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Legislative Council lawmakers in Hong Kong unanimously voted in favor of a new national security law on Tuesday. The legislation introduces penalties such as life imprisonment for crimes related to treason and insurrection.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 25, 2024

Is Hong Kong headed for a rubber-stamp legislature?

With the unanimous passing of the new national security law, Hong Kong's "patriotic" council has shown that its willingness to toe the government line.
Fans wave Chinese national flags during an international friendly match between China and Syria, in Chengdu, China, in 2023.
SOCCER
Mar 26, 2024

Former China soccer chief given life sentence for 'huge' bribery

Chen Xuyuan took advantage of his positions to accept sums totaling 81.03 million yuan, reports said.
Signs of a decline in hedging demand suggest that local investors are less concerned the yen will rebound sharply.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 26, 2024

Lower hedging costs reveal Japan investors' confidence in weak yen bets

Three-month yen basis swaps, which indicate decreasing demand for hedging the more they rise, closed last week at their highest level since January 2022.
A law enforcement officer patrols the scene of the gun attack at the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 26, 2024

Moscow shooting poses awkward questions for Russia's intelligence agencies

Western security analysts say agencies may have its hands full dealing with the war in Ukraine and political opposition.
A Russian law enforcement officer walks near the burning Crocus City Hall concert venue following a shooting incident, outside Moscow, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 26, 2024

The leader of Islamic State group linked to Moscow attack has global ambitions

The leader of the Afghan branch of the group has overseen its transformation into one of the most fearsome branches of the global Islamist network.
A view of the Dali cargo vessel that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge causing it to collapse in Baltimore, Maryland, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Mar 26, 2024

Baltimore bridge collision sends vehicles tumbling into water

Rescuers pulled out two survivors, one in a "very serious condition," and were searching for more after the Francis Scott Key Bridge fell into the water.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 26, 2024

Hong Kong scraps early release for national security convicts

The new law came into force Saturday, putting into immediate effect tough penalties of up to life imprisonment for certain national security crimes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits a church outside Moscow on Sunday, a national day of mourning following the attack on the Crocus City Hall on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 26, 2024

Putin forgot Islamic State thinks he too is the West

The leader portrays Russia as a victim of Western imperialism, but the Islamic State terrorists who attacked Moscow on Friday reject this narrative.
Plaintiffs and their lawyers on survivors benefits for same-sex partners smile after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of them on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 26, 2024

Same-sex partners should get spousal survivor benefits, Supreme Court rules

It is the first time the Supreme Court has reached a judgment on survivors benefits for crime victims who have same-sex partners.
The head of the Unification Church's Japan branch has been fined for the group's refusal to answer some questions sent by the culture ministry.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 26, 2024

Unification Church fined for not answering government questions

The Tokyo District Court ordered the group to pay a fine of ¥100,000 for its refusal to answer some questions put to it by the culture ministry.
Ukraine forward Artem Dovbyk (11) and midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko celebrate after the team secured its berth in Euro 2024 with a win over Iceland, in Wroclaw, Poland, on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Mar 27, 2024

Mykhailo Mudryk sends war-torn Ukraine to Euro 2024

"I am very proud to be a Ukrainian, to be of the same blood as those who are now giving their lives for our freedom," captain Oleksandr Zinchenko said.
Smoke rises from the Gaza Strip during an explosion following an airstrike on Saturday. The war in Gaza has not stopped and Hamas has not freed anyone despite the adoption of a U.N. resolution on Monday demanding a cease-fire and the release of hostages.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 27, 2024

The U.N. Security Council demanded a Gaza cease-fire. What happens now?

While the U.S. did not veto the cease-fire resolution, its description of the text as "non-binding" sparked an uproar in the world body.
The Cultural Affairs Agency in the city of Kyoto
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2024

One year on, benefits of culture agency's move to Kyoto unclear

The relocation of the Cultural Affairs Agency was decided in 2016
Jim Rauh, founder of Families Against Fentanyl, holds a photograph of his son Thomas in Akron, Ohio, on March 4. How Trump and Biden address a lethal chapter of the U.S. drug-overdose epidemic will be pivotal in swing states that are likely to decide the election.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 27, 2024

270,000 overdose deaths thrust fentanyl into heart of U.S. presidential race

More than 4 in 10 Americans personally know someone who has died from a drug overdose.
A monitor in Tokyo shows the yen dropping to nearly ¥152 against the dollar on Wednesday morning.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 27, 2024

Yen slides to 34-year low, heightening talk of intervention

Although the Bank of Japan hiked rates for the first time in 17 years last week, the yen’s weakness has persisted.
Demonstrators on Tuesday in Washington, where the U.S. Supreme Court signaled it's likely to preserve full access to a widely used abortion pill as the justices heard arguments in a case carrying major stakes for reproductive rights and potentially this year's elections.
WORLD / Society
Mar 27, 2024

Judges' mention of 1873 obscenity law opens new front in U.S. war on abortion

Those opposed to the womens' health procedure cite the law as a reason to roll back a 2021 FDA decision allowing an abortion drug to be sent by mail.
Maritime Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Adm. Ryo Sakai during a news conference at the Defense Ministry on Tuesday
JAPAN / Society
Mar 27, 2024

Japan MSDF punishes two officers for 'power harassment'

One was hit with a three-month suspension, while the other will see his pay cut by one-sixth for one month.
Among those who experienced physical abuse from their spouses or partners, 12.6% said they felt that their lives were in danger, according to the government survey conducted late last year.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 27, 2024

Record 1 in 5 in Japan report partner abuse, government survey shows

Among married couples, the rate is even higher at 1 in 4.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares to address a joint session of parliament in New Delhi in June 2019.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2024

Making sense of society

In a world that is becoming fragmented within and across countries, it is easy to lose hope for social and economic progress.
Activists opposed to lethal autonomous weapons, or so-called killer robots, protest in Berlin in March 2019.
COMMENTARY
Mar 27, 2024

Don’t fear AI in war, fear autonomous weapons

It’s not the algorithmic intelligence in our weapons and nukes but automaticity that poses an existential risk.
The Tigers' Teruaki Sato has hit at least 20 home runs in three straight seasons.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 28, 2024

Tigers remain the Central League's team to beat as rival Giants loom

While Hanshin may be favored to repeat, the rest of the league will be waiting to pounce should the Kansai club falter.
Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Freedom Party (PVV), speaks at an election night party in The Hague, Netherlands, on Nov. 22, 2023. The resounding victory of far-right ideologue illustrates the shift in public opinion in the Netherlands since 2022.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 27, 2024

Populism is scaring away big businesses in the Netherlands

Among the various firms uneasy with the current state of affairs in the Netherlands, tech companies are the most influential.
A Xiaomi SU7 electric vehicle on display at one of the company's stores in Shanghai on Tuesday. Xiaomi declared its ambition for the SU7 to become one of China's three best-selling luxury electric vehicle models, sounding a challenge to Tesla and other rivals in an increasingly crowded market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 28, 2024

Xiaomi stakes growth on debut in China’s cut-throat EV market

Reception for the SU7 vehicle will likely dictate Xiaomi’s stock momentum after a 22% gain since a February low.
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, who chairs the German parliament's defense committee, argues that the security of Europe is inseparable from that of the Indo-Pacific.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 28, 2024

German MP warns of complacency amid growing Indo-Pacific threats

Closer attention need to be paid to the often-belligerent rhetoric coming from places such as China and North Korea, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the 344th Army Aviation Center of aircrews combat training and transition in Torzhok in the Tver region of Russia on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 28, 2024

Putin says Russia will not attack NATO but will shoot down Ukraine's F-16s

F-16s sent for use in Ukraine's war effort and used from airfields in third countries would "become for us legitimate targets," the Russian leader said.
With President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating hovering around 34% and public discontent running high over the country's lackluster economy, the opposition is ahead in some polls. Yoon term as president ends in 2027.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 28, 2024

South Korea kicks off campaigning ahead of April election

Poll is crucial for Yoon Suk-yeol's ruling People Power Party to avoid him ending up a lame duck president should the opposition secure a supermajority.
A real estate sign advertises powered data center land for sale in Johnstown, Ohio, on March 23.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 29, 2024

Amazon bets $150 billion on data centers required for AI boom

In addition to meeting demand for corporate services, they will provide the massive computing power needed for an expected boom in generative AI.
Dried cocoa beans at the Somos Cacao farm and production in Ragonvalia, department of Norte de Santader, Colombia, on March 22, 2024. Cocoa is the best-selling commodity in the world so far in 2024, and futures have doubled in less than three months as poor harvests in West Africa, where most of the world's cocoa is grown, have led buyers to look elsewhere for supplies.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 29, 2024

Cocoa market 'broken' as crop failure drives third year of shortages

here’s a risk poor harvests in West Africa could be long-lasting, with climate change and crop disease ravaging trees.
An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indexes at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai on March 24.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 29, 2024

Chinese firms face funding drought for IPOs amid heavy scrutiny

China's securities watchdog has sharply tightened scrutiny of IPOs this year, leading to companies scrapping domestic listing plans in droves.
Pedestrians in the Mahalaxmi area of Mumbai on 2021. Mumbai is among the most densely populated cities in the world.
WORLD / Society
Mar 29, 2024

Young Indians more likely to be jobless if they’re educated

The percentage young unemployed Indians dropped to 82.9% in 2022 from 88.6% in 2000, while the share of educated youths climbed to 65.7% from 54.2%.

Longform

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