Search - 2023

 
 
A Palestinian sits among the rubble of buildings destroyed during an Israeli offensive in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 6, 2025

Trump aides defend Gaza takeover proposal but walk back some elements

Trump shattered decades of U.S. policy with a vaguely worded announcement saying he envisioned transforming Gaza into the "Riviera of the Middle East."
Ditching the U.S.' normal trade relations designation for China could lead to an automatic jump in levies, at rates that could far exceed what Trump has so far slapped on China.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Feb 6, 2025

Trump's China focus increases odds of end to special trading status

The Permanent Normal Trade Relations designation was was extended to China in 2000.
The new generative AI-powered Alexa represents at once a huge opportunity for Amazon, which counts more than half a billion Alexa-enabled devices in the market, and a tremendous risk.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 6, 2025

Amazon set to release long-delayed Alexa generative AI revamp

The new generative AI-powered Alexa represents at once a huge opportunity for Amazon.
South Korea, along with countries such as France and Italy, have asked questions about DeepSeek's data practices, submitting a written request for information about how the company handles user information.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 6, 2025

South Korean ministries and police block access to DeepSeek

The move comes after the Chinese artificial intelligence startup did not respond to a request about how it manages user information.
A cargo ship full of shipping containers at the port of Oakland in Oakland, California, as trade tensions escalate over U.S. tariffs on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 6, 2025

Economists brace for Trump's new trade war to rekindle inflation worldwide

Stubborn growth in consumer prices was bothering much of the world even before U.S. President Donald Trump entered the White House.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes takes off his helmet after defeating the Bills during the AFC Championship game at Arrowhead Stadium on Jan. 26.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Feb 6, 2025

NFL heralds helmet technology for reduction in concussions

Concussions fell to a record low this season, down 17% from the previous campaign, with improvements to helmet technology and after the league changed rules governing kickoffs.
Kuaishou Technology has attracted tens of millions of younger viewers who habitually scroll screens for new stories and trending videos.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 6, 2025

Mini dramas have supplanted movies in China. Is the U.S. next?

Professionally produced series for the web, mini dramas have clear storylines and big cliffhangers, with episodes running just 60 to 90 seconds each.
The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission has raided locations related to a former Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank division manager on suspicion of violating the financial instruments and exchange law.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 6, 2025

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank worker's insider trading likely lasted years

The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission has raided locations related to the former employee.
New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram reacts to making a three point basket against the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 5, 2024. Ingram was reportedly traded to the Toronto Raptors ahead of Thursday's deadline.
BASKETBALL
Feb 6, 2025

Pelicans ship Brandon Ingram to Raptors, say reports

Ingram was reportedly moved for fellow forwards Bruce Brown and Kelly Olynyk along with two draft picks.
Gaza’s reconstruction is needed, but U.S. President Donald Trump’s approach — framing it as a business deal without addressing Palestinian political aspirations — makes little sense as foreign policy.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 6, 2025

Trump’s ‘Gaza Riviera’ scheme may be more than a fantasy

It’s tempting to dismiss Donald Trump’s bid to take over Gaza as just another wild proposal, designed more to change the conversation and wrong-foot negotiating partners than as policy.
New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Aug. 27, 2024
BASEBALL
Feb 6, 2025

Mets set to retain Pete Alonso on two-year $54 million deal

Alonso reportedly turned down a three-year offer from the Mets before accepting the two-year contract.
Naomi Osaka celebrates winning her second round match at the Australian Open over the Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova on Jan. 15.
TENNIS
Feb 6, 2025

Naomi Osaka on tennis, motherhood and being Japanese

Osaka returned to the tour a year ago and has had mixed results overall. But there are early signs in 2025 that she's starting to "get her pink back."
Investigators pursue a criminal case in the town of Oshima in Tokyo in January.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 6, 2025

Concern over crime grows in Japan as cases rise for third straight year

The most drastic increase was seen in the number of fraud cases, which numbered 57,324 — up 24.6% from the previous year and with a total of ¥307.5 billion in damages recorded.
The rubble of destroyed buildings in Jabalia on Jan. 30
WORLD / Society
Feb 7, 2025

Trump call for Gazan exit echoes in destroyed homes

The war has stopped after 16 months, but the destruction left in its wake leaves Palestinians in a daily battle of trying to decide whether to stay or go.
Philippine National Security Council Assistant Director-General Jonathan Malaya says information and psychological warfare have "become part and parcel" of China's malign influence in his country.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 7, 2025

Chinese hybrid warfare ops surge in Philippines: top security official

There has been a rise in Chinese disinformation tactics as well as suspected surveillance and espionage activities in the Philippines, the official said.
The government plans to provide university tuition aid to families with three or more dependent children attending universities, junior colleges, technical colleges or vocational schools, regardless of income levels.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2025

Japan's government plans expanded university tuition aid for families

A proposed legal revision would slash or fully eliminate the cost of university tuition for families with three or more dependent children.
Spurs center Victor Wembanyama will play in the NBA All-Star tournament after being selected by Charles Barkley in Thursday's All-Star Draft.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Feb 7, 2025

Barkley picks global lineup for NBA All-Star tournament

In a revamped format for the Feb. 16 All-Star event in San Francisco, four elite teams will meet in a tournament format.
Far from making America great again, Donald Trump’s actions since assuming the presidency are giving a giant boost to China’s attempts at world leadership.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 7, 2025

‘America First’ in action

Far from making America great again, Trump is giving a giant boost to China’s claims to world leadership.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 8, 2025

Trump targets U.S. trade deficit in first meeting with Ishiba

The two leaders pledged to pursue a "new golden age" of U.S.-Japan relations — though Ishiba did get an earful about America's trade deficit with its ally.
The Supreme Court could be called upon in the coming weeks or months to act in a challenge to U.S. President Donald Trump's policies, depending on how quickly appeals move through the lower courts.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 8, 2025

As U.S. Supreme Court girds for Trump cases, can it be an 'effective firewall'?

Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump's views of presidential authority appear far less restrained than those of his White House predecessors.
The Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2025

Kansai Electric to ship more spent nuclear fuel to France

The move comes as Fukui Prefecture, home to several nuclear plants, urges Kansai Electric to address shrinking storage capacity for spent nuclear fuel, the sources said.
A participant in a research study to test a new device to prevent pregnancy and HIV infection, leaves a clinic in Vulindlela, South Africa, on Wednesday. A U.S. Agency for International Development-funded trial shut down, leaving a medical device in her body that needed to be removed right away.
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 9, 2025

Trump administration cuts put medical progress at risk, researchers say

The new policy, which takes effect Monday, will cap "indirect funds” for costs like buildings, utilities and support staff at 15% and is aimed at saving $4 billion.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump, at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka in 2019.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 10, 2025

Trump's plan for U.S. to own Gaza provokes rebuke from Middle East

Trump's idea to take over and redevelop Gaza faces mounting opposition, with Jordan's King Abdullah calling it a dangerous plan that could destabilize the region.
The new Nippon TV series “The Hot Spot” follows an alien superhero navigating rural Japanese life but focuses more on dialogue than splashy, action-packed plot points.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
Feb 10, 2025

‘The Hot Spot’: Close encounters of the mundane kind

Japanese dramas have been taking bolder risks recently, and Bakarhythm’s new sci-fi series surprises by centering its high-concept ideas on trivial occurrences.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (left) and head coach Nick Sirianni celebrate after winning Super Bowl LIX at the New Orleans Superdome on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Feb 10, 2025

Eagles dominate Chiefs to capture Super Bowl title and prevent three-peat

The game was played before a crowd that included U.S. President Donald Trump and pop superstar Taylor Swift.
Israeli military vehicles drive past destruction in southern Lebanon, as seen from northern Israel on Jan. 26.
BUSINESS
Feb 10, 2025

Investors return to new-look Middle East, but Trump causes some concern

President Donald Trump's proposal that the U.S. take over Gaza may have thrown a curveball into the mix, but recent events in the Middle East have fed hopes of a reset.
On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters that U.S. Steel would remain American.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 10, 2025

Nippon Steel goes quiet after U.S. Steel deal seemingly nixed for good

Comments over the weekend by U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba point to the U.S. steelmaker remaining American.
Giving out courtesy chocolates to coworkers on Valentine's Day is becoming obsolete.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 10, 2025

How giving chocolates on Valentine’s Day is evolving in Japan

One change is fewer people are handing out chocolates to others at work, which had been a widespread practice over the past few decades.
Billionaire Elon Musk's bid is likely to ratchet up longstanding tensions with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over the future of the ChatGPT maker at the heart of a boom in generative AI technology.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 11, 2025

Musk-led group makes $97.4 billion bid for control of OpenAI

The move was another salvo in billionaire Elon Musk's fight to block the AI startup from transitioning to a for-profit firm.
An unmanned Hamadori drone developed by Japanese company Space Entertainment Laboratory and equipped with various sensor options for surveys is displayed at the Japan Drone 2020 exhibition at Makuhari Messe in the city of Chiba in September 2020.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2025

Japan exploring drone production capabilities for military aid program

Tokyo has begun asking local firms about their capabilities to determine which systems it could provide under the next tranche of security assistance in fiscal 2025 and beyond.

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building