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Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet in Hanoi on Dec. 13.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2023

Everyone is trying to woo Vietnam. Why Hanoi’s ‘bamboo policy’ works.

It makes sense to court Vietnam, one of the region’s most dynamic economies. This year, it is expected to post about 5% growth, better than many others.
Today in Russia, a robust consumer world carries on, helping Russian President Vladimir Putin maintain a sense of normalcy despite a war that has proved longer, deadlier and costlier than he predicted.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 19, 2023

How Putin turned a Western boycott into a bonanza

If companies want to leave Russia, the president is setting the terms — in ways that benefit his government, his elites and his war.
Buildings in Xiamen on mainland China across the Taiwan Strait from anti-landing barriers on a beach in Kinmen, Taiwan.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 20, 2023

Taiwan’s ability to defend against Chinese invasion questioned

For all the support given by Washington, the reality is that when it comes to both civil and military defense, Taiwan still has a lot to do.
Self-Defense Forces soldiers take part in an evacuation drill on Yonaguni island in Okinawa Prefecture in November.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 22, 2023

Japan approves record ¥8 trillion defense budget

The defense budget announced Friday includes ¥370 billion to build two new warships that will utilize the U.S.-developed Aegis missile defense system.
The SKS Doyles crude oil tanker sails through the Suez Canal on Thursday.
WORLD
Dec 24, 2023

Iran dismisses U.S. intelligence tying it to Red Sea attacks

The White House said that Iran was "deeply involved” in the planning of the Houthi attacks and has supplied weapons, financial support and training.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump
WORLD / Politics
Dec 29, 2023

Maine elections official disqualifies Trump from presidential primary ballot

Maine became the second state to bar the former U.S. president for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
Among the issues that defined 2023 were the U.S. economy's "soft landing," the war in Ukraine, Hamas's terrorist attack and explosive advances in AI.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2023

The most important developments of 2023

The year reminds us that the world is in desperate need of new leaders who are both competent and inspiring.
Though ChatGPT debuted in late 2022, it was really in 2023 that we started to get a sense of what large language models could do, including diagnosing complex medical issues.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 2023

The 10 most intriguing science breakthroughs over the past year

As 2023 has drawn to a close, let’s look back on some of the astounding breakthroughs we’ve seen in the last 12 months.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looks on as a rocket carrying a spy satellite is launched in November.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 31, 2023

North Korea plans new spy satellites in 2024 after earlier success

South Korea’s spy agency said it sees North Korea launching military and cyber provocations next year as Kim’s regime seeks to raise its profile.
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.

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