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Read Adm. Daniel Hagari, the spokesperson for the Israeli military (center), stands on a roof in Gaza while escorting a group of journalists in the central Gaza Strip on Jan. 8
WORLD / Politics
Jun 21, 2024

Israel military seems to be pushing back on goal to destroy Hamas

The idea of Israel destroying Hama is "simply throwing sand in the eyes of the public," Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said.
U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the new missiles are expected to arrive in the coming weeks and should provide Ukraine with capabilities through the remainder of this and the next fiscal year.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 21, 2024

U.S. diverts air defense missiles ordered by allies to Ukraine

The redirection is part of a "difficult but necessary decision” to reprioritize planned deliveries, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
Members of Onomichi High School's baseball team (back) have longer hair than members of teams that stick to traditional buzz cuts.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Jul 1, 2024

High school baseball gets a makeover as buzz cut rules are no more

What was once seen as a symbol of fighting spirit is getting a rethink as coaches try to be mindful of students' mental states and preferences.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Vice President Han Zheng attend a meeting in Harbin, China, on May 17.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 21, 2024

Russia and China find workarounds as the U.S. sanctions net widens

One workaround involves smaller, regional banks that can, for the time being, fly below the U.S. sanctions radar.
Military vehicles carrying DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles travel past Tiananmen Square during a military parade in Beijing in October 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 21, 2024

U.S. and China held first informal nuclear talks in five years in March

Beijing's representatives told their U.S. counterparts that they would not resort to atomic threats over Taiwan, according to two American delegates.
A tribute to Willie Mays behind home plate at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, on Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 21, 2024

In Alabama, Willie Mays is the star of the show, one more time

Willie Mays' death added poignancy to MLB’s celebration of the Negro Leagues at Rickwood Field — the nation’s oldest professional ballpark.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toast during a reception at the Mongnangwan Reception House in Pyongyang on Wednesday following summit talks.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 21, 2024

New Kim-Putin pact sparks unease — and talk of more aid for Ukraine

An opaque new treaty signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this week could end up bolstering U.S.-allied cooperation.
The Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima
JAPAN / History
Jun 21, 2024

Oppenheimer apologized to atomic bomb survivors, Japan nonprofit says

Oppenheimer apologized profusely while crying intensely as soon as he met the visitors, an interpreter said.
People participate in a hustings event focused on the Hong Kong community, in Sutton, London, earlier this month.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 22, 2024

Hong Kongers embrace politics in U.K., but some still fear Beijing

Since 2021, more than 180,0000 Hong Kongers have moved to Britain under a special visa program set up in response to a crackdown in their homeland.
Digital crime in Sweden has doubled since 2021 and become a growing risk for the Nordic economy.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 22, 2024

Ditching paper money makes Sweden a haven for digital criminals

Digital crime in Sweden has doubled since 2021 and become a growing risk for the Nordic economy.
Office employees drink outdoors in Kabukicho. Street drinking at night will be banned in certain areas of Shinjuku on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. However, the ban has no penalties.
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2024

Tokyo's Shinjuku bans street drinking at night on Halloween

The move comes as Shinjuku has faced increased disturbances and other nuisances from young people moving from neighboring Shibuya.
Britain's Reform U.K. party leader Nigel Farage attends an interview in London.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 22, 2024

U.K.'s Nigel Farage says the West provoked Putin's invasion of Ukraine

The remarks, made in an interview with the BBC aired late on Friday, drew strong criticism across the British political spectrum.
The holding lot of the Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation-Volkswagen joint venture in Shanghai in April 2023. As the European Union moves to impose tariffs on Chinese cars, Germany, with an auto industry deeply enmeshed with China, is stuck in the middle.
BUSINESS
Jun 23, 2024

Germany hopes to head off a trade war with China

China’s EV exports threaten European automakers, but companies like Volkswagen have extensive operations in China and fear retaliatory actions by Beijing.
Taiwanese soldiers run during the annual Han Kuang anti-landing drill in New Taipei City last July.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 23, 2024

Taiwan war games to mimic combat as closely as possible

A senior Taiwan defense official said there was an urgent need to rethink how the drills were conducted.
Caeleb Dressel dives into the pool during the U.S. Olympic swimming trials in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Thursday.
OLYMPICS / Swimming
Jun 23, 2024

Resurgent Caeleb Dressel has new take on young swimming rivals

Dressel's five golds at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games included individual triumphs in the 50 and 100 free and the 100 butterfly.
Amid AI chip juggernaut Nvidia's staggering successes, startups seeking the attention of Silicon Valley venture capitalists are being asked to innovate — but without a clear indication of where the next chapter of AI will be written.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jun 23, 2024

Beyond Nvidia: the search for AI's next breakthrough

Startups are being asked to innovate — but without a clear indication of where the next chapter of AI will be written.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un holds a reception for Russian President Vladimir Putin in Pyongyang on Wednesday. Agreements reached by the two leaders this time were tactical in nature and hardly strategic.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 22, 2024

Putin’s Pyongyang visit, pivotal talks and a generational shift reshape regional dynamics

The move by Russia and North Korea this time is tactical in nature and hardly strategic.
An Afghan woman carries empty containers to fetch water in Balkh province, Afghanistan, in August 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2024

U.N.-led Doha meeting with Taliban sparks outcry over women's rights

The U.N. has been seeking a unified, international approach to dealing with the Taliban, who have cracked down on women's rights since returning to power.
Israelis protest for the release of hostages held in Gaza and against the government in Tel Aviv on June 1.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2024

Israel tech leaders, irked by Netanyahu, eye moves into politics

The war against Hamas is straining Israel's economy, with the central bank projecting costs of around $67 billion through 2025, nearly 15% of the annual GDP.
People run for cover during an Israeli bombardment in Gaza City on Saturday.
WORLD
Jun 24, 2024

Netanyahu says major operations in Gaza will end ‘very soon’

Netanyahu said the next step for the military will be for Israel to redeploy some forces to the north.
Kiyoshie Saruwaka, 74, a member of Ara Style Senior — Japan's only breakdancing club made up of older citizens — practices a move known as "chair freeze" in Tokyo on April 26.
OLYMPICS / Breakdancing
Jun 30, 2024

Inspired by Olympics debut, Japan's seniors blaze breakdancing trail

Ara Style Senior is Japan's only breaking club made up of older citizens.
Muslim pilgrims pray as sprinklers cool them down amid extremely hot weather during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mina, Saudi Arabia, on June 16.
WORLD
Jun 24, 2024

Saudi Arabia says 1,301 deaths during Hajj were mostly unregistered pilgrims

Temperatures in Mecca this year climbed as high as 51.8 degrees Celsius, according to Saudi Arabia's national meteorological center.
For Japan, carbon credits are seen as important as the nation waits for its climate technology bets to pay off.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Jun 24, 2024

Japan makes a late play on under-fire carbon credit trading

The government and Japanese companies see carbon offsets as important as they wait for their climate tech bets to pay off.
In his 14 years as prime minister, Viktor Orban has become expert in playing hardball with Brussels and has repeatedly wielded his veto to get more EU funds.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2024

Will Hungary hijack the EU during its presidency?

Officials and diplomats fret that one major victim of Hungary's six months in charge will be EU support for Ukraine as it battles Russia's invading forces.
People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police," in Tehran on Sept. 21, 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2024

For Iran's youth, legacy of 2022 clashes shapes presidential race

Contrasting views of the worth of the election have underscored the division in Iran between supporters and opponents of the 45-year-old Islamic Republic.
On a board for election posters in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward on Monday, duplicates of one featuring a female kickboxer who is not running in the gubernatorial race take up half of all the spots.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 24, 2024

Seeing duplicates of a poster on election boards? It's due to a loophole.

The law only restricts details about other candidates or factually incorrect information from posters on boards set up for elections.
A wind farm in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture. For Japan's future energy roadmap to center on clean sources, the government should reform the institutions overseeing energy policy to avoid vested interests from slowing the transition down.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 24, 2024

It’s time for Japan to set up a climate change agency

The government is currently reviewing Japan's Strategic Energy Plan. But who's shaping this key document for the future? It's mostly older men with vested interests.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen's National Rally party is expected to win snap parliamentary elections called by French President Emmanuel Macron.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 24, 2024

French elites’ silence on Le Pen is deafening

Despite the economically risky promises of the far right (and far left), France's business leaders are not weighing in on the crucial elections only a week away.
Sakana AI, prospected to become the fastest-ever Japanese company to achieve unicorn status, aims to create energy-efficient AI models that tackle long-term national-level issues.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 24, 2024

What a Japanese AI unicorn can teach Silicon Valley

Sakana AI, prospected to become the fastest-ever Japanese company to achieve unicorn status, is taking a long-term approach to the development of AI for good.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has not yet formally announced whether he will seek another three-year term as party president.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 24, 2024

Pressure mounting on Kishida within LDP to give up on reelection

Veterans fear the LDP — under Kishida — will lose control of the government in a general election, while younger members don't want an unpopular president leading them.

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An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo