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Scarred by the wildfire but still sprouting new leaves, the 150-year-old banyan tree, which for some has become a symbol hope and resilience, in the center of Lahaina, island of Maui in Hawaii, on Aug. 11.
WORLD
Oct 22, 2023

For Maui future, native Hawaiians push for honoring its past

The history of Lahaina is complicated, intertwined with the painful loss of land and sovereignty for Native Hawaiians.
In recent years, China has arrested dozens of Chinese and foreign nationals on suspicion of espionage.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 22, 2023

China says it uncovered another U.S. spy

In recent years, China has arrested dozens of Chinese and foreign nationals on suspicion of espionage.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong at the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta on Sept. 6
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 23, 2023

U.S. and China visits put Australian PM’s diplomatic skills to test

There has been a significant easing in tensions between Australia and China since Anthony Albanese’s election.
A protest for the return of the hostages on a main street in Tel Aviv on Saturday. The Biden administration has advised Israel to delay a ground invasion of Gaza, hoping to buy time for hostage negotiations and to allow more humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians in the sealed-off enclave, according to several U.S. officials.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 23, 2023

U.S. advises Israel to delay Gaza invasion, officials say

The U.S. has suggested that more time is needed for hostage negotiations, the delivery of aid and mapping out ways to avoid more civilian casualties.
A Hello Kitty balloon is paraded down 6th Ave during the 91st Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City in November 2017.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 24, 2023

Soft power and Japan's role in a complex world

While hard power zeroes in on what can be physically controlled such as an empire by force, soft power is an empire by invitation.
A Cruise driverless car operating in San Francisco. On Tuesday, California regulators ordered Cruise, a General Motors subsidiary, to stop its driverless taxi service in San Francisco after a series of traffic incidents.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 25, 2023

California sidelines Cruise's driverless cars, citing safety risk

The U.S. state suspended Cruise's autonomous vehicle deployment, saying the company had "misrepresented" the safety of the technology.
Participants hold a giant rainbow flag during a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Pride Parade in Hong Kong
WORLD / Society
Oct 25, 2023

How nations allow or restrict legal gender change

A small number of countries have made it easier for transgender people to change their legal gender, while other nations have restricted such changes.
Members of the United Auto Workers outside Ford's Michigan Parts Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, on Sept. 26. The U.S. auto workers union announced a tentative agreement with the firm late on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 26, 2023

Ford and UAW reach tentative deal to end strike by auto workers

Including compounding and cost of living, worker pay will rise about 33% to over $40 an hour over the life of the contract.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump during the civil fraud trial in New York State Supreme Court in the Manhattan borough of New York City, on Wednesday, in this courtroom sketch.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 26, 2023

Donald Trump fined $10,000 for second gag order violation

Trump has denied wrongdoing in the civil fraud case.
Servers inside Huawei's factory campus in Dongguan, Guangdong province, China, in March 2019
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 26, 2023

China swaps Western tech for domestic options as U.S. cracks down

The telecom and financial sectors are considered the next focus for the drive, with digital payments seen as particularly vulnerable to Western hacking.
Samuel Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of FTX, testifies during a Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington in February 2022.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 28, 2023

FTX founder admits 'mistakes' but testifies he didn't defraud anyone

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried insisted he did not steal billions of dollars from customers when the cryptocurrency exchange collapsed last year.
People carry a coffin as a mass funeral takes place to bury victims of a military strike on a camp for displaced people near the northern Myanmar town of Laiza on Oct. 10.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 1, 2023

U.S. targets Myanmar's state energy firm with partial sanctions

The action prohibits certain financial services by Americans to the state oil and gas enterprise starting on Dec. 15, the Treasury said in a statement.
Chinese rocket launchers are seen during a parade to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, in 2019.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 2, 2023

U.S. and China to begin nuclear arms talks before Xi-Biden meeting

The U.S. is set to hold rare nuclear arms control talks with China amid growing concerns over Beijing’s accelerated push to build up its atomic arsenal.
The Gaza Strip is hit with an Israeli bombardment amid ongoing battles between the Israeli military and Palestinian Hamas militants on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 4, 2023

U.S. renews talk of Palestinian state, but prospects bleak

With Israel's campaign against Hamas raging, the United States has renewed calls to work toward a Palestinian state, but few expect success now after decades of failure.
Demonstrators gather in Freedom Plaza during a rally in support of Palestinians in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 5, 2023

Protesters march in major cities to demand Gaza cease-fire

Demonstrators protested in London, Berlin, Paris, Ankara, Istanbul and Washington on Saturday as the U.S. and Arab nations remained divided over Gaza.
A structure of the Arctic LNG 2 joint venture is seen under construction near the settlement of Belokamenka, Murmansk region, Russia, in July last year
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2023

U.S. sanctions on Russia LNG won't harm supplies, minister says

The industry minister said that Japan will ensure its energy supplies are not affected by U.S. sanctions on a Russian project in which it has a stake.
A scheduling conflict resolves the diplomatic issue of Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee's participation in the APEC forum being hosted by the United States.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2023

Resolving Hong Kong conundrum key to U.S.-China APEC summit

Four U.S. lawmakers urged the State Department to bar Hong Kong leader John Lee, calling him a “human rights abuser.”
People from Hawaii pray for the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake, on a beach in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, in 2014.
JAPAN / History / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Nov 13, 2023

Fukushima celebrates a century of special ties with Hawaii

Residents emigrated to Hawaii and other places to cultivate undeveloped land, and made a living by working in the sugar industry.
Former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, former Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina, Gov. Ron Desantis of Florida, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and Sen. Tim Scott, take the stage for the third Republican presidential debate in Miami on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 9, 2023

Trump-bashing Republican rivals still don't break with him

The third GOP debate's focus seemed trained on former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who is rising in early polls.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 9, 2023

U.S. and South Korea condemn North Korean arms transfers to Russia

Antony Blinken's Asian stops follow a whirlwind tour of the Middle East for discussions on the Israel-Hamas war.
Federal spending and political polarization prompted Moody's on Friday to lower its outlook on the U.S. credit rating to "negative" from "stable."
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 11, 2023

Moody's turns negative on U.S. rating, drawing Washington's ire

Moody' lowered its outlook on the U.S. credit rating to "negative" from "stable" citing large fiscal deficits and a decline in debt affordability.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo walks with U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, on Nov. 16, 2022.
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2023

U.S. and Indonesia to discuss potential EV mineral deal: sources

Indonesia, which has the world's biggest nickel ore reserves, in September asked the U.S. to begin discussions for a trade deal for critical minerals.
The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington. The court has unveiled an ethics code following a series of scandals over lavish gifts and luxury vacations received by some of its justices.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 14, 2023

Under fire, U.S. Supreme Court unveils ethics code for justices

The move followed revelations of undisclosed luxury trips and hobnobbing with wealthy benefactors.
Iran has conducted numerous proxy attacks against the Israelis, as well as U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, seeking to determine what a response might look like.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 6, 2023

What the U.S. should do about Iran

Iran has conducting attacks against against Israeli and U.S. forces, seeking to determine what a response will look like.
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office representative Hsiao Bi-khim waits to be introduced during the opening ceremony of the first ever Taiwan Expo in Washington on Oct. 12, 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 16, 2023

Taiwan presidential frontrunner taps U.S. envoy as running mate

Born in Japan to a Taiwanese father and American mother, Hsiao Bi-khim has been Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the U.S. since 2020.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping during the final session of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco on Friday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 18, 2023

A rare opportunity to see China’s leader up close and (sort of) personal

President Xi Jinping of China is one of the most self-contained Chinese leaders in decades, who reveals next to nothing about his personal life.
U.S. President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter dance at a White House Congressional Ball in Washington, on Dec. 13, 1978.
WORLD
Nov 20, 2023

Former U.S. first lady Rosalynn Carter dies at 96

Seen as unassuming and quiet before coming to Washington in 1977, Carter developed into an eloquent speaker, campaigner and activist.
Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te (left), presidential candidate from the Democratic Progressive Party, introduces Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan's de facto envoy to the United States, as his running mate in the 2024 election, during a news conference at Lai's campaign headquarters in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 20, 2023

Taiwan presidential front-runner taps U.S. envoy as running mate

Lai Ching-te tapped Hsiao Bi-khim, a fluent English speaker who had been Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the U.S., to join him on the DPP ticket.
The trip to Kyiv is U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's second since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 20, 2023

Pentagon chief visits Ukraine to reassure Kyiv on U.S. support

Austin's trip comes amid opposition from hard-line Republican lawmakers, which has raised doubts about the future of American assistance.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reviews a military honor guard during a full honors arrival ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington on May 3.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 22, 2023

Philippines launches joint sea and air patrols with U.S. military

This week's three-day joint exercise was a "significant initiative" to boost interoperability between the two countries, the Philippine president said.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes