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Russian Daniil Medvedev will have to compete as a neutral athlete at the 2024 Paris Olympics
TENNIS
Mar 8, 2024

Daniil Medvedev excited for Olympics and will follow rules as neutral athlete

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said players from the two countries could take part in the Paris Games as neutrals.
Swedish soldiers take part in the changing of the guard ceremony at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 8, 2024

Sweden’s NATO accession unlocks defense options to fend off Russia

Becoming a full member removes any ambiguity about whether the alliance would defend Sweden in the event of an attack, and vice versa.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 8, 2024

Group files lawsuit over Japan law that mandates couples share a surname

Similar lawsuits have been filed before, but public opinion appears to be shifting in favor of allowing couples to have separate surnames.
A worker at Nakamatsu Meat speaks to an Alexa-powered device at its factory in Uruma, Okinawa Prefecture, in November. At the factory, workers give production updates to Alexa, which then converts this into data that is compiled in the company's computer.
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Mar 11, 2024

Okinawa meat shop uses tech to improve efficiency and raise wages

Nakamatsu Meat's digitalization enabled it to cut its factory operating time and optimize raw material purchases.
Nissan expects kei EV sales to expand, as kei cars are relatively inexpensive compared to regular cars and their size makes them suitable for short-distance trips.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 8, 2024

Nissan may bring ultra-compact EV production in-house from 2028, sources say

The automaker is considering moving production to its factory in Kyushu in the business year starting April 2028.
The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security is considering adding Chinese chipmaker ChangXin to its so-called Entity List, which restricts companies’ access to U.S. technology.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 9, 2024

U.S. mulls blacklisting CXMT to further curb China’s chip advance

The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security is considering adding the chipmaker to its so-called Entity List.
TSMC and other leading-edge chipmakers are engaged in negotiations with the Commerce Department over a pool of about $28 billion in grants targeted for advanced factories.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 9, 2024

TSMC to win more than $5 billion in grants for U.S. chip plant

The move would mark a major milestone in U.S. President Joe Biden’s effort to revitalize American semiconductor manufacturing.
A worker checks the carbon fiber at the composite production line at the Swancor factory in Nantou, Taiwan, in February.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Mar 9, 2024

Recycling wind turbine blades can solve the industry’s biggest problem

Swancor is one of several firms globally trying to develop products that mimic the physical properties of current blade material but can be recycled.
Lauded in China as a major leap in indigenous semiconductor fabrication, last year’s SMIC-made processor powered Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro and a wave of patriotic smartphone-buying in the Asian country.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 9, 2024

Huawei chip breakthrough used tech from two U.S. gear suppliers

The report suggests that China still cannot entirely replace certain foreign components and equipment required for cutting-edge products.
A Palestinian man transports humanitarian aid at the distribution center of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees UNRWA in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on March 3.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 10, 2024

Sweden and Canada to restart payments to U.N. agency for Palestinians

Over a dozen countries suspended payments to UNRWA after Israel claimed some of the organization's employees were involved in Hamas-led attacks.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2024

Tepco profit goal remains elusive, 13 years after triple meltdown

The total costs related to the nuclear crisis are estimated at ¥23.4 trillion, including ¥8 trillion for decommissioning the Fukushima No. 1 plant.
Many countries including the U.S. and China are prioritizing domestic production and shortening supply chains to enhance economic self-reliance — but they are doing so at the  risk of fueling systemic instability and intensifying great-power tensions.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 10, 2024

Economic self-reliance is a dangerous delusion

Countries around the world have given high priority to shortening supply chains, rebuilding domestic production capacity and diversifying suppliers.
A DJI drone emerges from the casing on top of a BYD Yangwang U8 vehicle.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 11, 2024

China EV makers woo buyers with in-car beds, kitchens and drones

Top EV makers are facing a slowdown in demand at home as consumers curb spending.
Barrels stored at the Energy Fuels White Mesa Mill uranium production facility in Utah
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 11, 2024

Uranium firms revive forgotten mines as price of nuclear fuel soars

Mines were idled in the aftermath of Fukushima, when uranium prices crashed and countries like Germany and Japan initiated plans to phase out reactors.
Nebraska guard Keisei Tominaga has become one of the most exciting players in the Big Ten during his three seasons with Nebraska.
BASKETBALL
Mar 11, 2024

'Japanese Steph Curry' Keisei Tominaga shoots for stars and NBA with Nebraska

“I think I still gotta get better about a lot of things,” he said. “I think it’s getting closer to my dream."
Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas, winners of the Oscar for best picture for "Oppenheimer," pose with Takashi Yamazaki, winner of the Oscar for best visual effects for "Godzilla Minus One," at the Governors Ball, following the 96th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California, on Sunday.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 11, 2024

‘Oppenheimer’ caps a big night with best picture Oscar

The big night for ‘Oppenheimer’ offered hope for traditional cinema.
A sign warns of underground natural gas pipelines outside Rifle, Colorado, in June 2012.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Mar 11, 2024

U.S. gas pipeline accidents pose big, unreported climate threat

Accidental pipeline leaks — caused by incidents like punctures, corrosion, severe weather and faulty equipment — happen routinely.
Athletes from Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Portugal will face more stringent out-of-competition testing to be eligible for the Paris Olympics, the Athletics Integrity Unit has said.
OLYMPICS
Mar 12, 2024

Four nations to face more stringent testing ahead of Games, says AIU

The stringent conditions include athletes having undergone at least three no notice out-of-competition tests before July 4.
The Russian national flag flies in front of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in May 2023. Trade between China and Russia has been increasing since the start of the Ukraine war.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 12, 2024

United States faces 'increasingly fragile world order,' spy chiefs say

An ambitious China, a confrontational Russia, regional powers such as Iran and capable nonstate actors are "challenging rules of the international system."
An amphibious assault demonstration with joint forces of the Swedish, Finnish, Italian and French army during the Nordic Response 24 military exercise on Sunday near Sorstraumen, above the Arctic Circle in Norway. Nordic Response 24 is part of the larger NATO exercise Steadfast Defender.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 12, 2024

In frozen north, a stronger NATO prepares for Russia's threat

NATO's four-month Steadfast Defender exercise in its Arctic fringe are part of the largest drills staged by the alliance since the Cold War.
Alexei Navalny looks out of the window of his cell in a detention center in Moscow on Dec. 8, 2011.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 12, 2024

Putin's opposition: Dead, jailed or exiled

Putin's staunchest critic of the last decade, Alexei Navalny, died last month in a prison colony. Dozens of others remain behind bars.
A TikTok advertisement at a Metro station in Arlington, Virginia
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 12, 2024

TikTok divestment bill moves ahead in U.S. as key Republican wavers

The legislation would block app stores and service providers from offering TikTok unless its Chinese parent ByteDance sells it within six months.
Shi Pong Hsu, 75, makes coffee in a Singapore coffee shop. The city-state's government projects that almost a quarter of its population will be 65 or over by 2030.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 2024

Singapore is bracing for a super-aging society

Japan and South Korea may be the poster children for low birthrates, but Singapore is confronting its own decline. Its solution? Bonuses for nurses.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 12, 2024

Three members of Abe faction to attend Upper House ethics hearing

But other lawmakers embroiled in the LDP slush fund scandal have largely indicated that they don't intend to testify.
Connor O'Leary competes during an event in Huntington Beach, California, in 2019.
OLYMPICS / Surfing
Mar 13, 2024

Japan picks Aussie-born O'Leary for bonus Olympic surfing spot

O'Leary, who was raised in the south Sydney suburb of Cronulla, was granted a third men's spot by the Nippon Surfing Association.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 13, 2024

Japan's Space One rocket explodes shortly after launch

The firm's solid-fuel Kairos rocket burst into flames just seconds after liftoff, in a major setback for Japan’s space development aspirations.
Earl Stewart, a Toyota dealer, says he was shocked when he first heard about Toyota’s strategy.
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2024

Toyota’s hybrid-first strategy is delivering big profits

Toyota’s sales are booming, and the company is reporting huge profits.
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk (right, center) speaks next to Poland's President Andrzej Duda (right, second from right) during a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden (left, second from left), at the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 13, 2024

Biden offers ‘ironclad’ commitment to allies, defying Russia

The U.S. president's meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk marked the 25th year since Poland's accession to NATO.
Investors been pouring money into promising AI startups, eager to uncover the next big thing after ChatGPT.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 11, 2024

AI talent war heats up in Europe

The talent war means workers are increasingly well-placed to make demands of their prospective employers.
Paraguay Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano says that the free trade agreement to be negotiated between Tokyo and Mercosur would include goods and services, including agricultural products, which is very important for Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 13, 2024

Mercosur ‘ready’ to resume FTA talks with Japan, Paraguay foreign minister says

The bloc is keen to expand ties with Asia as it seeks to boost trade and deepen economic integration with partners beyond the U.S., Europe and China.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear