises in a hall during a break between classes in an underground school in Zaporizhzhia on Jan. 27.
WORLD / Society
Feb 24, 2025

Ukraine's underground schools helping children feel safe

Such schools allow students to return to in-person learning and socialize with their classmates while keeping them safe from attacks.
U.S. government scientists participating in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were issued a stop-work order from the Trump administration, according to media reports.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 24, 2025

Trump creates uncertainty for world’s most cited climate report

The U.S. absence comes amid broader cuts to research funding and a retreat from climate diplomacy under the Trump administration.
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro assists Defense Minister Gen Nakatani as he signs a guest book prior to their bilateral meeting at a hotel in Manila on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 24, 2025

Japan and Philippines to establish high-level defense gear framework

The two sides also agreed to establish a “strategic dialogue” between the Self-Defense Forces and the Philippine Armed Forces to deepen operational collaboration.
Elon Musk's Starlink is facing challenges from a Chinese state-backed rival and another service financed by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 24, 2025

Musk's Starlink races with Chinese rivals to dominate satellite internet

China's rush to occupy more of lower-Earth orbit makes Western policymakers worry it could extend the reach of Beijing's internet censorship regime.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands as they meet in Helsinki on July 16, 2018.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 24, 2025

After three years of war, Trump hands Russian economy a lifeline

Russia can either stop inflating military spending as it presses to gain territory in Ukraine, or maintain it and pay the price with years of slow growth.
Lt. Gen. Dan Caine (right) with an Iraqi general in Mosul, Iraq, in 2018
WORLD / Politics
Feb 24, 2025

Trump’s frustration with generals resulted in an unconventional pick

Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, a retired three-star Air Force officer, quickly moved up the list of candidates to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Hong Kong's policymakers are nearing a crossroads amid dwindling avenues for generating revenue and an economy that’s expected to remain under pressure this year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 25, 2025

Hong Kong to tackle deficit and slower economic growth in budget

There may be limited options for generating the kind of revenue needed to plug an expected shortfall of 100 billion Hong Kong dollars.
A section of an exterior wall at the Okawa Elementary School Ruins in the city of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, fell off last December.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 25, 2025

14 years later, fight to preserve ruins of 3/11 continues

Local governments hope to teach future generations about the destructive nature of the tsunami that followed the March 2011 quake, but the ruins are continuing to erode.
The Togolese-registered ship Hongtai in Penghu, Taiwan. Taiwan detained a Chinese-crewed cargo ship after a subsea telecoms cable was severed off the island, the coast guard said.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 25, 2025

Taiwan detains Chinese-crewed ship after subsea cable cut

It is the latest in a series of Taiwanese undersea cable breakages, with previous incidents blamed on natural causes or Chinese ships.
Bic Camera is under investigation by the Fair Trade Commission for unreasonable reductions in payments to subcontractors.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2025

Japan's FTC to advise Bic Camera not to underpay subcontractors

The commission found that Bic Camera unreasonably cut payments by a total of about ¥500 million in violation of the subcontract law.
The weak yen is often cited as one reason why many Japanese don't go abroad.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 25, 2025

Only 17% of Japanese people own passports, Foreign Ministry says

Around 3.7 million passports were issued domestically in 2024, a 8.8% increase from the year before but down 15.2% from prepandemic numbers in 2019.
The Chinese embrace of DeepSeek comes as governments from South Korea to Italy remove the artificial intelligence from national app stores, citing privacy concerns.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 25, 2025

DeepSeek rushes to launch new AI model as China goes all in

Deepseek had planned to release R2 in early May but now wants it out as early as possible.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at a news conference following the Group of 20 foreign ministers' meeting in Johannesburg on Feb. 20
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 26, 2025

Japan's soft power may hold key to African development as U.S. cuts aid

Businesses linked to Japanese food and anime, for example, may play an important role in investments to Africa from Japan.
An Apple store in Walnut Creek, California, on Monday. Apple Inc. Apple investors rejected a proposal to end the iPhone maker’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, but CEO Tim Cook some some adjustments may occur.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 26, 2025

Apple to keep DEI efforts, though some adjustments possible

The proposal to abolish DEI efforts came after competitors like Meta and Google have started winding down such programs.
The People's Liberation Army Navy's Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang, part of a flotilla sailing inside Australia's exclusive economic zone on Wednesday, is seen at an undisclosed location in this image taken on Feb. 11.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 26, 2025

'Provocative' Chinese warship near Australia puts Japan on notice

Canberra surmised that China's military moves were intended to “shape the responses of those in the region and observe and learn from our reactions.”
Passengers at a train station in Tokyo. Railway operators plan to expand the scope of chemicals and materials passengers will be banned from bringing onto trains starting in April.
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2025

Railway companies to tighten restrictions on hazardous materials

The move comes as part of a push to bolster security ahead of the 2025 Osaka Expo.
Taiwanese Air Force Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft taxi for takeoff during a scramble as part of a combat readiness exercise at the Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taichung, Taiwan, on Jan. 7.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 26, 2025

China holds 'shooting' drills off Taiwan's coast, vows 'reunification' push

Taipei said the exercises endanger the safety of international flights and shipping and are a "blatant provocation" to regional peace and stability.
Thousands of mourners, carrying flags and orange balloons, joined a funeral procession on Wednesday for Shiri Bibas and her two sons, who were among the hostages taken by Palestinian militants in Gaza in October 2023 and who died during their captivity.
WORLD
Feb 27, 2025

Hamas releases bodies of hostages; Israel frees Palestinian prisoners

After days of impasse, Egyptian mediators secured the handover of the bodies of the four hostages.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan