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The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which polices deceptive advertising practices, saw a jump in complaints over the past year about ads that either used AI or claimed to use it to lure people into scams.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2024

AI scam complaints are just the tip of the iceberg

The U.S. FTC, which polices deceptive advertising practices, saw a jump in complaints over the past year about ads using AI to lure people into scams.
Donald Trump holds a rally in the South Bronx on May 23.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 4, 2024

'Enemy within': Trump rhetoric rings alarm bells

During his first term Trump regularly railed at the media as the "enemy of the people," but his sweep now seems wider and more indiscriminate.
Ukrainian soldiers patrol a heavily war-damaged area of the town of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine on May 20.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2024

Ukraine and its allies need a new strategy. Here’s a start.

With the war in Ukraine, stop talking about ‘liberal’ democracy and the ‘rules-based international order.’
The NewsBreak company logo adorns a sign at a corporate office building in Mountain View, California, on April 26
WORLD
Jun 6, 2024

Top news app in U.S. has Chinese origins and ‘writes fiction’ with AI

NewsBreak launched in the U.S. in 2015 as a subsidiary of Yidian, a Chinese news aggregation app.
Claudia Sheinbaum, former mayor of Mexico City and Mexico's president-elect, during the closing campaign rally at Zocalo Plaza in Mexico City on May 29, 2024.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 7, 2024

Traders stunned by election surprises from Mexico to India

Voters in countries representing roughly 40% of the world’s population and its gross domestic product will have elected new leaders before the year is out.
French President Emmanuel Macron awards two U.S. World War II veterans with the Legion of Honour during the International commemorative ceremony at Omaha Beach on Thursday, marking the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy, France.
COMMENTARY / World
May 27, 2024

Why we commemorate D-Day, 80 years later

This year's D-Day anniversary was marked by a grand commemoration and was especially poignant as only a few survivors are left to share their stories of that fateful day.
A Mirage 2000-5F jet fighter takes off from an air-base in France in March 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 8, 2024

French Mirage jets to join U.S. F-16 in patchwork Ukraine air force

Kyiv hopes the defense upgrade will bolster its counteroffensive against Russia, but integration challenges remain.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a State Dinner at the White House in Washington on June 22, 2023. As the United States prioritizes teamwork with its partners in the Asia-Pacific region, many believe they are witnessing a lasting change in American power.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 13, 2024

In China’s backyard, the U.S. has become a humbler superpower

The United States no longer presents itself as the confident guarantor of security but as an eager teammate for military modernization and tech development.
A health worker puts on an adhesive bandage after inoculating a man with a booster shot of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in Manila in January 2022.
WORLD
Jun 14, 2024

U.S. ran secret anti-vaccine campaign to undermine China during pandemic

The clandestine operation aimed to sow doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines and other life-saving aid that was being supplied by China.
U.S. President Joe Biden talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G7 summit in Savelletri, Italy, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 16, 2024

Modi seizes center stage at G7 to ambush Biden and Trudeau

Modi arrived at the G7 meetings bruised by disappointing election results and facing an outcry over a pair of assassination plots allegedly backed by his government.
The US economic engine has pulled in an increasing share of global capital.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 17, 2024

How the U.S. mopped up a third of global capital flows since COVID-19

The U.S. also pulled in a fresh wave of foreign direct investment thanks to billions of dollars worth of incentives.
A view of the Unit 4 reactor of Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China, in 2018
BUSINESS
Jun 17, 2024

U.S. as many as 15 years behind China on nuclear power, report says

Beijing's state-backed technology approach and extensive financing give it the edge over its rival, the study by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation said.
American Institute in Taiwan Director Sandra Oudkirk speaks during a news conference in Taipei on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 17, 2024

As China’s pressure on Taiwan rises, departing U.S. envoy urges steady hand

Worries about Chinese belligerence rose during Sandra Oudkirk’s three years in Taipei. As she leaves, she is seeking to assure Taiwan of continued U.S. support.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Summit on Peace in Ukraine in Switzerland on Sunday. The gathering brought together over 50 heads of state and government, excluding Russia, to work out a way toward a peace process for Ukraine.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 17, 2024

Why Ukraine isn’t ready for peace talks

It's no exaggeration to say that what happens in Ukraine matters to the world order. A rushed peace would stop the fighting, but by compromising the country's future.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 19, 2024

Biden offers legal path to undocumented spouses of citizens

Spouses and children of citizens who have been in the U.S. for at least a decade can apply for residence without first being forced to leave the country.
Anti-abortion protesters outside the Supreme Court in Washington on June 14.
WORLD / Society
Jun 19, 2024

'Unthinkable' normalized two years after U.S. abortion ruling

From medics to single mothers to abused minors, Americans from all walks of life have been affected.
The dollar’s reign has wreaked havoc across currency markets, especially in Japan where ultralow interest rates have sent the yen spiraling down more than 11% against the greenback this year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 22, 2024

Dollar winning streak extends into fifth week as yen slumps

The dollar’s reign has wreaked havoc in Japan where low interest rates have sent the yen spiraling down more than 11% against the greenback this year.
This screen grab taken from video posted on the WikiLeaks X account on Tuesday shows WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange looking out the window of a private jet as he flies from London to Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands after reaching a plea deal with the U.S. authorities.
WORLD / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jun 26, 2024

Assange walks free, but plea deal sets a chilling precedent

The Committee to Protect Journalists says the prosecution had grave implications for journalists and press freedom worldwide.
An image of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange released on social media on Tuesday. Assange pleaded guilty to a single charge of disseminating classified documents in a plea bargain that leaves him a free man.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 26, 2024

Julian Assange’s saga will forever exist in a legal gray area

WikiLeaks founder Assange’s case lies on the boundary between espionage and protected speech. Its outcome has done nothing to shed light on this gray zone.
Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte emerged as the sole candidate for NATO secretary-general after his final challenger, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, dropped out of the race last week.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 27, 2024

NATO’s next chief, Mark Rutte, will have his work cut out for him

The war in Ukraine, uncertainty about Washington's position in the alliance and growing tensions with China are among the challenges he will face.
People look at the election poster board at Kasai Rinkai Park in Tokyo. The board includes posters for each of the candidates running in that specific riding.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 28, 2024

Tokyo's election day is coming. Are you comfortable talking about politics in Japanese?

Even if you don't want to talk about politics, expressing your opinion on a particular topic is always a good skill to have in your daily life.
U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump participate in the first presidential debate of 2024 at CNN's studios in Atlanta on Thursday.
WORLD
Jun 28, 2024

At first debate, Biden stumbles amid Trump's barrage of falsehoods

The two men traded barbs on a host of issues as they each sought to shake up what opinion polls show has been a virtually tied race for months.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak deliver remarks on the AUKUS partnership, after a trilateral meeting, at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego in March last year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 29, 2024

Australian diplomat says adding AUKUS partners 'complicated'

A senior Australian diplomat has said he does not believe the U.S. Congress is open to expanding the pact — though collaboration would be a different matter.
As the 1924 Exclusion Act came into effect in the United States, people in Japan were not happy. It would define American immigration policy for near three decades.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Jul 1, 2024

Japan Times 1924: Anti-America Day observed by all Japan

Two very different views of the United States from Japan, separated by 25 years and, more importantly, a war, define this month's look back at Japanese history.
U.S. President Joe Biden takes a call as he walks from Marine One to Air Force One with first lady Jill Biden and granddaughters Natalie Biden and Finnegan Biden in Burlington County, New Jersey, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 1, 2024

Top Democrats rule out replacing Biden amid calls for him to quit 2024 race

A post-debate CBS poll showed a 10-point jump in the number of Democrats who believe Biden should not be running for president, up to 46%.
A city street in Kyoto crowded with tourists in April. American tourists headed for Japan have surged this year, according to data from the International Trade Administration.
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2024

More American tourists head to Japan as battered yen beckons

Airlines are also moving in tandem with this trend, adding 9% more seats between the United States and Japan in the three months through August.
U.S. President Joe Biden has seen Republican Donald Trump take a lead of six points, according to two prominent national polls, intensifying pressure on the beleaguered Democratic incumbent to drop out of the presidential race.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 4, 2024

Biden struggles to contain mounting pressure to drop out of race

Numerous Democratic lawmakers are contemplating signing a letter urging Biden to withdraw from the race, according to a senior party official.
The weakness of the yen is posing a big problem for small and midsize businesses. As for desired exchange rates, 69.5% said they want the yen trading between ¥110 and ¥135 to the dollar.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 4, 2024

Weak yen inflicts major damage to small and midsize businesses, survey says

While some larger, export driven companies have benefited from the weak currency, smaller firms are struggling to adjust.
Russia isn’t a theocracy but Orthodox Christianity, the state religion, has become all-encompassing, with President Vladimir Putin claiming to have a divine mission.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 4, 2024

The demigods of populism

By claiming to represent the will of the divine, populist leaders like Putin, Modi, Erdogan — and even Trump — stake an otherworldly claim to political power.
The sun sets over Gaza on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 5, 2024

Truce talks between Israel and Hamas advance, U.S. official says

The movement was significant enough that Israel is sending a delegation to negotiate in Qatar, the U.S. official said.

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