Search - world

 
 
James Earl Jones in the Broadway revival of "Gore Vidal’s The Best Man” at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater in New York in March 2012. Jones, once a stuttering farm child who became a voice of rolling thunder as one of America’s most versatile actors in a stage, film and television career that plumbed race relations, Shakespeare’s rhapsodic tragedies and the faceless menace of Darth Vader, died on Monday at his home in Dutchess County, New York. He was 93.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 10, 2024

James Earl Jones, actor whose voice could menace or melt, dies at 93

He gave life to characters like Darth Vader in “Star Wars” and Mufasa in “The Lion King,” and went on to collect Tonys, Golden Globes, Emmys and an honorary Oscar.
A screen displays a message urging supporters of Republican candidate Donald Trump to make a plan to vote early or in-person during a campaign rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 30.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 10, 2024

Trump hunts for elusive 2024 election prize — infrequent voters

Trump, more than in previous cycles, sees infrequent voters as critical.
Masato Kanda, Japan's former top currency diplomat, led massive bouts of yen-buying intervention in the currency markets in 2022 and 2024.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 10, 2024

Japan nominates ex-currency diplomat Kanda to head ADB

Since its 1966 founding, the ADB's top post has always gone to a Japanese national, making Kanda a strong candidate.
Australia has been at the forefront of global efforts to regulate social media platforms, with its online safety watchdog bumping heads notably with Elon Musk's X.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 10, 2024

Australia plans age limit to ban children from social media

The minimum age for children to log into sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok is expected to be between 14 and 16 years.
Ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader and prime minister, Fumio Kishida, attends a campaign event with then-LDP candidate Junko Mihara and lawmaker Shinjiro Koizumi (left) in Kawasaki in July 2022. Koizumi is viewed as a potential front-runner in the party's upcoming leadership contest.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 10, 2024

Japan’s public wants change. Can the ruling party deliver?

The LDP's upcoming leadership contest features a diverse field of candidates, including Shinjiro Koizumi, who is viewed as a potential front-runner.
Apple CEO Tim Cook unveils the iPhone 16 at the Steve Jobs Theater on the company's campus in Cupertino, California, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 10, 2024

iPhone 16 to land in Japan without Apple Intelligence 

The new feature, which uses generative artificial intelligence to analyze text and photos, will only be activated in 2025 in several markets, including Japan.
U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris shakes hands with former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 11, 2024

Harris rattles Trump in combative U.S. presidential debate

The Democratic vice president put her Republican rival on the defensive with a stream of attacks on abortion limits, his fitness for office and his myriad legal woes.
Palestinians look at the destruction following Israeli airstrikes in the humanitarian zone known as Mawasi, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 11, 2024

Israel offers Hamas leader safe exit from Gaza in a bid to end the war

A senior Israeli official said he put the offer of safe passage on the table for Hamas a day and a half ago but declined to characterize the response so far.
Commuters sit at a cafe in Sydney on Feb. 26.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 11, 2024

Over a third of Australians say they’ll never be able to retire

Australia’s proportion of retirees is expected to surge from 8% today to 19% over the next 40 years.
Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu
WORLD
Sep 11, 2024

Top Russian official reports swift advance in Ukraine

Russia said its forces had advanced by 1,000 square kilometers in eastern Ukraine, which ruled out any cease-fire talks with Kyiv.
Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Manuel Romualdez in Manila on Aug. 6, 2022
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 11, 2024

Plan for summit on U.N. sidelines to seek ways 'to talk sense' into China, Philippines envoy says

The Philippines and China have exchanged accusations of intentionally ramming coast guard vessels in the disputed South China Sea in recent months.
People gather for afternoon tea in the dining area of an Ikea in upscale Xuhui, Shanghai.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 10, 2024

From People’s Park to Ikea, Shanghai’s seniors look for love

China has the world's largest population of people 65 or older. As social norms change, many older singles are hoping for a second or third chance at love.
A Palestinian girl walks near a puddle of wastewater and piles of garbage and debris amid the spread of skin infections in the northern Gaza Strip on Aug. 5.
WORLD
Sep 11, 2024

Sickness a 'death sentence' in Gaza with a health care system in ruins

"We have no medical system," a general practitioner with the Palestine Red Crescent Society in Gaza said.
A person holds an image of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was shot dead by Israeli forces, as Palestinians march to honor her in Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 11, 2024

Death prompts U.S. to demand overhaul of Israeli conduct in West Bank

Israel's military said the American protester's death was unintentional, and it voiced deep regret.
Signs expressing opposition to the University of Tokyo's proposed tuition hikes are displayed at the university's Komaba campus in Tokyo in July.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 11, 2024

University of Tokyo plans to raise tuition fees by 20% in 2025

The university expects to make the proposal official by the end of September, barring unforeseen issues.
With the world's democracies and authoritarian regimes watching, the U.S. election on Nov. 5 will have global implications.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2024

The choice confronting American voters

Republicans and Democrats differ significantly on the role of government in society, a divide that the U.S. Supreme Court used to mediate.
Wealthy Chinese shoppers are buying luxury goods in Japan to take advantage of favorable exchange rates, which is hurting European luxury brands' profitability.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 8, 2024

Big Luxury frets that China is turning Japanese

Wealthy Chinese shoppers are buying luxury goods in Japan to take advantage of favorable exchange rates, which is hurting European luxury brands' profitability.
Pope Francis blesses a child during his visit to Dili, East Timor, on Tuesday. The pontiff's Asia-Pacific tour is a strategic step toward a larger goal: a visit to China, a country that could soon have the largest Christian population in the world.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2024

Pope Francis’ Asia trip is all about China

The Vatican is among 12 diplomatic allies Taiwan still has left. There are concerns these loyalties could shift as the Holy See attempts to improve ties with Beijing.
Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori died Wednesday in Lima at age 86.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 12, 2024

Peruvian strongman Alberto Fujimori dies at age 86

The disgraced former president had deep connections to Japan, where he lived for several years to avoid extradition back to his home country over corruption charges.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (center) and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy meet in Kyiv on Wednesday.
WORLD
Sep 12, 2024

U.S. and U.K. envoys mull Ukraine’s push for deep strikes into Russia

The visit to Ukraine came as the Biden administration struggles to curtail aid to Russia from Iran, North Korea and China.
The burnt-out remains of a vehicle in Wrightwood, California, on Wednesday
WORLD
Sep 12, 2024

Los Angeles wildfire explodes overnight, engulfing homes

Three out-of-control blazes have erupted around Los Angeles.
A man wearing a disposable poncho wades through floodwaters on a street in Hanoi on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 12, 2024

Southeast Asia battles floods as Typhoon Yagi death toll passes 200

Yagi smashed into Vietnam at the weekend, bringing a colossal deluge of rain that has inundated a swathe of northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar.
A pedestrian walks down Bourbon Street on Wednesday as Hurricane Francine approaches New Orleans.
WORLD
Sep 12, 2024

Hurricane Francine makes landfall in Louisiana, putting New Orleans on edge

Francine packed maximum sustained winds of 150 kilometers per hour after the eye of the storm traveled inland over southern Louisiana.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for November's presidential election, speaks during a debate with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday in Philadelphia.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 12, 2024

Trump faces blowback for repeating lie about migrants and pets

The episode highlighted the risk for political candidates of embracing conspiracy theories that don’t survive the light of day off social media.
The town of Jasper, Alberta, on Aug. 15 after a wildfire devastated the tourism hot spot
WORLD
Sep 12, 2024

Canada's tourism continues to reel from threat of wildfires

Scientists paint a gloomy future for Canada, with more and larger blazes sparked by a warming climate.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has a 62-point lead in the race for the Formula One title.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Sep 12, 2024

Max Verstappen and Red Bull looking to get back on track at Azerbaijan Grand Prix

The Dutchman arrives in Baku with a 62-point lead over Lando Norris in the drivers' championship.
Israeli soldiers near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. With about 170,000 active personnel, Israel’s army is large by global standards, relative to its population of 10 million. But it’s still too small to cope with today’s threats.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 12, 2024

Israel needs more soldiers as reservists tire of constant war

That Israel is fighting a protracted war on numerous fronts almost a year after Hamas' deadly rampage on Oct. 7 last year is exacerbating its troop shortage.
The government is considering financial support for liquefied natural gas operators to secure storage tanks in Japan and abroad.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Sep 12, 2024

Japan considers company support measures for long-term LNG contracts

Possible measures included financial support for securing storage tank and a new program to assist LNG buyers committing to long-term contracts.
Ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in April 2023, after the firm's first attempt to land on the moon failed.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 12, 2024

Ispace aims for December launch of second moon landing mission

The Hakuto-R Mission 2 spacecraft will be delivered by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida and attempt a lunar touchdown after four to five months of spaceflight.
Nippon Steel argues that its acquisition of U.S. Steel would be a win-win.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2024

Quiet assurances mooted as U.S. Steel deal shakes global order

Analysts and informed observers have been gaming out the possible outcomes and adding up the potential damage.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan