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Iga Swiatek won the WTA Finals in November 2023 to end an event that featured bad weather and a number of complaints from the players.
TENNIS
Jan 15, 2024

WTA and ATP Tours embarking on year of formative changes

The WTA is looking to take steps toward equal pay for women at combined events, and the ATP hopes to align the interests of its players and tournaments.
The "wolf warrior" metaphor is used for Chinese diplomats who are known for aggressively making their country’s case on the world stage.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2024

Doves, pandas and dragons: Decoding the global political zoo

Animal metaphors help us reflect on the rich and varied landscape of foreign policy discourse.
Volkswagen is casting its net wider in pursuit of a potentially game-changing technology: a "solid-state" electric car battery
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 16, 2024

Volkswagen and rivals plug away at solid-state battery puzzle

An array of technical hurdles are holding back wider development of solid-state technology, seen by its backers as the "holy grail" of EV batteries.
The University of Toronto campus. International students are a cash cow for Canadian universities and a slowdown will be a blow to the institutions.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 18, 2024

Canadian study permits for Indian students drop due to dispute

Fewer Indian students applied due to a diplomatic dispute over the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada.
A motorcyclist rides past a high school in the Panjgur district of Balochistan province on Wednesday. Pakistan has recalled its ambassador from Iran and blocked Tehran's envoy from returning to Islamabad after an Iranian air strike killed two children in the west of the country on Wednesday. Pakistan's official statement did not specify where the strike took place, but Pakistani media said it was near Panjgur, where the countries share a sparsely populated border of nearly 1,000 kilometers.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 18, 2024

Pakistan recalls envoy after Iran strike on terrorist base kills two

The strikes add to multiple crises across the Middle East, with Israel waging a war against Hamas in Gaza and Houthi rebels in Yemen attacking vessels in the Red Sea.
A large billboard depicting an Iranian missile with a phrase in Persian that reads "prepare your coffins" on the side of a building in Tehran on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Jan 18, 2024

Iran says missile strikes show it will be ‘tough and decisive’

Supporters of Iran’s authoritarian clerical regime have been incensed by recent attacks on Iran that made it appear vulnerable, demanding a powerful response.
Just over 100 days after Oct. 7, enduring pain is a key reason why polls in Israel show consistently high support for its military offensive in Gaza.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 19, 2024

Enduring pain keeps public support for Gaza war strong in Israel

The support comes despite optimism fading over whether Israel can achieve its stated goals.
An offshore wind turbine off the coast of Naraha, Fukushima Prefecture, in 2013. Japan aims to increase its offshore wind power capacity to 10 GW by 2030.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Jan 21, 2024

As Japan makes major investments in wind power, some residents are pushing back

In a sense, the city of Ishikari represents the idealized, natural version of Hokkaido for many Japanese. Some residents say massive wind turbines will destroy that image.
Apple is entering its first major new product category since the company began selling smartwatches in 2015, and the Vision Pro may take years to catch on.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 22, 2024

Apple Vision Pro deliveries delayed to March in sign of early demand

The device is also sold out for Day 1 in-store pickup at many locations despite preorders having just begun on Friday ahead of its Feb. 2 rollout.
The rupture of one of the world's busiest shipping routes has exposed the vulnerability of China's export-reliant economy to supply snarls and external demand shocks.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 22, 2024

Red Sea crisis pressures China's exporters as shipping delays mount

Further Red Sea disruptions would pile pressure on a struggling economy already contending with a property crisis and weak consumer demand.
An image of Japan's SLIM lunar lander
JAPAN / Science & Health / ANALYSIS
Jan 22, 2024

Japan’s moonshot may mark breakthrough for future lunar missions

The successful use of a new system that allows moon missions to land within 100 meters of a target area would help efforts to build an international lunar base camp.
A crane moves containers in Montreal on Jan. 17.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 23, 2024

Chaos in the Red Sea is starting to bite into companies’ profits

With the Red Sea crisis roiling shipments, it’s only a matter of time before soaring costs and supply-chain strains show up in companies’ earnings reports.
Toshiya Ikehata (center) helps prepare rice balls at a community kitchen in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 7. Ikehata runs a fine-dining restaurant in the city, which was among the hardest-hit areas in the Noto Peninsula earthquake.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2024

Shattered lives, unbroken spirits: Chefs step up to serve Noto communities

Fine-dining chefs rise to the challenge of feeding disaster victims in the hardest-hit areas of Ishikawa Prefecture.
A church service was held on Wednesday for the 74 people killed in the Russian IL-76 military transport plane crash in the Belgorod region that borders Ukraine.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 25, 2024

Military plane crashes in Russia, killing all on board, Moscow says

Russia accused Ukrainian forces of launching missiles from the nearby Kharkiv region of Ukraine that struck the aircraft, but the claims could not be verified.
Photographer Robert Beck took the famous photo of Brandi Chastain celebrating the United States' victory in the Women's World Cup final in 1999 that appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
SPORTS
Jan 25, 2024

The Sports Illustrated cover, a faded canvas that once defined sports

Sports Illustrated's power to define sports discourse been steadily eroding, but it is hard to overstate the power it once had.
Unfortunately for Japan, the demographic cliff is approaching and the government will need more than minor course adjustments to fix its Self-Defense Forces' recruitment woes.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 26, 2024

Cosmetic changes won’t fix the SDF’s recruitment problem

Facing demographic decline, Japan explores innovative solutions to boost recruitment in the Self-Defense Forces.
As a small open economy, Hong Kong is vulnerable to financial contagion and capital flights to and from China.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 24, 2024

Hong Kong is facing a repeat of 1998 Asia financial crisis

As the Hang Seng Index selloff deepens, bankers and traders are preparing for the worst.
Women walk past an army-related billboard at the All-Russia Exhibition Center in Moscow on Jan. 24.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2024

New anti-Ukraine disinformation campaign targets Western media

Examples of disinformation include thefts from the Paris catacombs by a Ukrainian and military aid misappropriated by Ukraine.
Environmental costs are estimated at $3 trillion from current agricultural land use and food production methods, which scientists say account for a third of planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Jan 30, 2024

Fixing food could produce trillions in annual benefits

On the current trajectory, food systems alone will push global warming above 1.5 degrees Celsius, potentially soaring to 2.7 degrees by 2100.
Philippine's Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (left) and Vietnam's President Vo Van Thuong at a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on Tuesday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 30, 2024

Amid China concerns, Manila and Hanoi agree to better manage maritime disputes

The Philippines is turning to neighboring South China Sea claimant states to boost security ties and potentially forge a united front against Beijing.
The newly appointed leader of the Japanese Communist Party, Tomoko Tamura (front left), addresses the party convention on Jan. 18. The JCP is hoping its recent leadership change will improve its electoral fortunes.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 30, 2024

What the future holds for the Japanese Communist Party

After a decade of steadily declining seat counts in the Diet, the Japanese Communist Party has turned to its first-ever female leader.
Shigeru Ishiba, a heavyweight in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, says the Bank of Japan should immediately end its negative interest rate policy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 30, 2024

Dark-horse prime minister candidate calls for ending BOJ's negative rate policy

An outspoken Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker, Shigeru Ishiba consistently ranks among favorites to become the next prime minister in opinion polls.
The Tokyo Kiki Lounge is a queer pageant, dance competition and party, known in the ball culture as a “kiki ball.”
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 1, 2024

You're free to be yourself at the Tokyo Kiki Lounge

The pageant, dance competition and party is a thriving safe space for Japan's queer community.
Emperors sought eternal life for centuries, but scientists believe our physical bodies have limits. That's where technologists come in.
BUSINESS / Tech / Longform
Feb 3, 2024

The digital beyond: Is an eternal existence within grasp?

Immortality has been a dream for centuries, but scientists doubt its possibility. Can technologists and coders find a virtual path instead?
Asia's pandemic-era policies must now be unwound against a backdrop of slower GDP growth, higher inflation and increased debt.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 4, 2024

A new economic policy agenda for Asia

Asia's pandemic-era policies must now be unwound against a backdrop of slower GDP growth, higher inflation and increased debt.
Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift arrives for the 66th Annual Grammy Awards at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Feb 5, 2024

Taylor Swift makes Grammys history as women rule music's top honors

Winning for her album "Midnights," Taylor Swift has won the best album prize a total of four times, eclipsing Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder.
Prabowo Subianto, presidential candidate and Indonesia's defense minister, speaks during the final presidential debate in Jakarta on Sunday. More than 204 million Indonesians will vote on Feb. 14 to elect new leaders who will shape Southeast Asia's largest economy for the next five years.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 6, 2024

Ex-general becomes cat-loving grandpa in bid to run Indonesia

Prabowo Subianto has been accused of human rights abuses, but now he is reaping the rewards of an extensive image makeover.
Like for other generative AI services, the algorithm behind Rufus is a closely held secret and Amazon declined to discuss how it operates.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 6, 2024

Who benefits when shoppers use Amazon's new AI tool?

The tool raises several questions, as Amazon has a history of steering customers toward products that most benefit the company.
Naomi Osaka hits a return against Danielle Collins during her first round loss at the Abu Dhabi Open on Tuesday.
TENNIS
Feb 7, 2024

Osaka trying not to 'feel like a failure' after early Abu Dhabi exit

Despite a close opening set that witnessed supreme serving from both players, Osaka struggled in her service games in the second set.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen holds a welcome ceremony in September 2022 for then-Tuvaluan Prime Minister Kausea Natano in Taipei.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 7, 2024

Tuvalu could recognize China, but how much would it affect Taiwan?

Taipei might benefit from shifting its energy and resources away from competing with Beijing over formal recognition.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?