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Pope Francis had planned to attend the COP28 conference in Dubai this week, but canceled on Tuesday due to health concerns.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 29, 2023

U.S. bishops cling to fossil fuels, despite Pope's 2015 appeal

Not a single diocese has announced it has let go of its fossil fuel assets since the pope's landmark encyclical on environmental stewardship.
A psychopathic lawyer (Kazuya Kamenashi) finds himself targeted by a serial killer — and decides to fight back — in Takashi Miike’s “Lumberjack the Monster.”
CULTURE / Film
Nov 30, 2023

‘Lumberjack the Monster’ will talk you to death

Takashi Miike’s film about a psychopath battling a serial killer fails to deliver on its schlocky potential.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's far eastern Amur region on Sept. 13.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Dec 5, 2023

The China-Russia-North Korea triangle looks unlikely to last

Despite a recent raft of leaders' visits and a warming of ties, the three nations still have their own agendas.
GMC Hummer electric vehicles on the production line at General Motors' Factory ZERO all-electric vehicle assembly plant in Detroit, Michigan, on Nov. 17.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 30, 2023

GM commits billions to shareholder returns as EV push stalls

"We have confidence in the cash generation of this company”
Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger listens to a question at the China Development Forum in Beijing in 2015.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 30, 2023

Henry Kissinger, controversial American diplomat, dies at 100

While many hailed Kissinger for his brilliance and broad experience, others branded him a war criminal for his support for anti-communist dictatorships.
Strong shipments of cars, especially to the U.S., helped push up Japan’s industrial production more than expected in October.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 30, 2023

Japan's factory output beat expectations in October

Improvement in supply chains bolstered automakers while inventory adjustments underpinned the electronics parts industry.
Urawa's Jose Kante celebrates his decisive goal during the team's win over Wuhan Three Towns on Wednesday at Saitama Stadium.
SOCCER
Nov 30, 2023

Last-gasp effort keeps Urawa alive in Asian Champions League

The Reds were heading for a group-stage exit until Jose Kante struck from the edge of the box to give them a 2-1 win.
A sign at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 6
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Dec 7, 2023

How AI fits into China's raft of global initiatives

The administration of President Xi Jinping has recently attached great importance to AI technology and is actively set on promoting it.
A newly released prisoner (right) hugs a relative during a welcome ceremony following the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails in exchange for Israeli hostages held in Gaza by Hamas since the Oct. 7 attacks, in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 30, 2023

Mediators race to extend Israel-Hamas truce ahead of expiry

The six-day halt to fighting ends on Thursday morning local time, with a last hostages freed from Gaza overnight in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets leaders of the Group of 20 countries in New Delhi on Sept. 9.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 30, 2023

India’s G20 presidency is marked by a dawn of new multilateralism

From empowerment to climate change action, India ends an impactful year as the G20 president.
Rules changes will limit the weighing of gymnasts in Britain.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 30, 2023

Britain restricts weighing of gymnasts in wake of abuse

Gymnasts who are 11 and older in Britain may now be weighed only with their permission and with the permission of a parent if they are under 18.
Members of the German national soccer team train in Vienna on Nov. 20.
SOCCER
Dec 1, 2023

Germany hosts Euro 2024 draw as contenders wait to learn fate

Saturday's draw marks the start of the real countdown to the European Championship for the 20 nations who have so far qualified alongside hosts Germany.
Tesla's new Cybertruck is displayed at a Tesla store in San Diego on Nov. 20.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2023

Tesla's Cybertruck is priced 50% higher than initial estimate

Cybertruck's new body material and unconventional, futuristic styling has added complexity and costs to production.
Capital spending on goods excluding software rose 0.3% in the three months through September compared with the previous quarter, possibly serving as an encouraging sign for the Bank of Japan.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2023

Japan’s capital spending nudges higher in sign of resilience

Some analysts still warn that GDP could contract again in the current quarter
As well as writing scripts for movies and plays, Taichi Yamada was successful as a novelist, winning many prizes including the Yamamoto Shugoro award, given in 1988 for his novel "Ijintachi tono Natsu."
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 1, 2023

Screenwriter Taichi Yamada dies at 89

Yamada is known for popular TV dramas such as "Fuzoroi no Ringotachi" and "Otokotachi no Tabiji."
Chinstrap penguins in Orne Harbour in the western Antarctic peninsula in March 2016
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Dec 1, 2023

Antarctic chinstrap penguins get by on just secondslong micronaps

Falling asleep while guarding a nest can spell doom for the eggs and later the chicks, but the species has an ingenious way of getting enough sleep.
Israeli troops gather on the border with the Gaza Strip on Thursday, the 7th day of a truce with Hamas.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2023

The Gaza cease-fire is a major military victory for Hamas

Military cease-fires and delays such as between Israel and Hamas always favor weaker defenders in a conflict.
The waves at Teahupo'o make it one of surfing's most hallowed venues, where big swells slam onto the shallow tropical reef creating perfect but ferocious tubes.
OLYMPICS / Surfing
Dec 2, 2023

Tahiti villagers say barge to build Olympic surf tower damages reef

Residents of Teahupo'o in October protested plans by Games organizers to build the 14-metre high aluminum tower to enable up to 40 people to watch
A worker at the Ford F-150 Lightning plant in Dearborn, Michigan in April last year. New government rules will try to shift more production of electric vehicle batteries and the materials that power them to the United States.
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2023

U.S. sets limits on Chinese content to receive EV tax credits

The guidelines establish a 25% ownership threshold for a company or group to be classified as a foreign entity of concern.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, speaks at a high-level segment at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 3, 2023

U.S. lays out plan at COP28 to slash methane emissions from oil and gas

The rules, two years in the making, were announced by U.S. officials at the United Nations COP28 climate change conference in Dubai.
The Idaho National Laboratory, Materials and Fuels Complex. Researchers there were the first to generate electricity from splitting the atom back in 1951, and countless scientists have since visited the remote site to test reactor designs.
WORLD
Dec 3, 2023

The future of nuclear energy will be decided in Idaho

It’s been 50 years since the last reactor was switched on there, which speaks to the challenges of harnessing a fission reaction.
Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr. visits wounded victims of an explosion that happened during a Catholic Mass in a gymnasium at Mindanao State University, in Marawi, the Philippines, on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 3, 2023

Philippine military on high alert after bombing called terrorism

The blast happened during a regular service at Mindanao State University's gymnasium in Marawi, the country's largest Muslim city.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a session at the United Nations climate summit in Dubai on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 3, 2023

For embattled Kishida, Dubai trip fails to pay dividends

The PM's visit to Dubai for a U.N. climate summit will do little to offset woes at home, including an LDP funding scandal and sagging approval ratings.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen speaks to compulsory servicemen while inspecting a military base in Taichung on Nov. 23. Tsai is barred by term limits from seeking re-election.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 4, 2023

Think of Hong Kong when you vote, Taiwan president says

"Look at Hong Kong and think of Taiwan," Tsai Ing-wen said. "We don't want Hong Kong-style peace. We want dignified peace."
The government plans to raise the retirement age of drivers of privately owned cabs to 80, from 75 currently, as rural areas in particular suffer from an acute shortage of transportation for the elderly.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 4, 2023

Expanding labor shortage pushes Japan to find new ways to fill jobs

Companies have been forced to come up with new ways to find labor and keep their operations running smoothly, sometimes with novel ideas.
Pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow is released in June 2021, after serving nearly seven months in prison for her role in Hong Kong's 2019 anti-government protests.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 4, 2023

Prominent Hong Kong activist Agnes Chow flees to Canada

Chow, who was jailed for months in a crackdown on pro-democracy activists, cited her physical and mental health as reasons for not returning to the city.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 4, 2023

Kishida denies media report of ties to Unification Church

The prime minister reportedly had an exchange with Masayoshi Kajikuri, the head of the Universal Peace Federation Japan, in 2019.
The graphics processing units made by U.S.-based Nvidia dominate the market for artificial intelligence.
BUSINESS
Dec 4, 2023

Nvidia CEO says he will try to prioritize Japan for AI processors

Japan is rushing to rebuild its once world-leading semiconductor infrastructure and catch up on the development of AI technology.
An aerial view shows the Eiffel tower by the River Seine in Paris. A plan to hold the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics on the river looks set to go ahead, even after a deadly attack in the French capital at the weekend.
OLYMPICS
Dec 5, 2023

'No Plan B': France set on Olympics river opening despite attack

Media reports have indicated grave concern within the security forces that the opening ceremony could be vulnerable to attack.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, speaks during the Summit on Methane and Other Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases on day three of the COP28 climate conference in Dubai on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 6, 2023

EU takes tough line to China to level economic playing field

The EU fears China's weakened economic recovery may drive an uptick in exports

Longform

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