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A man watches as smoke billows over southern Lebanon following an Israeli strike, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Tyre, Lebanon, on Thursday.
WORLD
Sep 27, 2024

Israel rejects cease-fire talks and keeps up attacks in Lebanon

Airstrikes will continue until all of Israel’s objectives have been achieved, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
The Federal Reserve building in Washington. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said last week he felt that the pre-pandemic years during which the Fed's rate hovered near zero for years and Europe delved into the exotic world of negative rates are gone for good.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 27, 2024

A global hunt for neutral rates to shape world finance costs

Policymakers are exploring whether the rates required to keep inflation in check and economies growing are higher now than the ultra-low ones before the pandemic.
While Shigeru Ishiba’s victory suggests a shift within the Liberal Democratic Party, he still faces challenges from those who remain loyal to the old party guard. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 29, 2024

Japan’s perennial political underdog finally gets a win

Ishiba margin of victory was slim, meaning that there is still a sizable portion of the party who will be resistant to his initiatives.
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California speaks to reporters in South Haven, Michigan, on July 4, 2024. Newsom vetoed a California artificial intelligence safety bill on Sunday, blocking the most ambitious proposal in the nation aimed at curtailing the growth of the new technology.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 30, 2024

California governor vetoes contentious AI safety bill

The bill’s author, Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener, said legislation was necessary to protect the public before advances in AI become either unwieldy or uncontrollable.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to sign a memorandum on intellectual property tariffs on high-tech Chinese goods at the White House in March 2018.
COMMENTARY
Sep 30, 2024

Trumpism, Stalinism and the tariff debate

Trump loyalists — which these days means almost the entire Republican Party — insist as a group that foreigners, not American consumers, pay taxes on imports.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba listens to a reporter's question as he attends a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 2, 2024

South Korea's Yoon and Japan's Ishiba agree to continue 'shuttle diplomacy'

In his first phone call with the South Korean leader, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stressed the importance of the two countries’ maintaining close communications,
Relatives and friends mourn by the grave of Israeli soldier Eitan Itzhak Oster, killed in fighting in the northern border area with Lebanon, at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem on Oct. 2.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 3, 2024

Biden seeks to deter Israeli attack on Iran nuclear sites

The comments opposing such a strike mark a fresh U.S. attempt to rein in Israel, something it’s frequently failed to achieve in almost a year of military conflict.
A bus is seen submerged in floodwaters in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on Aug. 29 as Typhoon Shanshan dumps torrential rain across southern regions of Japan.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 3, 2024

How climate change affects Japan's typhoons

The number of typhoons appears to be dropping, but the ones that do arrive are also becoming more violent.
Port workers from the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) participate in a strike at the Virginia International Gateway in Portsmouth, Virginia, on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2024

U.S. port workers, operators reach deal to end East Coast strike

A tentative agreement for a wage hike of around 62% over six years will immediately end a crippling three-day strike.
Nippon Ishin no Kai head Nobuyuki Baba (back left) and Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan head Yoshihiko Noda (back right) discuss cooperation during the upcoming general election in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 4, 2024

Opposition parties have little time to form united front ahead of polls

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s surprise announcement of an Oct. 27 general election has left others scrambling to coordinate in order to avoid multi-cornered fights.
To preserve the integrity of the game in the legalized gambling era, Major League Baseball must double down and maintain its now posthumous ban on Pete Rose.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 4, 2024

Pete Rose fans are wrong: He's not worthy of the Hall of Fame

Backing down would undermine the league’s zero-tolerance stance and signal that "permanently ineligible" isn't always permanent.
French President Emmanuel Macron holds a news conference on Saturday in Paris.
WORLD
Oct 6, 2024

Macron calls for halting weapons to Israel for Gaza conflict

Macron announced that 88 Francophone countries voted unanimously to call for a cease-fire in Lebanon.
A flag with the logo of the COP29 United Nations Climate Change Conference in front of the Baku Olympic Stadium, the venue of the summit, in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Sept. 19
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 7, 2024

Environment takes center stage as global summits loom

The upcoming session isn't expected to break new ground but will take stock of progress since the last summit secured historic assurances for biodiversity.
Hiroshi Moriyama, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has a strong influence over the administration of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 8, 2024

LDP linchpin Moriyama has big influence over Ishiba

The newly elected president took his secretary-general's advice on several key matters, including party and Cabinet appointments as well as calling a snap election.
Philippine Navy Flag Officer-in-Command Vice Adm. Toribio Adaci Jr. speaks during the opening ceremony of exercise Sama Sama 2023, the annual bilateral exercise between the Philippine and U.S. Navy, in Manila in October 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 8, 2024

Six countries conduct naval drills off the Philippines amid China tensions

This year's drills, which involve almost a thousand sailors and personnel, are high-intensity exercises focusing on antisubmarine, antisurface and antiair warfare.
Gen Nakatani (center), who was named defense minister last week, attends an extraordinary session of the Lower House at parliament in Tokyo on Oct. 1.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 9, 2024

U.S. and Japan defense chiefs agree to beef up Nansei Islands presence

Two controversial proposals put by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba — an Asian version of NATO or revising the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement — were not discussed.
NHK plans to start charging online viewers in October of next year.
JAPAN
Oct 9, 2024

NHK to charge monthly online viewer fee of ¥1,100 starting next year

The fee will be collected from people who sign up only for the online service.
Coal-fired power plants in Bataan, the Philippines, in June 2023. A third of the 158 agreements signed under the Japan-led Asia Zero Emission Community are linked to fossil fuel technologies, a recent study by a climate research group has found.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Oct 9, 2024

Japan pushes fossil fuel tech in Asia carbon neutrality initiative

A third of the 158 agreements signed under the Japan-led Asia Zero Emission Community are linked to fossil fuel technologies, according to a report.
Rafael Nadal won 22 Grand Slam singles titles and an Olympic gold medal during his career.
TENNIS
Oct 11, 2024

Rafael Nadal leaves behind legacy as role model and inspiration for fellow players

Nadal will hang up his racket after the Davis Cup next month.
People gather at the site of the Nova music festival in southern Israel on Monday to commemorate the anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack in which some 1,200 people were killed and 250 others abducted.
EDITORIALS
Oct 11, 2024

The never-ending tragedy in the Middle East grinds on

The red lines — both real and imagined — that once separated foes have been erased as the combatants inflict new and increasingly painful wounds upon each other.
Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) leader Yoshihiko Noda speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 13, 2024

Amid skepticism, CDP faces once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in Oct. 27 polls

The party can capitalize on dissatisfaction against the ruling Liberal Democratic Party over a recent scandal, but it must battle voters' deep-seated doubts against it.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (center right) makes a speech Sunday in Soka, Saitama Prefecture, along with Komeito leader Keiichi Ishii (center left).
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 14, 2024

General election campaigning to kick off Tuesday

Rocked by a political funds scandal that engulfed the party and led to the dissolution of most of its factions, the LDP faces its toughest election since 2012.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event in Flint, Michigan, on Oct. 4.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 15, 2024

Harris to raise concern about Trump's 'enemy from within' comments

Harris' trip to Pennsylvania is her 10th to the battleground state since she announced her candidacy for president in July.
The Iron Dames car shared by Rahel Frey, Sarah Bovy and Michelle Gatting is pushed into the garage during the World Endurance Championship race in Austin, Texas, earlier this year.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Oct 15, 2024

While motorsports' inclusivity has improved, there's still work to be done

The Iron Dames team is among those battling for a more welcoming motorsports environment for women.
With projections indicating a population drop in Japan from around 125 million to 63 million by 2100, traditional solutions like immigration and labor reforms are unlikely to be effective in time.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 15, 2024

Japan should master, not resist, its demographic destiny

Japan needs a strategic reorientation toward accepting and mastering its demographic changes rather than resisting them.
Political parties are highlighting measures to reform the health care system for the elderly and the public pension system as the population ages.
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2024

Parties highlight measures for working generation

The country's health care and public pension systems are being discussed ahead of the upcoming general election.
U.S. President Joe Biden's letter on Sunday appeared to be the clearest ultimatum yet to the Israeli government since the conflict in the Gaza Strip began, outlining specific steps Israel must take within 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation in the territory.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 17, 2024

Biden offers both a carrot and a stick to Israel as his term nears an end

His sending of U.S. soldiers to Israel along with an advanced anti-missile system comes with a warning that it must improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The Champayan Lagoon in Altamira, Tamaulipas, Mexico. A new report finds that nearly 3 billion people and more than half of the world’s food production are in areas experiencing a worsening water shortage.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Oct 17, 2024

Water crisis endangers 8% of GDP in high-income countries, report warns

The report finds that nearly 3 billion people and more than half of the world’s food production are in areas experiencing a worsening water shortage.
Students at the University of Toronto campus. Facing growing criticisms for losing control of immigration, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has put a limit on international student intakes.
WORLD / Society
Oct 18, 2024

Support for immigration in Canada plunges to lowest in decades

Nearly 6 in 10 people now agree that there’s too much immigration to Canada, according to the country's longest-running survey on the topic.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a BRICS business forum in Moscow on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 20, 2024

The rise of BRICS and the emerging multipolar world

The diversity among BRICS members presents challenges in forming a unified agenda, especially given differing political systems and goals.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?