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U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden walk across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington in August 2022, after returning from a trip to Kentucky.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 18, 2025

How Biden’s inner circle protected a faltering president

“Your biggest issue is the perception of age,” Mike Donilon, the president’s longtime strategist, told him in 2022, according to people who heard him.
Pro-Yoon Suk Yeol protesters participate in a rally outside a court in Seoul on Saturday where Yoon made an appearance before a judge.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 18, 2025

Yoon defends himself in court against longer detention

The president spoke before the judge for about 40 minutes in the first session and about five minutes in final remarks, according to local media.
Former Israeli hostage Romi Gonen with her mother Merav at an undisclosed location in Israel on Sunday after a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal in the war between Israel and Hamas was implemented.
WORLD
Jan 20, 2025

Israel and Hamas swap hostages and prisoners as ceasefire starts

The six-week truce aims for the gradual release of 33 of the almost 100 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, and of around 1,000 Palestinians in prison in Israel.
Russia shipped 2.96 million barrels a day of crude in the four weeks to Jan. 12.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 20, 2025

Where the U.S. has squeezed Russia’s oil flows the hardest

The latest U.S. sanctions on oil tankers hauling Russian petroleum look set to cause severe disruption across the nation’s export machine.
Experts in Japan emphasize the importance of supplementing a new legal framework with expanded opportunities for drug education targeted at young people.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 21, 2025

Many in Japan advocate for drug education to combat cannabis abuse

More than 80% of cannabis-related cases detected in Osaka in 2023 involved people in their 20s or younger, according to the Osaka prefectural police department.
A giant 1000 Indonesian rupiah coin display inside the headquarters of Bank Indonesia in Jakarta
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2025

Indonesia is the latest country to risk a 'Japanification' tag

With markets sniffing out fiscal vulnerabilities in many countries, this would be an inopportune time to lose discipline.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew (center) and Donald Trump's nominee to be the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard (right), attend the presidential inauguration in Washington on Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 22, 2025

How Trump's TikTok ban reprieve could work

While a U.S. president can't legally suspend a law aimed at banning TikTok, Trump can use prosecutorial discretion, following a long line of past executives.
“The Elephant Man” and “Twin Peaks” director David Lynch became a favorite among Japanese moviegoers who flocked to new arthouse cinemas (known as “mini theaters”) popping up around the country in the 1980s and ’90s.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jan 23, 2025

How 'Twin Peaks' turned David Lynch into Japan's favorite weirdo

The director’s work thrived in the early days of arthouse “mini theaters,” and cherry pies and canned coffee fueled the nation's "Twin Peaks" mania.
Lewis Hamilton drives a Ferrari F1 car around the Fiorano circuit during testing in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Jan 23, 2025

Lewis Hamilton calls first laps in Ferrari car 'one of the best feelings'

The 40-year-old Briton shocked the paddock last February when he announced he was departing for the iconic Italian team after 12 highly successful years with Mercedes.
South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol arrives to attend the fourth hearing of his impeachment trial over his short-lived imposition of martial law, at the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 23, 2025

South Korea investigators seek Yoon indictment for insurrection and abuse of power

Yoon Suk Yeol, impeached and suspended from power on Dec. 14, has been incarcerated since last week.
National Police Agency Commissioner-General Yasuhiro Tsuyuki speaks during a news conference on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 23, 2025

Japan police agency sets rules for fake IDs in undercover yami baito probes

Investigations involving the use of fake IDs will target crimes such as robbery, special fraud, investment fraud and romance fraud.
Afghan citizens, who are in the process for resettlement in the U.S., attend an English class on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Society
Jan 24, 2025

Afghans awaiting U.S. resettlement feel betrayal after Trump order

Some feel betrayed, with many — including those who fled Taliban rule in Afghanistan — having already spent years in limbo.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is pressured by Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau during a game between the two rival teams earlier this season in Orchard Park, New York.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 24, 2025

Rivals Bills and Chiefs clash again with Super Bowl on the line

The rivalry between the Chiefs and the Bills may not have the long history of the great divisional clashes, but its intensity is fueled by the high stakes in their recent meetings.
The government aims to reduce the average monthly overtime of teachers to 30 hours over the five years through the fiscal year beginning April 2029, down from the current 47 hours.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2025

Japan weighs obligatory programs to cut teacher overtime

Education boards would be required to report on the current work hours of teachers and detail measures to improve their working styles.
Undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue celebrates after defeating Kim Ye-joon in their title fight at Ariake Arena on Friday.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Jan 24, 2025

Naoya 'Monster' Inoue retains undisputed title with 4th-round knockout

Promoter Bob Arum announced after the fight that Inoue will fight in Las Vegas this spring.
Jannik Sinner pumps his fist during his Australian Open semifinal win over Ben Shelton on Friday in Melbourne.
TENNIS
Jan 24, 2025

Cramping Sinner subdues Shelton and returns to Australian Open final

Sinner will face Zverev in the final as he bids to become the first Italian with three Grand Slam singles titles.
Ayumi Matsuki, a priestess at Yoshiwara Shrine, shows off some "o-mamori" charms. She says visitors to the shrine have increased since the NHK drama “Unbound” began airing this month.
JAPAN / History / Longform
Jan 26, 2025

Tracing Tsutaya Juzaburo, Edo’s media maverick

Discover the hometown of the Yoshiwara publisher who helped shape Japan’s artistic legacy and inspired NHK’s latest period drama.
U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One upon departure from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 26, 2025

Trump's firing of independent watchdog officials draws criticism

Donald Trump's late-night firing of inspectors general was called illegal by Democrats and others and drew concern from at least one fellow Republican.
The production line at Tanmiah Food’s chicken processing plant in Shaqra, Saudi Arabia
BUSINESS
Jan 26, 2025

Chickens hatch across the Saudi desert in kingdom’s pivot from oil

The kingdom imports about 80% of what it eats, triggering worries about shortages in a time of rising geopolitical tensions.
Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama prepares to shoot during his team's loss to the Pacers at Bercy Arena in Paris on Saturday
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jan 26, 2025

Wembanyama's Spurs fall to Pacers in Paris homecoming

Wembanyama connected on seven of his 16 shots from the field to score 20 points in a losing cause.
Tomin First no Kai adviser Hirotada Ototake speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 26, 2025

Tomin First adviser Hirotada Ototake keen to use social media

"Through social media outreach, we want to become an option for unaffiliated voters who have not decided for whom to vote" in the June 22 race, said Ototake.
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as reporters ask questions aboard Air Force One during a flight from Las Vegas to Miami on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 27, 2025

Trump, at zenith of power, moves quickly to 'take over' Washington

Trump's agenda faces roadblocks going forward, and the opening weeks of his administration may represent the height of his power, some supporters acknowledge.
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has seen his club lose six of its last seven Premier League matches.
SOCCER
Jan 27, 2025

Ange Postecoglou uncertain about future after Tottenham hits new 'low'

Postecoglou's side suffered its sixth defeat in its last seven Premier League matches to increase the pressure on the Australian.
An oil drilling rig in Midland, Texas, on March 2, 2023
WORLD / Politics
Jan 27, 2025

Trump seizes wartime powers in battle for more fossil fuels

By invoking the country’s national and economic security, the plan lays the foundation for energy projects to move forward with unprecedented speed.
People pray for the victims of a deadly stabbing attack outside Nagano Station, on Sunday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 27, 2025

Nagano stabbing suspect sent to prosecutors after deadly attack

The apparently random stabbing follows two other similar attacks, including the high-profile killing of a teenage girl at a Kitakyushu McDonald's last month.
More than a dozen Justice Department lawyers were fired after Acting Attorney General James McHenry, a Trump appointee, concluded they "could not be trusted to faithfully implement the President’s agenda because of their significant role in prosecuting the President," a Justice Department official said.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 28, 2025

Trump administration fires team of lawyers who prosecuted him

The officials were fired after the administration concluded they "could not be trusted to faithfully implement the President’s agenda."
Scott Bessent, then nominee for U.S. treasury secretary, arrives for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 16.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 28, 2025

Billionaire financier Bessent confirmed as Trump's treasury chief

The new treasury secretary will be the chief economic spokesman for President Donald Trump and his sweeping agenda of tax cuts, deregulation and trade rebalancing.
Engineers with Chinese startup DeepSeek built a competitive AI model despite U.S. attempts to curtail China’s tech development, raising questions about the effectiveness of Washington’s trade curbs.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jan 28, 2025

DeepSeek’s AI model tests limits of U.S. restrictions on Nvidia chips

Powerful AI software from the Chinese startup indicates its engineers built a competitive model despite U.S. attempts to curtail Beijing's tech development with trade curbs.
Kanoa Igarashi surfs in the Hurley Pro Sunset Beach competition in Oahu, Hawaii, on Feb. 18.
MORE SPORTS / Surfing
Jan 28, 2025

Kanoa Igarashi dreams big as surfing championship tour gets underway

With new tricks up his sleeve, the Olympic silver medalist is eyeing a world title.
A worker drives past residential buildings under construction by Chinese real estate developer Vanke in Hangzhou, in eastern China's Zhejiang province. The indebted Chinese property developer warned on Monday that it incurred major losses in 2024, a filing at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange showed.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 28, 2025

Rare China support shows Vanke may be too big to fail

The unusual support shows that Vanke holds a special place within China’s moribund property sector.

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