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Scotland's former first minister, Alex Salmond, attends an event in Ellon, Scotland, in April 2021.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 13, 2024

Alex Salmond, champion of Scottish independence, dies at 69

Salmond, who died after falling ill after making a speech in North Macedonia, stepped down as Scotland's first minister after losing the 2014 independence referendum.
President of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) Hun Sen (center), Honorary President of the CPP Heng Samrin (left) and Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet (right)
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 14, 2024

The son almost rises: Cambodia's Hun Sen the power behind throne

More than a year after inheriting power from his father, Cambodian PM has yet to hold an open news conference to explain how he will navigate challenges.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event in Flint, Michigan, on Oct. 4.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 15, 2024

Harris to raise concern about Trump's 'enemy from within' comments

Harris' trip to Pennsylvania is her 10th to the battleground state since she announced her candidacy for president in July.
A billboard displaying pro-Russian slogans in the Russian-controlled city of Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine. The billboard reads: "We are the one people. We are together with Russia."
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 16, 2024

Like in magic, Moscow is playing a game of distraction

Defying common sense, the Kremlin continues to proclaim with a straight face that its attack on Ukraine was an act of self-defense.
Journalist Shiori Ito's documentary "Black Box Diaries," which follows her own investigation into her sexual assault and struggle for justice, was one of 19 Japanese films that screened at the Busan International Film Festival this month.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 18, 2024

Japan-based features generate buzz at Busan International Film Festival

With 278 films on offer, Asia's largest film festival tackled heavy themes such as assisted suicide and struggles faced by migrants.
A new report said that fires in the northern boreal forests, which span from Russia to North America, have almost tripled during the past 20 years.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Oct 18, 2024

Global forest fire carbon emissions have jumped 60% in 20 years

Forest fire severity — a measure of how much carbon is emitted per unit of area burned — is also up by nearly 50% globally.
Students at the University of Toronto campus. Facing growing criticisms for losing control of immigration, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has put a limit on international student intakes.
WORLD / Society
Oct 18, 2024

Support for immigration in Canada plunges to lowest in decades

Nearly 6 in 10 people now agree that there’s too much immigration to Canada, according to the country's longest-running survey on the topic.
China has shifted the economic narrative. The country's rapid growth and production under a repressive regime challenges the idea that good institutions are necessary for wealth.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 18, 2024

Beijing’s success is a conundrum for Nobel winners

China has shifted the economic narrative. The country's rapid growth under a repressive regime challenges the idea that good institutions are necessary for wealth.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a BRICS business forum in Moscow on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 20, 2024

The rise of BRICS and the emerging multipolar world

The diversity among BRICS members presents challenges in forming a unified agenda, especially given differing political systems and goals.
Workers picket outside the Boeing Co. manufacturing facility during a strike in Renton, Washington, on Oct. 3.
COMMENTARY
Oct 20, 2024

Time for unions to join the 21st-century economy

Automation stands to make U.S. ports and transportation of goods cheaper and more efficient. And it is easy to see why unions oppose it.
Having learned from the experience of losing in the last election and from actions taken by similar movements elsewhere, another Trump administration would be far more effective at wielding — and maintaining — power.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2024

Why another Trump term would be worse than the first

A political movement with autocratic tendencies often becomes more ruthless and effective after experiencing electoral defeat.
Asako Osaki attends the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, in New York in March.
BUSINESS / WOMEN AT WORK
Nov 3, 2024

How global lessons can improve prospects for women in rural Japan

Through motherhood, education and work, Asako Osaki worked to bring global standards to the front lines of gender issues.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani scores ahead of the tag by Yankees catcher Jose Trevino during a game at Yankee stadium in New York in June.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 23, 2024

Dodgers and Yankees set for World Series steeped in history

The two teams from the biggest media markets in the U.S. will meet in the Fall Classic beginning on Friday for the first time since 1981.
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.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pose for a group photo at a meeting on Ukraine reconstruction at the United Nations on Sept. 25.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 24, 2024

Shifting the paradigm in Ukraine

In Ukraine, inaction — the refusal to permit Ukraine’s government to act in self-defense — possesses the quality of death.
Embers glow at night as the Basin Fire burns in the Sierra National Forest in Fresno County, California, on June 26.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Oct 25, 2024

Wildfires are gaining speed in a worrying trend for western U.S.

The growth rate of the fastest wildfires increased 249% in the region between 2001 and 2020.
Studio Ghibli’s “Kiki’s Delivery Service” draws inspiration from Sweden’s medieval town of Visby as well as Stockholm for its vibrant setting of Koriko, a fictional city where the film’s titular character decides to use her powers as a witch to benefit the inhabitants of her new home.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 27, 2024

The Swedish heart of Hayao Miyazaki's ‘Kiki's Delivery Service’

Inspiration for the 1989 Studio Ghibli classic is still very evident in Visby, a picturesque town that captivated the animator on his first trip abroad in 1971.
Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces, is greeted by an honor guard upon arriving at Juba International Airport in South Sudan on  Sept. 16.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 27, 2024

The dark reality of global capitalism and perpetual war

In countries like Sudan and the DRC, however, we have something closer to the feudalism of medieval times.
Today's religious thinkers face the challenge of demonstrating that faith offers deeper meaning and understanding in an increasingly secular world.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 30, 2024

Is the world ready for a religious comeback?

Individuals are seeking meaning through alternative avenues, suggesting a readiness for religious discourse.
Masayoshi Son last month invested $500 million in OpenAI through his Vision Fund, having missed out on the AI company’s previous funding rounds.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 30, 2024

Masayoshi Son inflates the AI bubble even more

Masayoshi Son last month invested $500 million in OpenAI through his Vision Fund, having missed out on the AI company’s previous funding rounds.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington on Sept. 26. There is increasing pressure in the U.S. for a negotiated settlement, but finding a viable peace solution amid Ukraine's deteriorating conditions is complex.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 30, 2024

Trump, Harris, Zelenskyy — no one’s plan will end the war

There is increasing pressure in the U.S. for a negotiated settlement, but finding a viable peace solution amid Ukraine's deteriorating conditions is complex.
A Hello Kitty fan poses with a costumed character at the Sanrio Smile Shop on its opening day at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California. Hello Kitty marks its 50th anniversary on Nov. 1.
CULTURE
Oct 30, 2024

The 'CEO of supercute': Hello Kitty turns 50

She is the undeniable queen of kawaii culture in Japan — and her likeness continues to make billions for her creators at Sanrio.
Eight warriors fight to end a curse placed on a samurai clan in “Hakkenden: Fiction and Reality.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 31, 2024

‘Hakkenden’ has fun with Edo-era pulp fiction

The film presents both a bio of Takizawa Bakin, whose writing had a large impact on Japanese pop culture, and a snazzy live-action digest of his influential novel.
Members of the public listen as a candidate for the Hyogo gubernatorial election speaks in Kobe on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 31, 2024

Campaigning kicks off for Hyogo gubernatorial election

Former Gov. Motohiko Saito is among seven candidates in an election that follows months of stagnated governance after allegations of misconduct surfaced against him.
Tech entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist Masayoshi Son made his fortune by becoming a bridge between California's technology culture and Japan.
COMMENTARY
Oct 31, 2024

Masayoshi Son may be the oddest of the oddball billionaires

Masayoshi Son made his fortune by becoming a bridge between Californian tech culture and Japan.
Cream-filled 'maritozzo' buns are just one of the many sweet treats on offer at Japanese convenience stores.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 3, 2024

Exploring the ‘B-gourmet wonderland’ of Japanese convenience stores

Tourists who obsess over 7-Eleven and FamilyMart can seem a bit absurd, but there's no denying the integral role these stores have in daily life in Japan.
Suzumi Suzuki’s “Gifted,” translated by Allison Markin Powell, centers on a hostess working in Kabukicho. Rather than focusing on the protagonist’s occupation, the story plunges the reader into her strained relationship with her dying mother.  
CULTURE / Books
Nov 3, 2024

A nuanced glimpse into the cloistered world of Kabukicho

Drawing on her own experience working in adult entertainment, Suzumi Suzuki crafts a fresh, visceral work for her debut novel, "Gifted"
Polling has failed spectacularly in recent U.S. presidential elections and the country can only hope it navigates this year's volatile race with its credibility intact.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2024

Broken political polling failing American democracy

To restore confidence in polling, pollsters must recognize the limitations of traditional random sampling and improve methods for diagnosing nonresponse bias.
As the European Commission prepares to make decisions on Google’s practices by the end of 2024, there is hope for a collaborative approach with U.S. regulators to create meaningful structural reforms.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 20, 2024

Google’s breakup needs an international tag team

There’s a growing consensus among regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to redefine antitrust harm beyond just pricing issues.
U.K. university tuition fees for domestic students are set to rise for the first time in seven years due to a financial crisis in higher education.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2024

Britons don't pay enough to go to university

U.K. university tuition fees for domestic students are set to rise for the first time in seven years due to a financial crisis in higher education.

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