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A firefighter stands near a wildfire in Veiga, Agueda, Portugal, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Sep 18, 2024

Portugal combats ferocious wildfires as death toll rises to seven

Fanned by bellowing winds in the stifling heat, the three largest fires concentrated in the northern Aveiro region in Portugal have scorched some 10,000 hectares.
Neuralink's Blindsight received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's "breakthrough device" designation.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 18, 2024

Neuralink gets FDA's 'breakthrough device' tag for Blindsight implant

The FDA's "breakthrough" tag is aimed at speeding up the development and review of devices currently under development.
Rapidus' new semiconductor plant under construction in Chitose, Hokkaido, in July
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 18, 2024

New high-profile chip plants driving up nearby land prices across Japan

Expectations for growth in demand for semiconductors has boosted demand for commercial and industrial plots, and housing.
Marc Benioff, chief executive officer of Salesforce, speaks during a press conference at the 2024 Dreamforce conference in San Francisco, California, on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 18, 2024

Salesforce’s new AI strategy acknowledges that AI will take jobs

The new strategy by Salesforce addresses the investor fear that job losses from AI could hurt the software-as-a-service business model.
This aerial photograph taken on July 8 shows lakes of snowmelt in the Tian Shan mountain range.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Sep 18, 2024

'Disappeared completely': Melting glaciers worry Central Asia

The effects of a warming planet have been particularly visible in Central Asia.
Shiretoko Yuransen President Seiichi Katsurada (center) in Shari, Hokkaido, in May 2022
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 18, 2024

Hokkaido boat operator head arrested over 2022 fatal sinking

Of the 26 people onboard the boat, 20 died while six remain missing.
A woman shows her ink-marked finger after casting her vote at a polling station during the first phase of the assembly election in south Kashmir's town of Bijbehara, India, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 18, 2024

Modi faces new test in Kashmir after bruising election battle

Elections will also take place over the next five months in two opposition-ruled states, Jharkhand and Delhi.
Japan might have created the PlayStation brand, but the cost of the latest generation of the console will exclude all but the most hardcore fans.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 18, 2024

PS5 Pro price is a sticker shock for the country that made the PlayStation

With even an entry-level PS5 now costing some ¥72,980 following the latest hike last month, an entire generation of Japanese could be cut off.
A soldier stands guard near the American University of Beirut Medical Center after as many as 2,800 people, including Hezbollah fighters and medics, were wounded when the pagers they use to communicate exploded across Lebanon on Tuesday
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 18, 2024

Hezbollah pager attack looks like a decapitation strike

The sophisticated nature of the attack, involving the insertion of explosive material into pagers, suggests a high level of intelligence and planning.
Liberal Democratic Party presidential election candidates after a campaign event in Nagoya on Saturday
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 18, 2024

LDP leader candidates split on separate surnames for married couples

While party conservatives worry about damaging family unity, others say it’s time to push through a legislative change.
Health ministry officials inspect the Wakayama factory of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical in March after reports of health damage surfaced among people who took the firm's red yeast rice supplements.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 18, 2024

Puberulic acid confirmed as source of beni kōji health issues

The substance produced by blue mold was the cause of kidney problems suffered by consumers of the Kobayashi Pharma supplements, the health ministry said.
The estimated number of overseas visitors to Japan rose 36.0% from a year before to 2,933,000 in August, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2024

Overseas visitors hit record high for August at 2.9 million

The figure was up 16.4% from the same month in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The remains of exploded pagers on display at an undisclosed location in Beirut's southern suburbs on Wednesday. Hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded across Lebanon on Tuesday.
WORLD
Sep 18, 2024

Taiwanese and Hungarian firms deny making Hezbollah pagers

A source close to Hezbollah previously said the devices appear to have been "sabotaged at source."
The Milky Way, known as "ama no gawa" in Japanese, is seen above Mount Fuji.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 18, 2024

Comets and constellations: The language of stargazing

Whether it's telling someone to look at a shooting star or describing the difference between stars and planets, the vocabulary of space is vast and interesting.
Anna Sawai (left), winner of the outstanding lead actress in a drama series award, and Hiroyuki Sanada, outstanding lead actor in a drama series for "Shogun," at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Sep 18, 2024

Japanese are jubilant over 'Shogun' — even without having watched the series

"Shogun" is only available via Disney's streaming platform, which is relatively new in Japan. Nonetheless, people are buzzing with excitement over the show's Emmy wins.
One of the coffins is carried during the funeral of Mohammed Bilal Kanj, Mohamed Hassan Nour al-Din, Abbas Fadel Yassin and Mohammad Mahdi Ammar, son of Hezbollah member of the Lebanese parliament, Ali Ammar, who were killed amid the detonation of pagers across Lebanon, in Beirut on Wednesday.
WORLD
Sep 19, 2024

Hezbollah devices explode again in Lebanon, raising fears of wider Israel conflict

Lebanon's health ministry said 20 people were killed on Wednesday, while Tuesday's explosions killed 12 and injured 3,000.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a news conference at the presidential office in Seoul on Aug. 29.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 19, 2024

Yoon confident Czech nuclear plant deal will be completed

Westinghouse and EDF have appealed a deal made between the Czech Republic and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power.
Google's lucrative ad tech business attracted EU regulatory scrutiny last year following a complaint from the European Publishers Council.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2024

EU publishers snubbed Google's offer to sell part of ad tech biz: sources

The European publishers deemed Google's offer to divest its advertising marketplace AdX as insufficient.
Defense Minister Wellington Koo (second left) inspects troops during a live fire exercise at the Fangshan training grounds in Pingtung, Taiwan, on Aug 26.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 19, 2024

Taiwan 'paying great attention' to Hezbollah pager explosions

Taiwan-based Gold Apollo said it did not manufacture the devices used in the attack in Lebanon.
The logo of Japanese walkie-talkie maker Icom at a shop in Tokyo. The firm said that it had stopped producing the model of radios reportedly used in recent blasts in Lebanon around a decade ago.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2024

Walkie-talkies in Lebanon blasts were discontinued a decade ago

Thousands of electronic devices, including pagers and walkie-talkies, exploded over the last two days, killing at least 26 people and wounding more than 3,000.
Elon Musk has tried to portray the judge’s efforts as a dangerous example of state overreach and an attack on free speech, while supporters say the campaign is necessary to clean up the internet.
BUSINESS
Sep 19, 2024

Elon Musk’s X bypasses Brazil ban through a software update

Brazil’s telecoms regulator, Anatel, said there was no change in the Supreme Court decision to ban X, formally known as Twitter.
Shiretoko Yuransen President Seiichi Katsurada (center) in Shari, Hokkaido, in May 2022. Katsurada admitted to having little knowledge of ships in an interview before his arrest on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 19, 2024

Hokkaido boat operator in 2022 fatal sinking had little knowledge of ships

He made himself the company's safety and operational manager despite lacking the necessary qualifications after dismissing key employees during the pandemic.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. With a flurry of hacks and fake websites, Iran has intensified its efforts to discredit American democracy and possibly tip the race against former President Donald Trump.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 19, 2024

U.S. says Iranian hackers sent Trump information to Biden camp

U.S. authorities have escalated efforts to combat foreign interference before the November election, with particular focus on Russia, Iran and China.
Boeing factory workers gather on a picket line during the first day of a strike near the entrance of a production facility in Renton, Washington, on Sept. 13.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2024

Boeing furloughs thousands as no progress made to resolve strike

Selected employees will take one week of furlough every four weeks on a rolling basis for the duration of the strike by some 30,000 machinists, which began last Friday.
Indian soldiers participate in a mock drill exercise in New Delhi in 2016. The transfer of Indian munitions to support Ukraine's defense against Russia has occurred for more than a year, according to the sources and customs data.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 19, 2024

Ammunition from India enters Ukraine, raising Russian ire

The transfer of munitions to support Ukraine's defense against Russia has occurred for more than a year, according to the sources and the customs data.
Roger Federer watches the U.S. Open in New York earlier this month.
TENNIS
Sep 19, 2024

Retirement can make you feel 'like an alien,' Federer says ahead of Laver Cup

Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador.
A shinkansen bullet train is stopped in Osaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Thursday morning following a decoupling incident.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2024

Tohoku Shinkansen services briefly halted after train car decoupling

The incident marks the first time that a coupler has come undone while the train is traveling, according to JR East.
Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are suing video game developer Pocketpair for patent infringement.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2024

Nintendo sues 'Pokemon with guns' maker for patent infringement

"Palworld" — which sold more than 5 million copies in just three days — features weapon-wielding player avatars and monsters that look similar to Pokemon.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell injected uncertainty as to where future rates will ultimately land during his news conference following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 19, 2024

The Fed’s uncertain destination troubles the bond market

The upshot is that longer-term bond yields don’t have much room to fall in the near-term unless the economy weakens materially.
Circle K owner Alimentation Couche-Tard’s initial $14.86-a-share proposal, seen as cheap at only 20% above Seven & I’s share price, may fail without a higher bid.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 19, 2024

How 7-Eleven can get a big price from Circle K

Alimentation Couche-Tard’s initial $14.86-a-share proposal, seen as cheap at only 20% above Seven & I’s share price, is unlikely to succeed without a higher bid.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami