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A person looks at the first sunrise of the year on the beach in Miura, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Monday.
WORLD
Jan 1, 2024

World rings in 2024 after war, bots and 'Barbie'

Jubilant crowds bid farewell on Sunday to the hottest year on record, closing a turbulent 12 months marked by clever chatbots, climate crises and devastating wars.
U.S. President Joe Biden departs a campaign fundraising event in Washington on Oct. 27, 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 3, 2024

Biden unplugged: President goes off-script in election fundraisers

Biden's open-mic disclosures are clashing with the White House system built to keep him on script.
Then-Harvard University President Claudine Gay attends a candle lighting ceremony for the seventh night of Hanukkah on Harvard University’s campus on Dec. 13. Faced with a new round of accusations over plagiarism in her scholarly work, Harvard’s president Claudine Gay announced her resignation on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 3, 2024

Harvard president resigns after rows over plagiarism, anti-Semitism

Claudine Gay had come under ferocious attack over plagiarism accusations and her response to antisemitism on campus amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Woodside, California, in November. After another year marked by great-power rivalries and rising security risks, the role of hegemonic, middling and rising powers has become more fluid than at any time since the end of the Cold War.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 4, 2024

The shape of power in 2024

Thinkers ponder whether the coming year will confirm that the world is quickly moving toward greater multipolarity or “nonalignment.”
Yemenis chant slogans and wave Palestinian flags during a march in solidarity with the people of Gaza, in Yemen's Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa on Dec.15, 2023. The Houthis have been firing on ships allegedly linked to Israel in the Red Sea in avowed solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 4, 2024

U.S., allies warn Houthis of 'consequences' of ship attacks

Warning comes as freight rates spike due to re-routing of vessels around Africa to avoid the Red Sea, where the Iran-backed militant group is active.
Voters cast ballots for the U.S. presidential election at a polling station in Portland, Maine, on Nov. 3, 2020.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 7, 2024

Trump ballot removals reflect efforts of liberal-funded groups

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and Free Speech for People have been catalysts for the yearslong campaign.
(From left) The Democratic Progressive Party's Lai Ching-te, who is also Taiwan's vice president, faces off against the main opposition Kuomintang's Hou Yu-ih and the Taiwan People's Party's Ko Wen-je on Saturday's presidential election.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 9, 2024

Close race emerges as Taiwan election enters final stretch

Expectations that front-runner Lai Ching-te would simply stroll to victory on Saturday have been dashed, with his polling lead having narrowed significantly.
Elon Musk attends an interview in New York on Nov. 29.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 10, 2024

SEC’s ‘compromised’ account amplifies X mistrust, security concerns

The high-profile breach comes at a time when X and billionaire owner Elon Musk are seeking to win back trust from both users and advertisers.
A worker guides drilling pipes on the Gazprom PJSC Chayandinskoye oil, gas and condensate field in Russia's Sakha Republic.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 10, 2024

Russia’s oil drilling boom proves Moscow’s resilience to Western sanctions

In the first 11 months of 2023, Russia's drilling was on track to beat the post-Soviet record.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators take part in the March on Washington for Gaza rally in Washington on Saturday.
WORLD
Jan 14, 2024

U.N. says Gaza war 'staining humanity' on eve of 100th day

In Israel, concern grew for hostages held in Gaza as they approach their 100th day in captivity.
U.S. President Joe Biden in Charleston, South Carolina, on Jan. 8
WORLD / Politics
Jan 14, 2024

Biden refines economic pitch for 2024 in bet worst is behind him

Biden’s messaging blitz hinges on whether consumers buy it.
Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te and his running mate, Hsiao Bi-khim, attend a rally outside the headquarters of the Democratic Progressive Party in Taipei on Saturday night after winning the presidential election.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 14, 2024

Taiwan chooses continuity in pivotal presidential election

Lai's Democratic Progressive Party party won more than 40% of the roughly 14 million votes cast, but lost its majority in Taiwan’s parliament.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the 2024 Iowa Republican caucuses at Horizon Events Center in West Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 16, 2024

Trump wins Iowa caucus as DeSantis edges Haley for second

Donald Trump muscled past his rivals to capture the first 2024 Republican presidential contest, once more asserting his dominance over the Republican Party.
Houthi supporters rally to denounce air strikes launched by the U.S. and Britain, in Sanaa, Yemen on Jan. 12.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 17, 2024

U.S. strikes Houthi missiles as Greek vessel hit in Red Sea

Attacks by the Iran-allied militia on ships in the region since November have affected companies and alarmed major powers.
Houthi fighters and tribal supporters hold up firearms during a protest against recent U.S.-led strikes on Houthi targets, near Sanaa, Yemen, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 18, 2024

U.S. lists Houthis as terrorists as group attacks second U.S. ship

The Houthis say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians and have threatened to expand attacks to include U.S. ships in response to strikes on their positions.
The Democratic Progressive Party's presidential candidate, Lai Ching-te, the eventual winner, casts his vote during the island's election in Tainan, Taiwan, on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 18, 2024

Taiwan's election and its potential impact on East Asian politics

China tried to interfere in the Taiwanese elections through the systematic use of "cognitive warfare," but failed.
A ship transits the Suez Canal toward the Red Sea on Jan. 10. Insurance costs for ships whose seafarers who do brave the waterway have shot up tenfold, including a large increase since the airstrikes.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 19, 2024

Airstrikes on Yemen bring new level of chaos to Red Sea shipping

After U.S. and U.K. airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, Western navies caution ships to steer clear.
TSMC had said it would make 3nm chips at the second factory, which is expected to be more advanced than the first in Arizona, but on Thursday, it said that incentives from the U.S. government would help determine how advanced the tech inside will be.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 19, 2024

TSMC’s second factory in Arizona delayed as U.S. grants remain in flux

Site will start operations only in 2027 or 2028, instead of the chipmaker's earlier guidance of 2026.
Taiwan's election results reflect the democratic aspirations of its citizens but is a cause for disappointment in Beijing.
EDITORIALS
Jan 19, 2024

The winner of Taiwan's election was democracy

The biggest disappointment was felt in Beijing, where inducements, threats and warnings failed to sway Taiwan’s voters.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in the East Room of the White House during an event to welcome mayors attending the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting in Washington, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 20, 2024

Biden open to asylum changes to clinch Ukraine and border deals

The U.S. president said he is open to "massive changes” in border policy, including to asylum laws, in order to secure a deal that would unlock Ukraine aid.
Microsoft said a Russian-linked hacking group attacked its corporate systems, but said the group doesn’t appear to have accessed customers’ systems or Microsoft servers that run outward-facing products.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 20, 2024

Microsoft says Russia-linked group hacked employee emails

The company said it’s acting immediately to fix older systems, which will probably cause some disruption.
Japan forward Aoba Fujino competes against the United States during the SheBelieves Cup in Nashville, Tennessee in February 2023.
SOCCER
Jan 20, 2024

Japan, Brazil and Canada to feature in SheBelieves Cup in U.S.

The U.S. will face Japan and Brazil will take on Canada at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the semifinal games in Atlanta on April 6.
A law making its way through the U.S. Congress would authorize the confiscation of billions of dollars in frozen assets owned by the Russian central bank, that would then be handed over to Ukraine as compensation for the war.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 24, 2024

Seizing Russia's central bank funds is illegal and unwise

A big question about giving Ukraine seized Russian funds is would such an asset grab break international law?
The U.S. push to undermine Beijing’s semiconductor ambitions has increasingly singled out ASML, drawing the ire of the Dutch company's outgoing head Peter Wennink and some local lawmakers.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 26, 2024

ASML’s China sales surged despite secret Dutch deal with U.S.

The deal, which hasn’t been reported before, stumbled as ASML turned to Beijing to compensate for weak demand elsewhere.
An arm of the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence is tapping companies and colleges to help harness rapidly developing AI technology that could provide an edge against global competitors like China. The challenge is ensuring it doesn’t open a backdoor into the nation’s top secrets or generate fake data.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 27, 2024

U.S. spies want AI as tool against China if tech can be trusted

The challenge is ensuring the rapidly developing tech doesn’t open a backdoor into the nation’s top secrets or generate fake data.
The Galaxy Leader cargo ship is escorted by Houthi boats in the Red Sea in this photo released Nov. 20.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 28, 2024

U.S.-China talks fall short in nudging Beijing toward Red Sea breakthrough

Top officials wrapped up two days of meetings on managing the rivals' relationship, but saw little progress on addressing the crisis in the waterway.
Ilia Malinin performs his free skate during the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
Jan 29, 2024

'Quad God' Ilia Malinin captures men's title at U.S. Figure Skating Championships

The 19-year-old dubbed the "Quad God" took a nearly 19-point lead into Sunday's decisive free skate in Columbus.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House in Washington in January 2023. Some Japanese businesses are keenly waiting for the results of the U.S. presidential election in November.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 1, 2024

Japanese firms seek political stability and stronger alliance: survey

A possible Taiwan contingency is just one of the issues on the minds of companies in the country.
A Chinese hacking group known as Volt Typhoon has alarmed intelligence officials, who say it is part of a larger effort to compromise Western critical infrastructure.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jan 31, 2024

What is Volt Typhoon, the alleged China-backed hacking group?

Intelligence officials say the group is part of a larger effort to compromise Western critical infrastructure.
Jason Citron, Evan Spiegel, Shou Zi Chew, Linda Yaccarino and Mark Zuckerberg are sworn in as they testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 1, 2024

Senators slam social media CEOs on child online safety

"These companies must be reined in, or the worst is yet to come”

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji