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Chinese President Xi Jinping and Arab leaders pose for a group photo during the China-Arab summit in Riyadh on Dec. 9.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 12, 2023

China’s economic stake in the Middle East: Its thirst for oil

China, the world’s second-largest economy, has become addicted to foreign oil at a stunning pace.
A Palestinian fighter from the armed wing of Hamas takes part in a military parade to mark the anniversary of the 2014 war with Israel, near the border in the central Gaza Strip, in July.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 14, 2023

How Hamas secretly built a 'mini-army' to fight Israel

The group has a military academy training a range of specializations and boasts a naval commando unit among its 40,000-strong military wing.
New Zealand's National Party leader Christopher Luxon addresses his supporters in Auckland after winning the general election on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 15, 2023

New Zealand elects its most conservative government in decades

Former Air New Zealand CEO Christopher Luxon's center-right National Party will lead a coalition with a smaller libertarian party.
The Iriomote cat, native to the island of the same name in Okinawa Prefecture, is remarkable for its resilience: It occupies the smallest habitat of any wildcat on Earth.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / OUR PLANET
Oct 15, 2023

The last of Japan's wildcats

Only about 100 animals of each species survive today, putting both on the brink of extinction along with more than 3,700 other species nationwide.
Israeli soldiers load tank shells as their unit masses in Be'eri, near the border with the Gaza Strip, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 15, 2023

Israel plans Gaza invasion to avenge Hamas atrocities

The assault is expected to be Israel’s biggest ground operation since it invaded Lebanon in 2006.
A Palestinian with dual citizenship waits outside the Rafah border crossing with Egypt in the hope of getting permission to leave Gaza, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics / EXPLAINER
Oct 18, 2023

What is the Rafah border crossing and why is Egypt keeping it shut?

The crossing is the sole route for aid to enter Gaza directly from outside Israel and the only exit that does not lead to Israeli territory.
China's ambitions to control the legacy chip market have implications for the world economy and Western nations are beginning to take countersteps.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 18, 2023

China's economic ambitions squeeze the developing world

While Chinese diplomats try to promote “win-win” solutions, Chinese policy is preventing developing-world partners from selling goods to China.
People react during the funeral of a Palestinian who was killed by Israeli forces, near Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 20, 2023

West Bank a possible 'third front' for Israel

More than 70 Palestinians have been killed in West Bank violence since Oct. 7 and Israel has arrested more than 800 people.
Children look to the sky at the sound of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on Oct. 9.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 20, 2023

The never-ending catastrophe that plagues Palestinians

Displacing the Palestinian residents of northern Gaza would be a flagrant violation of international law.
A statue of the Demon Spirit in the Mononoke Village area, a new area within Ghibli Park in the city of Nagakute, Aichi Prefecture
BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2023

Ghibli Park unveils new 'Princess Mononoke' area

The Mononoke Village area within the facility will open on Nov. 1, showcasing the sceneries of village forests in Japan.
A fledgling film director (Mayu Matsuoka, center) returns home to make a film about her dysfunctional family in “Masked Hearts.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 26, 2023

‘Masked Hearts’: Catharsis comes out of familial discord

Yuya Ishii returns to his indie roots with a comedy-drama that comes from a personal and painfully real place.
Israeli soldiers gather around a tank near the border with the Gaza Strip on Oct. 15. The IDF is preparing to conduct a ground offensive into the Palestinian territory.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 26, 2023

When history rhymes: Are we back in 2003, at the dawn of the Iraq War?

Given the parallels between the Israeli position today and the U.S. invasion of Iraq a decade ago, history can offer important lessons.
The simplest option for many Japanese industries facing labor shortages might be to do what the taxi sector is doing — keep people in the workforce longer.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 26, 2023

Octogenarian taxi drivers to the labor-crunch rescue

An option for many Japanese industries facing labor shortages might be to do what the taxi sector is doing — keep people in the workforce longer.
The interiors of what the Israeli military say is a cross-border attack tunnel dug from Gaza to Israel, on the Israeli side of the Gaza Strip border near Kissufim in 2018.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 27, 2023

The Hamas tunnel city beneath Gaza — a hidden frontline for Israel

Hamas has different kinds of tunnels running beneath the sandy 360-square-kilometer Gaza Strip — including attack, smuggling, and storage burrows.
Plaintiffs, lawyers and supporters march to the Tokyo District Court on Nov. 30, the same day the court ruled that Japan’s lack of legal protections for same-sex couples is unconstitutional.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 27, 2023

Japan's 'failed' same-sex marriage lawsuits can still propel reform

Even unsuccessful cases challenging Japan’s failure to recognize same-sex marriage have gotten courts to acknowledge a constitutional problem.
The Israeli military fires shells toward the Gaza Strip on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 29, 2023

Israel on verge of perilous push into Gaza, analysts say

Thousands of civilians have already died in Gaza and Israel since Hamas launched its shock Oct. 7 attacks.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 30, 2023

In the Japan Series, it’s a tale of two fanbases

The Tigers and Buffaloes have a lot of similarities, but there's a yawning gap in the support, enthusiasm and attention paid to each Kansai club.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 30, 2023

Police prep crowd control plans in case Tigers win Japan Series

The Tigers are facing off against the Orix Buffaloes in the series, which kicked off on Saturday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 3, 2023

Could the Tigers' curse be over, once and for all?

A win against the Buffaloes on Saturday would see the Tigers victorious in this year's Japan Series.
Blair Masters and Talisker Scott Hunter pose for a photo with their kei truck, nicknamed “KT,” outside Ebisu Circuit in Fukushima Prefecture.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Nov 6, 2023

The little truck that could: A fresh way to tour Japan's north

Travelers have documented almost every corner of Japan. Perhaps a new kind of adventure would be doing those same journeys by different means.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 6, 2023

Sheldon Neuse and the catch that ended the Tigers' 38-year drought

For the American, a win in the Japan Series was a perfect ending to a year that did not go the way he had hoped during the regular season.
An Israeli military unit fires from an undisclosed location near the Gaza Strip border on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 7, 2023

Israel vows to take 'security responsibility' of Gaza after war

The remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came as the Hamas-run health ministry said the death toll in Gaza had surged past 10,000.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a press conference on the 2023 Enlargement package and the new Growth Plan for the Western Balkans at the EU headquarters in Brussels Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 9, 2023

Brussels recommends opening EU membership talks with Ukraine

The countries bidding to join the EU join an already crowded field of hopefuls.
Displaced residents of the city of Gaza walk to the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 9, 2023

Tens of thousands flee as Israel tightens 'stranglehold' on Gaza

U.N. rights chief Volker Turk described Israel's collective punishment of Palestinian civilians and their forcible evacuation as war crimes.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 10, 2023

Former Lower House speaker and LDP heavyweight Hiroyuki Hosoda dies

The seasoned lawmaker served in key posts in the government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, including as chief Cabinet secretary.
If you spot a wild animal in the city, it's likely lost. Still, alert authorities immediately to prevent any unpleasantness.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / Longform
Nov 13, 2023

The concrete forest: Bears, boars and more head to the cities

Warmer winters, less food and an aging society all play a part in why wild animals are increasingly venturing into human-populated areas.
Young monks practice writing Tibetan at a monastery in Yushu, China. Beijing has restricted the teaching and practice of minority languages and religions.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 13, 2023

China’s new law on religion: A great leap backward

Beijing's new law on religious venues has received little attention but has far-reaching consequences in restricting religious freedom.
A giant panda at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington during one of its last days on American soil. Pandas Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and Xiao Qi Ji were returned to China on Nov. 8 upon Beijing's request.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 14, 2023

Pandas don’t play diplomatic hard ball like China does

Panda diplomacy is endangered, with the forced return of three bears from Washington to China an exercise in "dumb power."
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appointed David Cameron as foreign secretary, a shock return to government for a man who previously led the country and whose legacy is defined for calling the Brexit referendum.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 15, 2023

Sunak’s gamble on former U.K. leader Cameron is an act of desperation

The return of the former prime minister creates an unprecedented imbalance at the summit of U.K. power.
A fan holds a sign during a game between the A's and Rangers in Oakland, California, on Aug. 7.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 17, 2023

MLB owners give stamp of approval to Athletics' move to Las Vegas

The A's will play their final season at the Oakland Coliseum in 2024 .

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan