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Visitors stand in front of a giant screen displaying a map of locations around Taiwan where the Chinese People's Liberation Army conducted military exercises in August 2022, at an exhibition in Beijing in October last year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 3, 2023

As invasion fears rise, China hones Taiwan blockade strategy

China’s increasingly frequent exercises around Taiwan indicate that Beijing is refining a strategy to isolate the island.
TSMC is expected to see a slower recovery going into 2024 due to weaker demand.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 3, 2023

TSMC’s $72 billion dip has markets bracing for more

Shares of the world’s largest contract chipmaker have fallen 10%
Damascus, Syria
WORLD
Oct 3, 2023

'Left to die': Report exposes horrors at Syria army hospital

Syrian authorities abused and left detainees to die at a Damascus military hospital, using the facility to cover up torture of prisoners, a report said.
A pedestrian walks past a mobile recruitment point located to promote service in the Russian army and invite volunteers to sign a contract with the Defense Ministry, in a street in Moscow on May 3. The slogan reads: "Our profession is to defend fatherland."
WORLD / Politics
Oct 3, 2023

Russia deploys 'punishment battalions' in echo of Stalin

Drunk recruits, insubordinate soldiers and convicts are part of hundreds who've been pressed into Russian penal units known as "Storm-Z" squads.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends a news conference after his Cabinet reshuffle in Tokyo on Sept. 13.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 3, 2023

Two years in, Kishida delivers stability but fails to wow

Despite little to boast about, Kishida is on his way to becoming one of the longest-serving prime ministers in recent history.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Feb. 15.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 3, 2023

EU seeks to protect sensitive tech from Chinese buyers

Brussels has stepped up its efforts to curtail critical trade with China.
A 93-year-old at his office in Tokyo solves ancient math problems in Egyptian numbers to keep his mind sharp.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 3, 2023

Japan prepares national project to deal with dementia

About 9.53 million people, or 1 in 4 elderly people, are predicted to have dementia in 2040.
A man walks toward Sankore mosque, also known as the former University of Sankore, in Timbuktu, Mali
WORLD / Politics
Oct 3, 2023

Mali in meltdown as militants advance and U.N. withdraws

The violence risks adding instability to a region already reeling from military coups in neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.
Zoom controlled only about 7% of the market for communication and collaboration software as of the first quarter of the year, while Microsoft topped 42%, according to industry analyst IDC.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 4, 2023

Zoom expands tools and features in bid to compete with Microsoft

The company is adding word processing to its suite of tools and experimenting with novel features for meetings as it faces steep competition from Teams.
Russian activist Natalia Arno in Paris on Sept. 29
WORLD / Politics
Oct 4, 2023

'Organs failing': A Russian activist details her poisoning

Five months after being poisoned, Natalia Arno still goes numb across much of her body when she stands up for any length of time.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Press freedom in India has plummeted since Modi came to power in 2014, rights activists and opposition lawmakers say, with Reporters Without Borders warning that such freedom is "in crisis" in the country.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 4, 2023

Indian police launch sweeping raids on journalists, arresting two

Police said the raids were carried out under a stringent anti-terror law that makes it virtually impossible to get bail.
Demonstrators hold signs during a protest against COVID-19 measures Munich in 2022.
WORLD / Society
Oct 4, 2023

AI 'supercharges' online disinformation and censorship, report warns

Internet freedom declined for the 13th straight year, with China, Myanmar and Iran having the worst conditions of the 70 countries surveyed.
Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group, speaks during the SoftBank World event in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 4, 2023

SoftBank’s Son tells Japan: Adopt AI or get left behind again

Japan, which largely missed the initial wave of growth from the internet, can’t afford to lose another three decades, SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son said.
Marine ecologist Salvador Jorgensen and his research assistant Dylan Moran observe a shark basking off a beach in central California.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Oct 4, 2023

Climate change draws great white sharks north, threatening ecosystem

The main risk from these predators is not to swimmers and surfers, but to otters.
Sosuke Ikematsu plays two pianists — or is it just one? — pursuing dreams of becoming a jazz musician in late-1980s Tokyo in “Between the White and Black Keys.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 5, 2023

'Between the White and Black Keys': Offbeat biopic will have you seeing double

Masanori Tominaga’s free-spirited film about jazz pianist Hiroshi Minami captures the vibe of 1980s Tokyo nightlife but remains mostly on the surface.
Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology displays its EVOGO battery swap solution at the Auto Shanghai show in April. There are concerns that the company is trying to team up with a U.S. firm to avoid U.S. sanctions.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 4, 2023

Deceptive Chinese strategies that challenge U.S. economic statecraft

The practice by Chinese businesses of using third countries to circumvent tariffs is raising concerns.
Philippine crew monitor a Chinese coast guard ship near the entrance of Chinese-controlled Scarborough Shoal in disputed waters in the South China Sea.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 5, 2023

Philippines supplies outpost despite Chinese attempts to block

A "significant number” of Chinese coast guard and maritime militia vessels tried to stop the latest resupply mission.
Fujitsu and Riken say they have developed Japan's second quantum computer.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 5, 2023

Fujitsu and Riken develop Japan's second quantum computer

The 64 qubit quantum computer from Fujitsu and state-backed Riken will be integrated with a 40 qubit quantum computer simulator.
Volunteers work at a Salvation Army mobile health clinic in Montreal on Sept. 22. Canada, despite being a wealthy nation, is gripped by a surge in homelessness that has seen thousands of people living in the streets after being priced out of real estate and rental markets.
WORLD / Society
Oct 5, 2023

Homelessness explodes in Canada as rents and housing prices soar

Researchers warn government data is vastly underestimating the number of homeless across the country.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Oct 5, 2023

Giants prepare to start new era as manager Tatsunori Hara walks away

Manager Tatsunori Hara's departure closes the book on an eventful chapter in the storied history of the Giants.
An image of an immersive attraction at Immersive Fort Tokyo slated to open next spring in Tokyo's Odaiba area.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 5, 2023

New immersive theme park to open in Tokyo’s Odaiba

The new facility, to be called Immersive Fort Tokyo, will feature 12 immersive attractions along with six shops and restaurants.
French President Emmanuel Macron arrives to greets Finland's Prime Minister at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 5, 2023

With subtler engagement, Macron refashions himself as EU linchpin

In areas ranging from defense to industrial policy, officials familiar with Europe's inner workings say Macron is calling the shots as rarely before.
U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks
WORLD / Politics
Oct 6, 2023

China’s aggression pushes others toward U.S., top official says

Pentagon official cited cooperation with the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, and the AUKUS alliance
The Pentagon building in Arlington, Virginia
WORLD / Politics
Oct 6, 2023

Pentagon developing AI to aid Indo-Pacific and other commands

Several AI platforms under development may help connect commanders and their forces and increase the volume of data they can analyze at one time.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 6, 2023

Uniqlo owner scouts for more Indian partners after 60% sales jump

The Japanese apparel giant is currently working with over 20 sewing factories and mills in India.
U.K. Prime Minster Rishi Sunak, left, and his wife Akshata Murty, on the closing day of the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester on Wednesday
WORLD / Politics
Oct 6, 2023

Seeking everyman image, U.K. PM Rishi Sunak taps Indian heritage

Sunak’s rise to power in a country that until 1947 ruled India as a colony has seen little of the fanfare that accompanied the first Black U.S. president.
Ayatana's hand-pounded curry paste is just one example of what chef Bo Songvisava calls her revival of traditional Thai cuisine.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 8, 2023

Ayatana elevates Thai comfort food to gourmet cuisine

Japan has no shortage of Thai food, but this new Kyoto restaurant aims to transcend its reputation of a casual bite.
Max Verstappen (right) celebrates with Red Bull's team principal, Christian Horner, after the Dutch star won the Japanese Grand Prix on Sept. 24 to clinch the constructors' title for the team.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Oct 6, 2023

Lewis Hamilton says 'phenomenal' Max Verstappen raised bar in F1

Verstappen needs just three points to secure another F1 title.
South Korean writer Eun Seo-ran
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Oct 6, 2023

Adopt a friend: South Korean writer's unusual route to family

Single-person households now account for 41% of all households, official figures show — with that set to grow in coming decades.
Boxes of Ozempic, a semaglutide injection drug made by Novo Nordisk
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 6, 2023

Popular weight loss drugs linked to higher risk of certain serious gastrointestinal problems

The drug type was associated with significantly higher risks of stomach paralysis, pancreatitis and bowel obstruction.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’