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Supporters of Georgia's opposition parties hold a rally to protest against the government's decision to suspend talks on joining the European Union, in Tbilisi on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 9, 2024

Georgia pro-EU protesters defiant as thousands rally for 11th day

Thousands of people gathered outside the parliament building in the capital Tbilisi on Sunday, waving EU flags and blowing whistles.
A protester holding a cardboard cutout of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol takes part in a demonstration calling for his ouster outside the National Assembly in Seoul on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 9, 2024

After failed martial law, South Koreans ask: Who’s in charge?

President Yoon Suk Yeol's move has created a power vacuum in his governing camp, pushing the country deeper into what analysts call a constitutional crisis.
Terumi Tanaka (front left), co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, and others arrive at Oslo Airport on Sunday. Norwegian Nobel Committee Chairperson Jorgen Watne Frydnes stands in the back row on the right.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2024

Nihon Hidankyo delegation arrives in Oslo for Nobel Prize ceremony

The delegation comprises 30 people aged 32 to 92, including children and grandchildren of hibakusha.
Protesters tear signs, depicting the names of ruling People Power Party lawmakers who didn't vote during the impeachment motion against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol last Saturday, as they attend a rally calling for the impeachment of Yoon, who declared and quickly reversed a martial law order last week, in front of the PPP's headquarters in Seoul on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 9, 2024

South Korea's Yoon banned from foreign travel as leadership crisis deepens

On Monday, the Defense Ministry said Yoon was still legally commander in chief, but his grip on power has come into question.
Elon Musk, a co-leader of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, carries his son X Æ A-Xii Musk following a meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 9, 2024

DOGE's best idea yet is permanent daylight saving time

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s support for adopting a year-round clock would give the U.S. more sunshine and less confusion.
Jiro Hamasumi, an assistant secretary-general of Nihon Hidankyo, speaks about radiation exposure in the womb in November in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2024

Youngest hibakusha determined to continue fight for nuclear abolition

Receiving the Nobel Peace Prize is "not the goal," said one hibakusha.
A staff member wearing a "Squid Game" costume stands at an activation zone for the Netflix series at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 9, 2024

'Squid Game' premieres in Seoul after martial law declaration

"Squid Game" showrunner Hwang Dong-hyuk called the political chaos "extremely unfortunate and infuriating" at a press event for the Netflix series.
Rebel commander Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, speaks to a crowd in Damascus, Syria, on Monday.
WORLD
Dec 10, 2024

Syria's rebels work to form government and restore order after Assad ouster

With the mood in Damascus still celebratory, Assad's prime minister, Mohammed Jalali, has agreed to hand power to the rebel-led Salvation Government.
A sanitary serviceman stands by body bags at the morgue of a hospital in Damascus on Tuesday.
WORLD
Dec 10, 2024

Syria rebels say found dozens of tortured bodies in hospital near Damascus

One rebel shared dozens of photographs showing corpses with evident signs of torture.
Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho and Sumitomo Mitsui are enjoying record earnings and they are determined to fund overseas expansion.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 10, 2024

Japan's megabanks are flush with cash and hunting overseas deals

The primary focus is on the U.S. and India, respectively the world’s largest economy and the fastest-growing.
One of the representatives of 2024 Nobel Peace Prize winner Nihon Hidankyo, Terumi Tanaka, speaks during the Nobel Peace Prize awarding ceremony in Oslo City Hall on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2024

Nobel Peace Prize winner Nihon Hidankyo calls for a world without nukes

The atomic bomb survivors urged countries to abolish the weapons resurging as a threat 80 years after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
Fans of K-pop boy band NCT sing one of their songs while holding light sticks, as they attend a protest rally calling for the impeachment of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 10, 2024

K-pop light sticks fire up impeachment protests in South Korea

Playlists of popular K-pop protest songs are also being shared on X, with one lawmaker in the opposition party also jumping on the trend.
A protester holding a cardboard reading "Leader of insurgents" on an image depicting the face of South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol takes part in a protest calling for his ouster outside the National Assembly in Seoul on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 11, 2024

South Korea ex-defense minister formally arrested for insurrection

Former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun's formal arrest came amid concerns that evidence might be destroyed.
Georgian anti-government protesters face off against police during consecutive days of mass demonstrations against the government's postponement of European Union accession talks in central Tbilisi on Dec. 3.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 8, 2024

Georgia has crossed a Russian Rubicon

A tipping point came last week when authorities in the capital Tbilisi sent masked police to raid the headquarters of opposition parties.
Najem al-Moussa, 36, his wife Bushra al-Bukaai, 30, and their five children at their home in Athens on Tuesday.
WORLD / Society
Dec 12, 2024

Syrian refugees in Europe fear being forced home after Assad's fall

"I consider my life to be here. Not just me, but my children," said one Syrian refugee who is living in Athens.
Teruko Yokoyama (second from left), a senior member of Nihon Hidankyo, shares her experiences with students from Kuben Upper Secondary School in Oslo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2024

Hibakusha share experiences with Oslo high school students

Some 200 students learning sociology and other subjects were called on to think about peace.
Tokyo has the highest price-to-income ratio for high-rise condominiums in the country, at 17.78 times.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 12, 2024

New Japanese condos now cost 10 times average salary, study shows

Wages are not keeping up with rising costs, resulting in developers focusing on the higher end of the market.
In a year of anime hits, Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s “Look Back” stood out from the bunch.
CULTURE / Film / 2024 in Review
Dec 13, 2024

Big franchises and bold voices dominated anime in 2024

In a year of major box-office hits such as “Conan” and “Haikyu!!,” smaller animators used nontraditional tools to stand out from the rest.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters on Thursday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 12, 2024

Approval rate of Ishiba's Cabinet dips to 26.8%, poll shows

The Cabinet's approval rate has remained under 30% for months, including under Ishiba's predecessor, Fumio Kishida.
Children stand next to the sea at the Kara Tepe camp for refugees and migrants on the island of Lesbos, Greece, in October 2020.
WORLD / Society
Dec 13, 2024

'Invisible' refugee children caught in Europe's migration red tape

In the first nine months of 2024, arrivals of unaccompanied children to the main entry points to the European Union were 8% higher, despite overall arrivals slowing.
Chinese President Xi Jinping
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 13, 2024

China vows bigger fiscal spending to boost consumption next year

For only the second time in at least a decade, Chinese officials made "lifting consumption vigorously” and stimulating overall domestic demand their top priority.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, arrives at the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 13, 2024

Opposition leader says impeaching Yoon best way to restore order

Yoon on Thursday vowed to "fight to the end," blaming the opposition party for paralyzing the government.
A man checks a tunnel found under a mosque in Tadamon district, which is littered with bones, in Damascus, Syria, on Thursday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 13, 2024

At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors and seek answers

After Bashar Assad's ouster, residents hope the site in Damascus' Tadamon district can be cordoned off for those responsible to be held accountable.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s factory (left) in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Feb. 23, the day before it was officially opened
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 22, 2024

Chip cities rise in Japan’s fields of dreams

Injections of cash are transforming once-sleepy areas, lifting stagnant house prices and triggering construction booms.
A view of a damaged house following a landslide and an earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 7.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2024

Japan's emperor and empress to visit disaster-hit Noto for third time

The imperial couple are concerned about those living on the Noto Peninsula hit by the two disasters, aides have said.
Shohei Ohtani's prowress on the diamond translated into an outsized influence on Japan's consumer trends this year.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 13, 2024

The year that Shohei Ohtani achieved 'yokozuna' status … in the market

To qualify as a genuine "hitto" (hit), a product or service must harness some new concept or technology in a manner that significantly impacts the marketplace.
Carlos Sainz finished second for Ferrari at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Dec 12, 2024

Carlos Sainz motivated by new challenge with Williams

Sainz jumped in his Williams car for end-of-season testing on Tuesday, and posted the second-fastest time behind Charles Leclerc.
Before (top) and after images of the regrowth of a tooth in a ferret (center top and bottom) and mice (right and left)
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 13, 2024

Japanese researchers test pioneering drug to regrow teeth

Tests on mice and ferrets suggest that blocking a protein called USAG-1 can awaken a third set of teeth.
Climbers on the slopes of Mount Fuji in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, in July. The prefecture implemented a ¥2,000 fee per climber starting last year, while neighboring Shizuoka Prefecture is planning to collect ¥4,000 per climber starting in 2025.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2024

Shizuoka Prefecture aims to collect ¥4,000 from all Mount Fuji climbers

The proposal for an entry fee for Japan's highest mountain is designed to ease congestion at the site and prevent dangerous attempts to scale the peak.
People watch a TV screen, broadcasting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivering an address to the nation, at a railway station in Seoul, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 14, 2024

Yoon Suk Yeol: from rising star to impeachment

He rose from public prosecutor to South Korea's highest office in just a few years, but as president, Yoon staggered from scandal to scandal.

Longform

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