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Police officers remove a protest banner outside the West Kowloon Court following a sentencing hearing for 45 pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Nov 22, 2024

Paranoia and Beijing trump democracy in Hong Kong

Concerned nations must step up as China discards the promises it made when it regained control of Hong Kong. Anything less is a betrayal.
Motohiko Saito talks to reporters on Monday after his reelection as Hyogo governor. His surprising comeback highlights rising populism in Japan.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 22, 2024

Has the age of populism finally reached Japan?

Motohiko Saito's reelection in Hyogo sparks concerns over populist trends in Japan's politics.
An oil pump jack and drilling rigs in an oilfield on the shore of the Caspian Sea, near the Aquatic Palace stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Thursday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 23, 2024

At a climate conference in oil country, progress remains elusive

More than a third of Azerbaijan’s gross domestic product comes from fossil fuels, and about 90% of its exports are linked to oil and gas.
Former Amagasaki Mayor Kazumi Inamura speaks to her supporters after she lost her bid to become Hyogo governor, on Nov. 17 in Kobe.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 23, 2024

Failed Hyogo governor candidate's team questions X account suspension

According to the group supporting former Amagasaki Mayor Kazumi Inamura, it set up an X account on Nov. 5, but it was suspended the following day.
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.
Orlando Pride players celebrate after the club won the NWSL championship match over the Washington Spirit on Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri.
SOCCER
Nov 24, 2024

Pride shut out Spirit to capture first NWSL championship

The Pride began this season on a 23-match unbeaten run and capped it off with a league title.
Attendees walk past the COP29 logo during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Friday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 25, 2024

Climate finance's 'new era' shows new political realities

All sides acknowledge rich countries' promise of $300 billion a year in climate finance is not enough.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump approaches to embrace Donald Trump Jr. at his campaign rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 4.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 25, 2024

Trump's son helping him pick most controversial Cabinet of modern times

Donald Trump Jr. is helping contenders sink or rise to the fore, according to a half dozen sources with knowledge of his role.
United States goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher kicks the ball into play in the second half of a match against Iceland in Nashville, Tennessee, on Oct. 27.
SOCCER
Nov 26, 2024

U.S. women's keeper Naeher to retire after Europe matches

"I am beyond proud of what we have achieved both on and off the field," the 36-year-old said.
Akihisa Nagashima (center), a special adviser to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, meets with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell during a recent visit to Washington in this image posted to Campbell's X account.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 26, 2024

Key Ishiba adviser visits U.S. as Japan builds inroads to Trump camp

Akihisa Nagashima has held talks with Republican lawmakers and others close to President-elect Donald Trump.
At the United Nations climate conference in Baku, rich nations found that efforts to reduce their own emissions and fund climate programs elsewhere in the world bought them little favor with developing countries most at risk of global warming.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 26, 2024

Clean power must offer more hope to beat fossil fuels

Wealthy nations must treat climate change as a genuine crisis, advocating for bold financing programs to enable poor nations to industrialize with clean energy.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea, in June 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 27, 2024

Trump team weighs direct talks with North Korea's Kim

Several in Trump's team now see a direct approach from him, to build on a relationship that already exists, as most likely to break the ice with Kim Jong Un.
People line up to board a bus in the city of Kyoto. To ease heavy congestion caused by an influx of visitors, the Kyoto Municipal Government in June launched sightseeing express buses that run directly from Kyoto Station to major tourist attractions.
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2024

Japan's local governments weigh implementing an accommodation tax

The number of visitors to Japan between January and September 2024 reached 26.88 million, setting a record-breaking pace.
Chinese police have signed cooperation agreements with countries across Asia, Latin America, the Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa, offering embedded officers, training, joint patrols and exporting security equipment, especially to developing economies.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 13, 2024

China’s cops are coming to a city near you

When asked about covert overseas police outposts, China either denies their existence or claims they are service centers for overseas citizens.
Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia's First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, speaks at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Aug. 30.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 28, 2024

Russia says Trump Ukraine aid cut would be 'death sentence' for Kyiv's military

Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador said Moscow had repeatedly offered to negotiate but Ukraine and its Western backers have favored escalation.
Keith Kellogg, then-national security adviser to then-U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, speaks during a press briefing on Sept. 22, 2020, in the White House in Washington.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 28, 2024

Trump picks Keith Kellogg as envoy for Ukraine and Russia

The retired general is a longtime adviser who’s supported the president-elect's aims of ending the war swiftly, including by potentially cutting off military aid to Kyiv.
Liverpool's Cody Gakpo (center) celebrates scoring his team's second goal, alongside Virgil van Dijk (left) and Ibrahima Konate, in Liverpool, England, on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Nov 28, 2024

Mbappe misses penalty as Liverpool exacts revenge on Real Madrid

Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo scored the goals in the second half as the Reds maintained their perfect record to return to the top of the table.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates with his team after clinching the Formula One world drivers' title on Saturday in Las Vegas.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Nov 28, 2024

Verstappen switches focus to reboot defense of F1 teams' title

Just days after clinching the title with a measured drive to fifth in Las Vegas, the 27-year-old will return to the track hoping he can repeat his triumph from last year.
U.S. President Joe Biden leaves after delivering remarks from the White House Rose Garden in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 28, 2024

Biden readies $725 million arms aid package for Ukraine, sources say

The Biden administration plans to provide a variety of anti-tank weapons from U.S. stocks to blunt Russia's advancing troops.
Masato Kanda, then the foreign ministry's vice minister for international affairs, speaks during a news conference in Sao Paulo in February.
BUSINESS
Nov 28, 2024

Former top Japanese currency diplomat Masato Kanda chosen as next ADB chief

Masato Kanda will be tasked to navigate the ADB through fresh challenges such as helping Asia reduce poverty and mitigate risks from climate change.
The Adani Group headquarters in Ahmedabad, India
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 29, 2024

Japanese banks stick with Adani as Jefferies and Barclays review ties

Gautam Adani and others have been charged with plotting a $250 million scheme to bribe India government officials to win solar energy contracts.
Ruben Amorim won his first game as Manchester United manager on Thursday.
SOCCER
Nov 29, 2024

Manchester United earns first win under Ruben Amorim

Amorim's first game in charge was a 1-1 draw in the Premier League against Ipswich Town on Sunday.
Workers building a railway in front of Lusail Stadium in Doha in 2018
SOCCER
Nov 30, 2024

FIFA should pay workers injured building Qatar World Cup, internal report says

The report offered no specific dollar amount of compensation.
Rachel Accurso, in character as the internet personality Ms. Rachel, in New York on Nov. 4.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 30, 2024

Ms. Rachel’s improbable journey from toddler whisperer to holiday toy sensation

A series of toys depicting children’s YouTube sensation Ms. Rachel is quickly becoming one of the hottest holiday gifts.
Former chief of staff to the U.S. secretary of defense Kash Patel speaks during a campaign rally for former U.S. President Donald Trump in Las Vegas in October.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 1, 2024

Trump picks Kash Patel to head FBI

Patel has called for stripping the FBI of its intelligence-gathering role and purging anyone who refuses to support Trump's agenda.
The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Dec 2, 2024

Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?

Shrinking funding and limited support spark fears for the country's scientific prowess moving forward.
A serviceman with the Ukrainian Army's 24th mechanized brigade fires a machine gun during an exercise, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the country's Donetsk region on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 2, 2024

Europe eyes 'boots on the ground' in Ukraine as possible peace deal option

The troop presence is among security guarantees being considered as the possibility grows of a deal requiring Kyiv to cede territory to Moscow.
Under new U.S. rules, chipmaking equipment made in Malaysia, Singapore, Israel, Taiwan and South Korea will be subject to curbs on exports to China, while the Netherlands and Japan will be exempt.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 2, 2024

Latest U.S. strike on China's chips hits semiconductor toolmakers

Equipment made in Malaysia, Singapore, Israel, Taiwan and South Korea will be subject to curbs on exports to China, while the Netherlands and Japan will be exempt.
A 40-year-old house in the city of Fukuoka that has been renovated by Katitas, a company that buys up secondhand houses for resale. The company retained the house's original wooden ceilings and window frames to preserve the property's vintage look.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Dec 9, 2024

As demand rises for abandoned houses, so do cases of hidden defects

Industry experts recommend prospective buyers conduct thorough inspections before concluding transactions for akiya.
Peter Westbrook became the first African American and Asian American to win an Olympic medal in fencing at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.
OLYMPICS / Fencing
Dec 2, 2024

Trailblazing Olympic fencer Peter Westbrook dies at 72

Westbrook was the first first African American and Asian American to win a medal in fencing at the Summer Games

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