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A protester outside a meeting between then-Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Indigenous leaders in 2015. Discussions around a referendum on whether to recognize Indigenous people in the Australian constitution have been held for years, and the vote will be held soon.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 9, 2023

Tough road ahead for Australia’s landmark Indigenous referendum

The campaign to recognize Indigenous people in Australia's constitution in an upcoming referendum may be losing steam, polls say.
The Bank of Japan's attempts to dismantle ultraloose monetary policies have led to unexpected market reactions and left some investors struggling to understand the central bank's intentions.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 10, 2023

The BOJ gets a new doctrine. It’s just keeping it to itself.

The BOJ is likely sincere when it says the 2% price goal is still some way off, even if one member seemingly believes it’s on the horizon.
Policemen stand guard outside the hospital where presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was taken after being shot at a rally in Quito on Wednesday. Mr. Villavicencio, a 59-year-old journalist, was one of eight candidates in the Aug. 20 presidential election.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 10, 2023

Ecuador presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio assassinated

A suspect in the crime later died of injuries sustained in a shoot-out. The violence injured nine others, including a candidate for the legislature.
PODCAST / deep dive
Aug 10, 2023

Why is modernizing Japan so darn tough?

Reporter Gabriele Ninivaggi joins us to break down how Japan’s digitalization hiccups risk exposing how backward things are.
Whether it is a hot summer or a cold winter, humans spend 90% of their time inside and there is little evidence that seasonal changes affect COVID-19 transmission significantly. 
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 10, 2023

COVID-19’s summer resurgence resists easy answers

Be wary of anyone with a pat explanation for why COVID-19 waves rise and fall.
Technical trainees from Vietnam work at a knitwear factory in the city of Mitsuke, Niigata Prefecture, in February 2019.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 6, 2023

Japan is bringing in more foreign nationals than you think

Japan isn’t an outlier when it comes to low fertility rates, merely a front-runner.
Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, leaves a U.S. district courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware, in July.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 12, 2023

Hunter Biden gets special counsel, setting up election issue

The developments reinforce that legal issues, including those of Donald Trump, will figure prominently in the U.S. presidential election.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump campaigns at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 14, 2023

Trump heading for Republican 'coronation' as 2024 rivals struggle

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the rest of the field have so far been at a loss over how to narrow the gap.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has since the start of the Ukraine invasion destroyed the norms that developed during the Cold War to prevent a nuclear arms race or the eventual use of such weapons.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2023

Russia outnumbers the U.S. 10-to-1 in tactical nukes. Now what?

Never mind that Vladimir Putin is breaking all nuclear taboos and China is beefing up its arsenal. U.S. nuclear doctrine is still fundamentally sound.
Researchers have developed a new method to analyze climate history and their findings align with current climate models.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 6, 2023

Science offers closer look at the Medieval Warming Period

Medieval Warming Period saw a population boom in Europe and the collapse of civilizations in the Americas
Lahaina resident Annelise Cochran poses for a portrait on Monday, after speaking about her harrowing escape from the flames of the fires in Maui.
WORLD
Aug 16, 2023

'The ocean saved my life': How one Hawaii survivor escaped the flames

Surrounded by flames on Hawaii's scenic Lahaina boardwalk, jumping into the sea was her only choice.
Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, in Atlanta in 2022. For Donald Trump, the possibility of a second criminal indictment in Georgia underscores the blizzard of legal challenges he is facing.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 16, 2023

In Trump case, Georgia prosecutor aims to ‘tell the whole story’

Another potential pitfall for a big RICO case is that it may become too complex for jurors to follow the actions of 19 defendants.
Afghan women during a protest against Taliban restrictions on women's freedom in Kabul in 2021
WORLD
Aug 14, 2023

Afghan women take protests online as Taliban crush dissent

Organizing through social media and messaging apps, women have posted pictures and videos of the protests, drawing attention to the worsening crisis.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with the Chinese Communist Party's foreign policy chief, Wang Yi, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Jakarta on July 13.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 16, 2023

Southeast Asia uses great power competition to dodge failures

The U.S. needs to rethink its approach toward Southeast Asia, counter China's narrative, and engage in effective public diplomacy.
A playful photo of Japanese female politicians on a work trip to Paris drew much criticism back home. The backlash may be one of the reasons women choose to avoid public service.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 16, 2023

Japan has a misery-loves-company problem

The backlash to government officials' lighthearted moment is a prime example of how to undermine workers.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has been charged with conspiring to obstruct the results of the 2020 election.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 17, 2023

Musk accused of favoring Trump in battle with DOJ over tweets

The special counsel’s office argued that Twitter was asking for "special" treatment for Trump that wouldn’t be available to other users.
Sam Altman, the CEO of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, attends an open dialogue with students at Keio University in June.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 17, 2023

AI, ChatGPT and the ‘creation’ of work with a human touch

Get to know the terminology involved with new artificial intelligence technology.
The Inflation Reduction Act’s tax breaks for clean energy will help mitigate climate change but they will not meet the 2050 net-zero carbon goal.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 17, 2023

Biden’s climate bill was too tame

U.S. President Biden and the Democratic Party's Inflation Reduction Act was too tame on fixing the climate.
If you've come to the realization that divorce is the only way forward, there are a host of details about the Japanese marriage system to confirm before you're finally ready to cut ties.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Aug 21, 2023

Navigating the notorious gauntlet of divorce in Japan

Everyone wishes for “happily ever after” no matter where you’re from, but Japan recorded 1,671 bicultural divorces in 2021.
In 1990, there were five times as many men who had alcohol use disorder than women — now it’s two times, according to the director of a research institute on alcoholism and alcohol abuse.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2023

Women are drinking more alcohol and it’s killing them

Analysis of data from the CDC found that alcohol-related deaths among women increased by nearly 15% per year between 2018 and 2020.
England captain Owen Farrell runs during training in Bagshot, England, on July 31.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Aug 18, 2023

World Rugby decision puts Owen Farrell's World Cup status in doubt

World Rugby said it appealing the decision to overturn the red card Farrell was given for tackle during England's game against Wales.
Novo Nordisk' anti-obesity drug Wegovy
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2023

Insurers can’t avoid covering weight-loss drugs forever

Evidence is mounting that drugs like Wegovy not only help patients lose weight but also help prevent heart attacks and strokes.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference at Camp David in Maryland on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 20, 2023

Biden wants to sell his economic plan. But there's a problem.

The White House is embracing "Bidenomics” — originally intended to deride the president's policies — to instead promote his stewardship of the economy.
Surging populations of plant-eating insects are disrupting farms and the food supply chain, causing problems far more serious than sticky windshields from bug excrement.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2023

The insect apocalypse is coming to your neighborhood

Polar bears and sea turtles get most of the attention as victims of climate change, but when the bugs invade we're all going to feel it personally.
NASA and the Department of Defense are collaborating with Lockheed Martin to build and test a nuclear rocket engine by 2027.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2023

NASA’s $500 million rocket gamble is worth it

Nuclear rockets are worth pursuing, but only with careful safeguards and international cooperation.
Move Forward Party Leader Pita Limjaroenrat
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 21, 2023

Most disagree with Pheu Thai coalition government, poll shows

About 64% of 1,310 respondents said they "did not agree at all” or "disagreed” with Pheu Thai’s plan to lead what it called a reconciliation government.
The U.S. has 8,000 km of carbon dioxide pipelines, but will need at least 50,000 to hit climate goals, according to a carbon transport engineer at the U.S. Department of Energy.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 21, 2023

U.S. Midwest is ground zero in the fight over carbon capture

The U.S. wants to greatly expand carbon capture and storage infrastructure, including pipelines, but many projects face opposition in the Midwest.
Semen Kryvonos, head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 22, 2023

Ukraine's anti-graft police zero in on major wartime corruption

Fighting corruption has taken on vital significance with Kyiv hoping Western donors will send billions of dollars to help rebuild Ukraine.
Spanish midfielder Alexia Putellas (left) battles for the ball against English forward Lauren James during in the final of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Sydney on Sunday. Spain won the match 1-0.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2023

FIFA boss should read the pitch on women’s pay

More than 2 billion people are expected to have tuned in. About 2 million attended matches in person. Both records. The FIFA Women’s World Cup generated more than $570 million to break even.
Challenges to the U.S. dollar’s vital role in the world economic and financial system are often said to be imminent, but somehow never materialize.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 23, 2023

A BRICS common currency is still a pipe dream

The greenback comprises just under 60% of global currency reserves, down from around 70% in 2000. Still that is well above any competitor.

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