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A rebel fighter stands in front of an abandoned tank in the town of Adra on the northeast outskirts of Damascus on Monday.
WORLD
Dec 18, 2024

Conflict in Syria 'has not ended,' U.N. warns

The U.N.'s special envoy for Syria has warned of "significant hostilities" already witnessed there between Turkish-backed and Kurdish fighters.
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket is launched for the Europa Clipper mission to study one of Jupiter's 95 moons, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Oct. 14.
WORLD
Dec 18, 2024

Power failed at SpaceX mission control before September spacewalk

The outage, which hasn't previously been reported, meant that SpaceX mission control was briefly unable to command its Dragon spacecraft in orbit.
Rep. Michael Waltz, a Republican from Florida, speaks with former President Donald Trump while attending the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines in August 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 18, 2024

For Waltz, advising isolationist Trump is a Taiwan-sized challenge

Florida congressman Mike Waltz has built his reputation in Washington as a China hawk, working on a House task force to coordinate policy toward Beijing.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako speak with evacuated people at Wajima Junior High School in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2024

Emperor and Empress mourn flood victims in Wajima

Four people were killed in the September floods, including a 14-year-old junior high school student.
The neon lights of a casino are reflected on a bus window as a passenger looks on, ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to mark the 25th anniversary of Macao’s handover, in Macao, China, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 18, 2024

Macao's civil society 'falls silent' after 25 years of Chinese rule

Public protests in Macao are just a memory after Beijing launched sweeping measures that ousted opposition lawmakers and chilled free speech.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Papua New Guinea leader James Marape address a news conference in Sydney on Dec. 12.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2024

Australia shows how smart diplomacy is done

Recent deals reflect the laser focus the Australian government is devoting to its closest neighbors and a bureaucratic reorganization that translates into action.
A fire burns inside a Palestinian house in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Dec 19, 2024

Gaza mediators intensify ceasefire efforts as Israeli strikes kill 20

A Palestinian official close to the negotiations said mediators had narrowed gaps on most of the agreement's clauses.
Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin
WORLD / Politics
Dec 19, 2024

Lula’s rival-turned-vice president finds himself in unwanted limelight

Many business leaders consider VP Geraldo Alckmin better equipped than Lula to respond to the growing economic and political challenges that are besieging Brazil.
Tsuyako Shimabukuro (front, second from left), head of the Eguchi community association in the town of Chatan, Okinawa Prefecture, and other community leaders discuss their efforts along with members of the prefectural association of families of missing persons with dementia.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Dec 30, 2024

Okinawa communities battle a rise in missing elderly with dementia

In the prefecture, 118 such cases were reported to the police last year.
Nomura Holdings and other major brokerages in Japan are raising compensation and benefits for senior employees age 60 or over.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2024

At Japan's brokerages, skills shortage improves conditions for older staff

Employees age 60 and above are increasingly getting paid for performance and given heavier responsibilities in line with their experience.
Rivers and canals meander through many of the townships in Ningbo, with some homes built close to the water.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 19, 2024

Can China shield the biggest uninsured economy from floods?

Only about 10% of Chinese families have a home insurance policy, compared to nearly 90% in the U.S.
While the prospect of Eneos Holdings offloading a majority stake in JX has been mooted for years, it is coming closer to reality amid a hot market for share sales in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2024

Eneos considers IPO of up to 70% of JX Advanced Metals

Japan has seen the highest volume of IPOs this year since 2018.
For language learners under 40 in Japan, AI tools such as ChatGPT are now preferred over in-person classes or radio language programs.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2024

AI services growing in popularity among younger language learners in Japan

The number of people using AI language tools grew by more than 80% in 2024, a recent survey showed.
Djafaruddin poses for a photograph near the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 19, 2024

'End of the world': Tsunami body collector's torment 20 years on

Whenever the collector passes the spot where he collected those lifeless bodies decades ago, he says it reminds him of his efforts that fateful day.
Nissan and Honda are exploring a merger, which would create a rival to Toyota Motor in Japan and better position the combined company to face competitive challenges around the world.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2024

Foxconn in talks with Nissan shareholder Renault, CNA says

Renault’s stake in Nissan is a holdover from a longstanding alliance between the French automaker, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors.
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 20, 2024

Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024

This year’s health and wellness fads point to a Japan that desires more wholesome lifestyles but doesn’t have the time or resources to go about it in traditional ways.
The site of an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Thursday
WORLD
Dec 20, 2024

Israel keeps up Gaza bombardment as cease-fire talks intensify

Mediators are trying to forge a deal to pause the 14-month-old war in the Hamas-ruled enclave that would include a release of hostages seized from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Australian rescue crews work at the site of a collapsed building on Friday after an earthquake struck Port Vila, the capital city of Vanuatu.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 20, 2024

Rescuers extend search for Vanuatu quake survivors

The 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the main island of Vanuatu on Tuesday.
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 20, 2024

Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'

Lawmakers were aiming to stop three amendments that would make it more difficult for voters to oust elected officials who they see as unfit.
A Meteorological Agency official speaks during a news conference held in Tokyo in August to announce the lifting of the government's emergency alert system for a megaquake that may occur in the Nankai Trough.
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2024

Japan improves public relations for Nankai Trough megaquake alert

The first such alert, issued in August, caused confusion and unrest as the system was not widely recognized.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Jan 5, 2025

'Guernica' is always with us

How do we account for the past year, almost nine decades after "Guernica," when all the boundaries of horror have been pulverized?
A soldier stops a car at a checkpoint in Bishnupur, Manipur, India, in April.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 20, 2024

Fighters from Myanmar's civil war exacerbate ethnic conflict in India

The conflict between Manipur's mostly Hindu Meitei community and the mainly Christian Kuki tribes is seen as one of India's biggest law-and-order failures.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s push to end birthright citizenship, despite its likely legal failure, could still serve as a political strategy to appear tough on immigration while highlighting systemic obstacles to comprehensive reform.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2024

Why Trump can’t just end birthright citizenship

Donald Trump’s proposal to end birthright citizenship faces major legal obstacles, as the 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to everyone born on U.S. soil.
Emergency personnel work at a Christmas market after a car drove into a group of people in Magdeburg, Germany, on Friday, killing at least two.
WORLD
Dec 21, 2024

Death toll from German Christmas market car-ramming reportedly rises to four

The attacker was described as a 50-year-old male doctor from Saudi Arabia with permanent residency in Germany, where he had lived for almost two decades.
Ahmed al-Sharaa, head of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Shamthat led the lightning offensive to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad, attends a meeting in Damascus on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2024

U.S. drops bounty for Syria's new leader after Damascus meeting

The move follows "positive messages" from a first meeting with American diplomats that included a promise to fight terrorism.
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Dec 21, 2024

The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem

Flowing more than 4,300 kilometers from the Tibetan Plateau to Vietnam, the Mekong River is the lifeblood of the region. It also faces a spiraling problem with plastic.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (third from right) and other officials visit the site Saturday of a car-ramming attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, eastern Germany.
WORLD
Dec 22, 2024

Suspect in deadly Christmas market attack railed against Islam and Germany

The attack left five people dead — including a 9-year-old child — and wounded 205 others.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives at the federal Liberal caucus holiday party, the day after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland unexpectedly resigned, in Ottawa on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 22, 2024

From liberal icon to MAGA joke: The waning fortunes of Justin Trudeau

Canada’s prime minister gained global renown 10 years ago for his unabashedly progressive politics. But at home, voters turned sour on him long ago.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends a bilateral meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro on Nov. 18.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 22, 2024

Starmer is deepening China ties while the U.K.’s allies turn away

Starmer’s pursuit of closer ties with China has raised private questions from Trump’s incoming administration, European diplomats and even some senior British officials.
Lawyers estimate that personal bankruptcies in Japan are on track to reach the highest since 2012 this year.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Dec 22, 2024

Bankruptcies and suicides rise as Japanese struggle with mounting debt

Personal debt is overwhelming an increasing number of Japanese as higher interest rates and the rising cost of living bite.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan