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U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the international community is currently experiencing "gridlock" and suffering "colossal global dysfunction.”
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 28, 2024

No one wins in a lose-lose world

Fragmentation of the world economy could derail growth, especially in low-income countries, turning zero-sum thinking into a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Even if a solution for peace is found to end the conflict between Hamas and Israel, any transitional authority will need to reckon with the militant group's large footprint in Gaza.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 28, 2024

A total 'de-Hamasification' of Gaza may be a bad idea

A peace plan needs to reckon with many difficult questions: Who will rebuild Gaza; who will pay for reconstruction and who will adjudicate any war crimes.
The new national security law will target crimes including treason, theft of state secrets, espionage, sabotage, sedition and "external interference" including from foreign governments. The Hong Kong legislature, which is dominated by pro-Beijing lawmakers, is expected to approve it.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 28, 2024

Hong Kong moves toward enacting tougher security law amid concerns about freedoms

Lawyers and activists say the law criminalizes basic human rights such as freedom of expression, but Hong Kong authorities say the new law is necessary.
A firefighter walks on mud and rocks from a mudslide during a storm in Los Angeles on Feb. 5.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 29, 2024

U.S. and Philippines pay highest economic price for climate-fueled weather

The U.S. currently experiences the worst losses in absolute terms: about $97 billion annually.
The flags of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) behind security cameras in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee formally proposed the new security legislation on Jan. 30, with a one-month consultation period, to pass the city's own security law, including stepped-up efforts to ward against foreign interference.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 29, 2024

U.K. and U.S. blast Hong Kong's proposed new security law

Pro-democracy protests in 2019 prompted Beijing to impose harsher with sentences ranging up to life in prison.
Demonstrators gather during a protest in Seoul on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Feb 29, 2024

South Korea seeks first talks with doctors as deadline looms

The Health and Welfare Ministry said it has proposed having talks to address the 10-day walkout by about 9,000 trainee doctors.
Farmers shout slogans as they burn an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other ministers during a march toward New Delhi to push for better crop prices, at Shambhu Barrier, the border between Punjab and Haryana states, on Feb. 23.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 29, 2024

India's farmer protest fuels opposition hopes of denting Modi's appeal

India's beleaguered opposition parties have been searching for a narrative to counter the popular leader.
“True View of Mount Asama” by Ike Taiga
CULTURE
Mar 1, 2024

Ike Taiga's revolutionary act of capturing natural beauty

Idemitsu Museum of Arts showcases the Edo Period painter's realistic landscapes at the first retrospective of his work in Tokyo in 13 years.
Michelin-starred tempura experiences abound in Tokyo, but some of the best of the genre can be found in the city's more down-to-earth eateries.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Top 5
Mar 3, 2024

Go old school with these affordable tempura spots

Once a plentiful dish for the poor, tempura has been dragged upward through the classes to become a dish beloved by all.
Marcus Rashford has scored just five times for Manchester United this season.
SOCCER
Mar 1, 2024

Manchester United's Marcus Rashford asks critics to have 'more humanity'

Rashford asked his critics to show a "bit more humanity" before they question his commitment to Manchester United
Haas' Ayao Komatsu is the first Japanese to be named team principal of a non-Japanese Formula One team.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Mar 1, 2024

Ayao Komatsu and a road less traveled to the top of a Formula One team

As the new boss at Haas, Komatsu is the first Japanese team principal for a non-Japanese F1 team.
Gregory May, U.S. consul general in Hong Kong, takes part in an interview in the city on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 2, 2024

Top U.S. envoy in Hong Kong warns of creeping internet curbs

In his first interview since taking up the post in 2022, U.S. Consul General Gregory May said that connectivity and data security issues are growing.
Elon Musk arrives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington to participate in the A.I. Forum in September of last year.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2024

Elon Musk sues OpenAI and Sam Altman for violating the company’s principles

Musk sued OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, accusing them of breaching a contract by putting profits ahead of the public good.
Migrant workers harvest and package vegetables in a greenhouse in Gasan-myeon, South Korea, in December.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Mar 3, 2024

South Korea needs foreign workers, but often fails to protect them

Though a shrinking population makes imported labor vital, migrant workers routinely face predatory employers, inhumane conditions and other abuse.
An earthquake measuring a shindo 4 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale that hit southern Chiba Prefecture was among several that have shaken the area in recent days.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 3, 2024

Japan warns of more strong quakes as 'slow slip' phenomena hits Chiba

Three earthquakes measuring a shindo 4 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale, as well as four measuring a shindo 3, have occurred since Thursday.
The Dongmenting night market in Shenzhen, China, on Feb. 12. Hong Kong residents are flocking to nearby mainland cities in record numbers for cheaper shopping and entertainment.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 4, 2024

Young Hong Kongers who defied Xi are now partying in China

Thanks to new infrastructure, they can regularly go to Shenzhen where products and services are cheaper.
Shiseido is aiming to cut about 1,500 jobs in Japan through early retirement program.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 4, 2024

Outliers in Japanese stocks’ bull run under pressure to downsize

A rising number of blue-chip Japanese companies are cutting staff — a move that used to be seen as a last resort.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang speaks during the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 4, 2024

China scraps premier's briefing, breaking years of convention

The decision removes a rare platform for investors to learn more about the nation’s policy direction under President Xi Jinping.
Bangladeshi Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus addresses the media as he prepares to leave after filing an appeal for the extension of his bail at the Labor Appellate Tribunal in Dhaka on Sunday.
WORLD / Society
Mar 4, 2024

Bangladesh Nobel winner fears for future as woes mount

Several of Muhammad Yunus' firms have been "forcefully" taken over, weeks after his conviction in a case his supporters say was politically motivated.
Soldiers during a live-fire exercise in Weiden, Germany
WORLD / Politics
Mar 5, 2024

Germany faces pressure to tighten security after Ukraine details exposed

One official described the lapses that led to the leak as expected from people who have never had security briefings but not from military officials.
A military delegation arrives for a meeting Monday, ahead the annual session of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 5, 2024

China defense spending to climb 7.2% amid rivalry with U.S.

Beijing's 1.67 trillion yuan ($231.4 billion) budget makes 2024 the ninth straight year to see a single-digit hike in the country’s defense outlays.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in Selma, Alabama, on Sunday
WORLD / Politics
Mar 5, 2024

Kamala Harris presses Israel war Cabinet's Benny Gantz on Gaza aid and Rafah

The U.S. vice president urged Israel to craft a "credible" humanitarian plan before conducting major military activities in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip.
Randolph-Macon College students pose with a monument to Taylor Anderson in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, on Jan. 23.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2024

Tsunami victim's dream of becoming Japan-U.S. bridge realized

Taylor Anderson was one of the 33 foreign nationals killed in the March 2011 disaster.
An earthquake measuring up to shindo 4 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale that hit southern Chiba Prefecture was among several that have shaken the area in recent days.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 5, 2024

Emergency goods sell out as quakes worry Chiba residents

Bottled water and portable toilets are among items that ran out of stock at some stores over the weekend.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang chat at the end of the opening session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 5, 2024

China sets robust economic growth goal but no big bang stimulus

Premier Li Qiang targets growth of about 5% this year but signals continued reluctance to use deficit spending for economic stimulus.
A Vietnamese worker picks tomatoes at a farm in Asahi, Chiba Prefecture. Japan is set to sharply increase the number of foreign nationals it accepts under its skilled worker visa, with plans to receive up to 800,000 people in the next five years.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 6, 2024

Japan considers doubling limit on skilled foreign workers

The government is said to be considering adding the road transportation, railway, forestry and timber sectors to those eligible for the visa.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Colorado's attempt to keep Donald Trump off the ballot with an obscure and almost discarded provision that could have determined the outcome of the presidential election.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 5, 2024

Supreme Court buries the fantasy of keeping Trump off the ballot

An obscure, almost discarded provision of the U.S. Constitution shouldn’t have the potential to determine the outcome of a presidential election.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump during a Super Tuesday election night watch party at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 6, 2024

Trump-Biden rematch likely as the two dominate Super Tuesday contests

Nikki Haley has decided to end her campaign in light of the results, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
On the amateur circuit, domestic tournaments such as the Dream Girls Cup, which took place in Tokyo last month, have generated significant publicity for youth sumo.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 6, 2024

Sumo's popularity is booming. The recruitment of new pros is not.

Sumo is not immune to the labor shortages plaguing the rest of aging Japan.
Three years ago, Sean Ono Lennon became intrigued by the possibility of expanding the message of “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” the 1971 protest song by his parents, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, through a narrative film. The resulting work is the 11-minute film “War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko,” directed by Dave Mullins.
CULTURE
Mar 7, 2024

How Sean Ono Lennon helped his parents send a message

To keep their legacy relevant for a new generation, he worked on the short “War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko.” Now it’s up for an Oscar.

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