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Demonstrators hold Fatah flags during a protest in support of the people of the Gaza Strip in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Oct. 27, 2023.
WORLD
Jun 5, 2024

Hamas signals post-war ambition in talks with Palestinian rival Fatah

The meetings highlight that the Islamist militant group is likely to retain influence in the Gaza Strip after its war with Israel.
Ilya Sutskever, then-chief scientist at OpenAI, at the company’s offices in San Francisco in March 2023. Sutskever recently left the firm. He had been on the company’s board and had voted to oust Sam Altman, the chief executive, last year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 5, 2024

OpenAI insiders warn of a ‘reckless’ race for dominance

Sources claim the firm has used hardball tactics to prevent workers from voicing their concerns about certain AI technology.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 7, 2024

At Computex, Nvidia billionaire Jensen Huang showcases Taiwan's tech dominance

With this year’s raucous Computex — the world’s biggest computing conference — Taiwan sent a message: If you want AI, you need Taiwan.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivers the work report at the opening session of the National People's Congress in Beijing on March 5. Li dropped the mention of "peaceful" from unification with Taiwan this year.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 11, 2024

The Taiwan question: 'Strategic ambiguity' and U.S. foreign policy

Chinese Premier Li Qiang in a government report delivered at the opening of the National People's Congress dropped the mention of "peaceful" for unification with Taiwan.
Supporters of former president Donald Trump pray during a benediction on the second day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 19, 2024

Unpacking America's puzzling election dynamics

If the Republican Party sacrifices the true interests of the U.S. and its allies in order to win the presidency, it will no longer be the Grand Old Party.
University students in Varanasi, India, protest against a recent rape and murder of a doctor in West Bengal. Despite some improvements in legislation following high-profile cases, such as the 2012 gang rape, violence against women has worsened, with recorded rapes increasing.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2024

Protests won’t change India's attitude toward rape

Despite some improvements in legislation following high-profile cases, such as the 2012 gang rape, violence against women has worsened, with recorded rapes increasing.
A building emblazoned with a Great Wall graphic in Kitwe, Zambia
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 3, 2024

Xi wants bigger returns and fewer headaches from African debt deals

From Angola to Djibouti, for over a decade, China poured more than $120 billion of government-backed loans through its Belt and Road Initiative.
A girl watches the setting sun over Doha, Qatar’s capital, on July 10. Qatar has used its influence with Hamas to press for a truce with Israel.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 9, 2024

The road to a Gaza cease-fire runs through Qatar

Throughout the war, Qatar has tried to present itself as an international interlocutor capable of narrowing the gaps between the warring parties.
Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto talks to his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the eldest son of outgoing Indonesian President Joko Widodo while delivering a speech during an event showing the quick-count results of the general election in Jakarta on Feb. 14.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 15, 2024

How Indonesia's outgoing president steered his son to the vice presidency

Insiders describe how Joko Widodo steered his introverted son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, into politics as part of an effort to maintain influence after leaving office.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington on July 25.
WORLD / FOCUS
Oct 19, 2024

With Sinwar dead, Israel aims to lock in strategic gains before U.S. election

Goals include reshaping the regional landscape in Israel's favor and shielding its borders from any future attacks, according to sources.
Former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi presents his report on the future of European competitiveness to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Sept. 17.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 23, 2024

Europe’s wake-up call on innovation and competitiveness

Europe stands at a critical juncture, needing to choose between maintaining the status quo or moving toward deeper integration.
With the next prime minister needing to be selected soon after the recent election, there are questions about whether the Democratic Party For the People and Nippon Ishin no Kai will support Shigeru Ishiba in his bid to remain Japan’s leader.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 31, 2024

Ishiba's future in question as support from allies wavers

The question now is whether the DPP and Ishin will support the LDP nominee to ensure victory, or if they will nominate their own candidates.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who serves concurrently as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, attends a news conference at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 2, 2024

Ishiba to meet with U.S. and Chinese leaders during multilateral summits

The meetings will be the first time for Ishiba to hold talks with either president in person since taking office early last month.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends a media briefing after sacking Finance Minister Christian Lindner, in Berlin on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 7, 2024

Germany faces snap election as Scholz's coalition crumbles

Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to head a minority government with his Social Democrats and the Greens after sacking his Free Democrat finance minister.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi (left) meets the deputy chief of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Behrouz Kamalvandi, upon his arrival at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 14, 2024

Europe pushes for resolution against Iran at IAEA, diplomats say

Such resolutions risk further diplomatic tension with Iran.
A drone view shows a tree on fire in Humaita, Amazonas state, Brazil, on Sept. 8.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 19, 2024

Can a COP29 deal clean up scandal-ridden carbon offsets?

Carbon trading is seen as one way for richer countries to meet their emissions reduction targets.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 22, 2024

Putin, ascendant in Ukraine, eyes contours of a Trump peace deal

The Russian president could broadly agree to freeze the conflict along the front lines, five current and former Russian officials say.
The time and location for Amapinight parties are never certain, but two things you can be assured of when attending are that there will be dancing and a lot of amapiano.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 24, 2024

There's no room for wallflowers at Amapinight

From amapiano to dancehall, Japanese dancers and DJs are moving the masses with African beats at Tokyo's most energetic party.
Ukrainian cadets hold lit candles as they stand in attention before the Motherland Monument during a commemoration ceremony marking the 1,000th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Kyiv on Nov. 19.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 26, 2024

For EU, North Korean troops add new dimension to war in Ukraine

Pyongyang's move and the return of Donald Trump to the White House are further complicating EU efforts to end the bloody conflict.
The national flag of Saudi Arabia at their pavilion at the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Nov. 14
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 26, 2024

How Saudi Arabia turned back climate progress at COP29

After three decades of being the main opposition at the annual climate talks, the Saudis have developed a sophisticated playbook.
Although a quick resolution to the war may seem appealing, forcing Ukraine to capitulate would merely embolden Russia and its Chinese, Iranian and North Korean allies.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 26, 2024

Trump’s best hope for peace is to support Ukraine

Nearly two months before his return to the White House, Donald Trump appears intent on pressuring Ukraine to accept territorial losses in exchange for ending the war.
European Council President Antonio Costa looks on as he attends a handover ceremony at the European Council in Brussels on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 2, 2024

Before tackling Trump, new EU leader aims to end infighting

For years, attempts to shore up the EU have been hampered by internal dysfunction.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani gets a hit during Game 1 of the World Series on Oct. 25. The Golden At-Bat is an idea that would change everything about how baseball — the ultimate team sport — has always worked.
BASEBALL
Dec 7, 2024

Golden At-Bat could give MLB a new shine. Is it worth it?

What if a team could choose one at-bat in every game to send its best hitter to the plate even if it wasn’t that guy’s turn to hit?
Muharram Idris, a former commander of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), near Banda Aceh, Indonesia's Aceh province, on Nov. 22. Idris once led 3,000 men to fight Indonesia's army in separatist Aceh, but now serves as a local official after the legacy of a devastating tsunami two decades ago brought peace to the province.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 19, 2024

'Peace was born': How the 2004 tsunami changed Indonesia's Aceh

The giant waves that engulfed the impoverished province killed tens of thousand — and paved the way for an end to three decades of conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual end-of-year news conference and phone-in, in Moscow, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 20, 2024

Putin offers Trump talks while defending his invasion of Ukraine

The order to invade Ukraine "should have been made earlier," and Russia should have prepared better, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a ceremony for military combat officers at an army base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, on Oct. 31.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 23, 2024

Israel's Netanyahu eyes Iran after triumphs over Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has had a succession of monumental wins that include the top leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah being eliminated.
Climate demonstrators protest against investments in fossil fuels during the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington on Oct. 21.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 30, 2024

After a year of hard climate talks, ‘minilateralism’ is an alternative

Global environmental agreements have never been simple, but a variety of factors, such as political polarization, make countries less willing to compromise.
South Korea's Finance Minister and new acting president Choi Sang-mok speaks as he presides over a meeting of the National Security Council at the Government Complex in Seoul on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 31, 2024

South Korea's acting President Choi to appoint two Constitutional Court justices

The move is an effort to restore stability after the impeachment of two of his predecessors this month triggered political turmoil.
U.S. Army soldiers with the NATO multinational battle group on the territory of Bulgaria stand in formation with a U.S. flag and an armored vehicle during a visit by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the Novo Selo military ground near Mokren, Bulgaria, on Dec. 19.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 11, 2025

NATO won't back Trump's new defense spending target but will raise its sights

A new target is likely to be agreed at a NATO summit in June, but the key questions are what that new target will be and whether it will be enough to satisfy Trump.
What does the year hold for Japan? Make your own predictions using some key phrases.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 17, 2025

Let’s make some predictions about what will happen in the year ahead

The start of the new year comes with expectations as to how the following months will unfold. Learn how to respond to what others predict.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan