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U.S. President Joe Biden answers reporters questions as he departs for Camp David from the South Lawn at the White House in Washington on Dec. 23.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 28, 2023

With vote ahead, Biden trails Trump's pace of judicial appointments

Ahead of the 2024 election, Senate Democrats are pledging to stay focused on confirming Biden's judicial nominees and adding to the 166 already approved.
Fighters of the Wagner private mercenary group, many of whom were recruited from prisons, are deployed in June near the city of Rostov-on-Don, Russia.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 28, 2023

Vladimir Putin’s killer patriotism

Pardoning violent convicts to get more soldiers onto the battlefield is not desirable, but for Putin, the alternative would be even worse.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump
WORLD / Politics
Dec 29, 2023

Maine elections official disqualifies Trump from presidential primary ballot

Maine became the second state to bar the former U.S. president for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
People walk in the Zhujiang New Town area of Guangzhou.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 29, 2023

China’s richest provinces promise to take lead in driving growth

Almost all 31 mainland provinces held meetings to discuss next year’s priorities after the Central Economic Work Conference in Beijing this month.
A Houthi military helicopter flies over the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea in this photo released on Nov. 20.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 29, 2023

U.S. allies reluctant on Red Sea task force

Italy and Spain have issued statements appearing to distance themselves from Operation Prosperity Guardian.
Tampa Bay shortstop Wander Franco during a game in Kansas City in July.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 29, 2023

Wander Franco a no-show to answer complaint in Dominican Republic

At least two people have filed lawsuits against Franco amid probes into claims he had improper relationships with minors.
The Ground Self-Defense Force's Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade takes part in a marine landing drill on Tokunoshima island, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Nov. 19.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 29, 2023

Kishida’s military build-up plans face bumpy road ahead

One year on, questions remain as to whether the embattled leader, whose support rate recently dipped to new lows, can follow through on his pledges.
Among the issues that defined 2023 were the U.S. economy's "soft landing," the war in Ukraine, Hamas's terrorist attack and explosive advances in AI.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2023

The most important developments of 2023

The year reminds us that the world is in desperate need of new leaders who are both competent and inspiring.
Members meet for a United Nations Security Council meeting on Ukraine on July 17. Between the carnage in the Middle East and a permanent member of the Security Council waging a war of aggression against its neighbor, there is ample reason to doubt that a consensus on U.N. reform is reachable.
COMMENTARY / The Year Ahead
Dec 31, 2023

The outlook for multilateralism in 2024

What matters most in the coming year is whether global issues can still be addressed simultaneously and in unison.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida makes a toast with Indonesian President Joko Widodo at a Japan-ASEAN luncheon meeting at the Japan Business Federation in Tokyo on Dec. 18. Kishida’s chance of reelection in the LDP presidential race in September will largely depend on his administration’s response to the current funding scandal and its entanglement in it.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 31, 2023

Scandal, economic policy and LDP race to weigh on Kishida in 2024

How he balances all three will determine whether he keeps his job as LDP party president and, by extension, prime minister.
Chinese President Xi Jinping during a military parade in October 2019
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 31, 2023

Sweeping Chinese military purge exposes weakness and could widen

China's top lawmakers ousted nine senior military officers from the national legislative body on Friday, state media reported.
Naomi Osaka speaks during a news conference in Brisbane, Australia, on Saturday.
TENNIS
Dec 31, 2023

Naomi Osaka's love for tennis rekindled as she makes comeback

Naomi Osaka admitted Saturday she almost retired from tennis, but said her love for the sport is back after becoming a mother earlier this year.
Raptors guard Dennis Schroder is defended by Pistons guard Jaden Ivey during the second half in Detroit on Saturday as the Pistons snapped their 28-game losing streak.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Dec 31, 2023

Pistons edge Raptors to end record-tying 28-game skid

Detroit's skid equaled the all-time NBA mark. The Philadelphia 76ers lost 28 straight spanning the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.
BUSINESS
Dec 31, 2023

Japan saw price hikes on over 30,000 food items in 2023

The figure marks a 25.7% rise from 2022, when prices went up for 25,768 food items.
Workers walk past an underconstruction area with completed office towers in the background in Shenzhen's Qianhai new district on Aug. 25, 2023.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 1, 2024

China's strained economy casts shadow over 2024

Last year, the economy was roiled by a real estate crisis, falling consumer confidence, deflation and the disappearance of foreign investment.
Containers of Danish shipping and logistics company Maersk are seen in Copenhagen in September.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 1, 2024

U.S. sinks three ships and kills 10 after Houthi Red Sea attack

The naval battle occurred Sunday as the attackers sought to board the Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou, Maersk and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
TENNIS
Jan 1, 2024

New mother Naomi Osaka makes winning return in Brisbane

The four-time grand slam champ beat Germany's Tamara Korpatsch 6-3 7-6(9) in the first round of the Brisbane International on Monday.
South Korea's opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung, in Busan, South Korea, on Tuesday before he was attacked
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 2, 2024

South Korea opposition chief attacked during visit to Busan

Lee was stabbed in the neck as he spoke with reporters, and his attacker was captured at the scene.
A Luckin Coffee store in Beijing on Dec. 8
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 2, 2024

China's new thirst for coffee spurs cutthroat cafe competition

Analysts expect China's growing thirst for coffee to be a key driver of future demand for the beans as coffee shops expand.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 2, 2024

Who might succeed Fumio Kishida in 2024?

Several names have emerged as potential candidates for prime minister in the wake of a political funds scandal enveloping the LDP.
Paper pulp processed from used disposable diapers
JAPAN / Society
Jan 2, 2024

Graying Japan pushes to recycle disposable diapers to curb waste

The amount of diaper waste grew to 2.2 million tons in fiscal 2020. While efforts are being made to recycle them, high costs remain a hurdle.
Devotees of Afro-Brazilian religions carry offerings to the sea as part of an annual rite in Rio de Janeiro on Dec. 29, 2023.
WORLD / Society
Jan 2, 2024

How to start the new year? Keep the sea goddess happy.

Followers of Afro-Brazilian religions have been displaced by New Year’s revelers. But they still find ways to make their offerings to the ocean.
Yuki Kondo-Shah beside the U.S. Embassy where she works in London on Dec. 22. As U.S.-China tensions rise, national security employees with ties to Asia say U.S. counterintelligence officers wrongly regard them as potential spies and unfairly ban them from jobs.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 2, 2024

Asian American officials cite unfair treatment in China tensions

Federal employees say they are being blocked from jobs for security reasons because of their ties to Asia, even distant ones.
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2024

In pictures: The aftermath of the New Year's Day quake in Japan

Scenes of the aftermath of an earthquake, registered at the highest level on Japan’s intensity scale, that struck a coastal area as the nation was marking New Year’s Day.
The guided-missile destroyer USS Mason steams through the Atlantic Ocean. Tehran's dispatch of a warship to the Red Sea takes the projection of Iranian power in the region to another level but it is unlikely to want direct confrontation — its old frigate is no match for the U.S.-led maritime task force patrolling the waters off Yemen.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 3, 2024

Iran’s Red Sea power play raises fears of trade disruption

Tehran's dispatch of a warship to the region emboldens Yemen's Houthis, who are attacking vessels headed to or owned by firms in Israel.
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2024

Japanese firms rush to send supplies to areas devastated by quake

Various companies nationwide are preparing to provide food, water and other relief supplies to Ishikawa Prefecture and surrounding areas.
A scientist works on a quantum computer at the IBM Quantum lab in Yorktown Heights, New York.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2024

Your money may not survive a quantum heist

Prime numbers have served the internet age well, but the private sector and public authorities can no longer take their continued guardianship for granted.
Firefighters inspect earthquake-damaged houses in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 3, 2024

Heed the warning of Japan’s New Year's Day earthquake

That so few deaths happened in Japan's Noto region, even in areas with the most severe shaking, isn’t down to luck.
South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung speaks during a news conference in Seoul on April 11.
WORLD
Jan 3, 2024

South Korean opposition leader 'could have been killed': party

Lee Jae-myung, who suffered a wound to his jugular vein, was first taken to a hospital in Busan, then flown to Seoul.
Attendees during a presidential election campaign event in Taipei on Wednesday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 4, 2024

Taiwan to publish analysis of alleged China election interference

China's Taiwan Affairs Office has called Taiwan's elections a "purely an internal Chinese matter."

Longform

Visitors to Kyoto walk along a street near Kiyomizu Temple in April. A popular tourist spot, Kyoto has seen what locals feel to be an overwhelming amount of tourists in 2024.
Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?