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Riot police march in front of the main building of Ssangyong Motor in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on Aug. 6, 2009.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Dec 25, 2024

The real-life violence that inspired South Korea's 'Squid Game'

A struggling car giant in South Korea announcing in 2009 it was laying off more than 2,600 people resulted in an occupation of its factory.
People walk past a Dior shop in Rome on Dec. 18.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 26, 2024

Luxury labels bulk up on lower-priced goods to broaden appeal

After more than two years of sharp price hikes, luxury labels are finding themselves at risk of alienating the middle class.
A member of the medical staff treats a woman with COVID-19 next to her four-day-old baby at a hospital in Istanbul, Turkey, in November 2021.
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 27, 2024

COVID pregnancies may have boosted autism risk, study shows

"There’s something really going on,” pediatric infectious diseases physician Karin Nielsen says. "We don’t want to alarm the world, but that’s what our data are showing.”
Takahiro Funamoto, deputy facility manager of elderly care facility Hyakuju-en in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, at the damaged facility building on Dec. 5
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2024

Link probed between elderly deaths and Noto earthquake evacuations

Many local facilities including hospitals were left dysfunctional due to power and water outages and building damage.
Stefan Kaufmann, former president and CEO of Olympus, in 2022
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 27, 2024

Ex-Olympus CEO Kaufmann gets suspended sentence over drugs

The judge decided to suspend the sentence, given that the former Olympus CEO has been staying away from drugs.
Manmohan Singh, who died on Thursday at the age of 92, was arguably one of India's most successful leaders.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 27, 2024

Manmohan Singh, India's reluctant prime minister, dies age 92

He is credited with steering India to unprecedented economic growth and lifting hundreds of millions out of dire poverty.
South Korea's ruling People Power Party lawmakers (bottom) argue to National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik (second right top) during the plenary session for the impeachment vote of acting president Han Duck-soo at the National Assembly in Seoul on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 27, 2024

South Korea's parliament impeaches acting president Han Duck-soo

The move plunged the country deeper into political chaos, as the Constitutional Court also said it would swiftly trial suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Black American women, who still heavily vote for the Democratic Party, are taking a much-needed break from political engagement after the last election, with the idea that rest and renewal will prepare them for future activism.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2024

Temporarily disconnected from politics? Feel no guilt about it.

Opposition movements are a recurring feature of American politics and predicts a robust, reenergized response when the time comes.
The next 12 months will be more challenging, with some countries pursuing quick interest-rate cuts while others will proceed cautiously.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2024

A view to 2025: Enough with the central bank hawks and doves

Interest-rate cuts will be a feature, including at institutions that resisted easing in 2024. But mind the nuances.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump sits with Elon Musk at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 16.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 28, 2024

Cracks emerge in Trump's MAGA coalition

Squabbling over immigration between Elon Musk and his Silicon Valley "tech bros" and Trump's hardcore Republican backers is roiling the movement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a Security Council meeting via videoconference in Moscow on Saturday.
WORLD
Dec 29, 2024

Russia's Putin apologizes to Azerbaijan over 'tragic' airliner crash

Four sources with knowledge of the preliminary findings of Azerbaijan's investigation said that Russian air defenses had mistakenly shot the airliner down.
Of the many new openings in Tokyo in 2024, the elegant Sushi Oya run by Yoji Oya stands out from the pack.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 29, 2024

From Michelin stardom to humble meals, Tokyo dining had an eclectic 2024

As traditional pubs close and inbound tourism spurs openings, this year saw plenty of new faces make their mark on the city’s dining landscape.
People cover themselves with umbrellas during a hot summer day in Tokyo's Ginza district in August. Temperatures shot up in early July, even before the official end of the rainy season, and the high temperatures persisted well into the fall.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Dec 29, 2024

Japan’s weather in 2024: Record temperatures hurt people’s health and wallets

Average temperatures across the nation and surrounding seas exceeded last year’s record-breaking levels "by a significant margin," affecting everything from well-being to farming.
Emperor Naruhito (right) and Empress Masako (center) visit the disaster-hit city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Dec. 17 along with Wajima Mayor Shigeru Sakaguchi.
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2024

Emperor and empress eye regional visits to mark 80th war anniversary

The emperor and empress may travel to Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Okinawa prefectures to meet with people involved in preserving the memory of the war.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola celebrates after his team defeated Leicester City 2-0 in Leicester, England, on Sunday.
SOCCER
Dec 30, 2024

Guardiola relieved at much-needed win in 500th game

Manchester City won for the first time in five league games to climb to a provisional fifth in the Premier League.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter (center) waves after meeting with authorities in Port-au-Prince about the upcoming elections in Haiti in 1990.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 30, 2024

'Democracy and freedom': Jimmy Carter's human rights work in Latin America

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter defied the furor of U.S. conservatives to negotiate the handover of the Panama Canal to Panamanian control.
Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party, South Korea's main opposition party, leaves after delivering a public statement on the impeachment motion against acting President Han Duck-soo at the National Assembly in Seoul on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2024

In South Korea’s impeachment saga, who’s really in trouble?

Lee Jae-myung, facing six criminal cases, needs an election before any convictions are finalized, as a conviction could disqualify him from running for president.
Indonesia's plan to increase biodiesel mandates to 50% by 2028 could require clearing 5.3 million hectares of forest for palm oil plantations by 2042, an area larger than Denmark.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2024

The year’s worst climate news you haven’t heard about

Not enough floodwaters for dams, more coal burning and demand for Indonesian palm oil show efforts to slow global warming are flagging.
U.S. President Joe Biden (right) meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in Washington on Sept. 26.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 31, 2024

Biden announces $5.9 billion for Ukraine amid final aid push

The military aid includes $1.25 billion in so-called Presidential Drawdown Authority, which pulls weapons and ammunition from U.S. stockpiles.
Syria's new leader and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) chief Ahmed Sharaa (right) receives Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in Damascus on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 31, 2024

Syria eyes 'strategic' ties with Ukraine amid waning Russian influence

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he hoped providing help to Syria would be beneficial to restoring stability in Ukraine.
The tail of Jeju Air Flight 2216 is seen at Muan International Airport in Muan County, South Korea, on Sunday after the aircraft careered down the runway with no landing gear deployed and smashed into a concrete wall, killing all but two of the 181 people on board.
WORLD
Dec 31, 2024

Two plane crashes lead to deadliest year in skies since 2018

The Jeju Air disaster in South Korea and last week’s downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane took the number of fatalities aboard passenger aircraft in 2024 to 318.
The city of Kumamoto has seen a surge in the number of students from Taiwan, following the arrival of chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and related businesses in Kumamoto Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 31, 2024

Kumamoto public schools respond to influx of Taiwanese students

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s arrival in Kumamoto has heightened the need to adapt to the needs of Taiwanese families.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Dec. 24. Ishiba has, unsuccessfully, sought to meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump since November, with Trump’s team saying at the time that no meetings with foreign leaders would take place before his January inauguration.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 31, 2024

Ishiba rules out pre-inauguration meeting with Trump

Ishiba had sought a mid-January meeting with Trump but said over the weekend that sooner didn't necessarily mean better when it came to talks with the incoming U.S. president.
Children play with fireworks at the Bureij camp for displaced Palestinians on Monday.
WORLD
Dec 31, 2024

World greets 2025 after sweltering year of Olympics, turmoil and Trump

As New Year's Eve parties kicked into gear along Australia's picturesque Sydney Harbour, many revelers were relieved to see the past 12 months in the rearview mirror.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks at a news conference after a policy meeting in Tokyo on Dec. 19.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 1, 2025

After historic year, the Bank of Japan ambles into 2025

Two or three rate hikes expected this year could take the central bank's benchmark to 1% for the first time in three decades.
Chugo Saito at Isenoumi stable on Friday. Saito has joined his older brother, Seigo, at the stable.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Dec 31, 2024

Sumo’s brotherhood gets latest inductee

Wakaikari’s younger sibling Chugo Saito is the first-ever high schooler to get a special dispensation.
An Air Self-Defense Force airman sets up a drone during a bilateral live fire exercise at Draughon Range, near Misawa Air Base, in Aomori Prefecture in July 2023.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jan 5, 2025

Taking a page from Ukraine war, SDF carves out growing role for drones

Whether for use in the air, on land or at sea, the SDF is gradually integrating these increasingly capable and often autonomous systems into their units.
Students perform a play they produced during a Liberal Arts Japanese class at Aichi Prefectural Kariyahigashi High School, as teacher Tomohiko Hyodo (left) watches.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Jan 13, 2025

Aichi school uses theater to foster communication skills

Liberal Arts Japanese, designed to supplement conventional Japanese language studies, emphasizes practical skills in listening and speaking, the school says.
South Korea's Finance Minister and new acting president Choi Sang-mok speaks as he presides over a meeting of the National Security Council at the Government Complex in Seoul on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 31, 2024

South Korea's acting President Choi to appoint two Constitutional Court justices

The move is an effort to restore stability after the impeachment of two of his predecessors this month triggered political turmoil.
Stock market information on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Jan 1, 2025

Investors hope for U.S. stock market trifecta in 2025 after back-to-back boom years

Investors are more confident about the economy than this time a year ago, with consumers and businesses having absorbed higher interest rates.

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Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.