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J-pop star Nakai to retire after sex misconduct allegations: media

One of Japan's biggest pop stars and best-known TV hosts, Masahiro Nakai, announced his retirement Thursday over sexual misconduct allegations, reports said, in the latest scandal to rock Japan's entertainment industry.

S. Korea investigators recommend Yoon be charged with insurrection, abuse of power

South Korean investigators recommended Thursday that impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol be charged with insurrection and abuse of power, as they handed over the results of their probe into his ill-fated declaration of martial law to prosecutors.

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Azerbaijani jet crashes in Kazakhstan, killing 38

An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet crashed on Wednesday in western Kazakhstan after travelling far off course, killing 38 of the 67 people on board, officials said.

Asia to mourn tsunami dead with ceremonies 20 years on

Emotional ceremonies were expected across Asia on Thursday to remember the 220,000 people who died two decades ago when a tsunami devastated coastal areas around the Indian Ocean, in one of the worst natural disasters in human history.

38 dead as Azerbaijani jet crashes in Kazakhstan

An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet crashed on Wednesday in western Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board, officials said.

Suriname ex-dictator and fugitive Desi Bouterse dead at 79

Desi Bouterse, the former dictator of Suriname who was a fugitive from justice for the murder of political opponents four decades ago, has died at 79, the government said Wednesday.

35 feared dead as Azerbaijani jet crashes in Kazakhstan

An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet crashed on Wednesday in western Kazakhstan, with 35 people feared dead, officials said.

32 survivors as Azerbaijani jet crashes in Kazakhstan

An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet with 67 people on board crashed on Wednesday in western Kazakhstan after veering from its scheduled route, officials said.

Pope's sombre message in Christmas under shadow of war

Christians across the world celebrated Christmas Wednesday, with the mood darkened by wars and a massive Christmas morning attack on Ukraine by Russia and a plane crash in Kazakhstan.

Catholics hold muted Christmas mass in Indonesia's Sharia stronghold

With flickering candles and the sound of organs, hundreds of Catholics held a muted Christmas Eve mass in Indonesia's Aceh province, the only one under ultraconservative Islamic law in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation.

On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis launches holy Jubilee year

Pope Francis opened the "Holy Door" of St Peter's Basilica on Christmas Eve on Tuesday, launching the Jubilee year of Catholic celebrations set to draw more than 30 million pilgrims to Rome.

Bethlehem marks sombre Christmas under shadow of war

Hundreds of people gathered at the Church of the Nativity in the holy city of Bethlehem on Tuesday to mark another solemn Christmas overshadowed by the war in Gaza.

11 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant

A powerful blast ripped through an explosives plant in northwestern Turkey on Tuesday, killing 11 people and injuring seven others, officials said, downgrading their original toll.

Indonesia considers parole for ex-terror chiefs: official

Jailed former leaders of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiyah militant group are being considered for parole, a senior counter-terror official said Tuesday, after the network disbanded and members pledged allegiance to the country.

South Korean opposition postpones decision to impeach acting president

South Korea's opposition said Tuesday it would hold back a decision to impeach acting president Han Duck-soo until later in the week.

12 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant

A powerful blast ripped through an explosives plant in northwestern Turkey on Tuesday killing 13 people and injuring four others, officials said.

Hong Kong police issue fresh bounties for activists overseas

Hong Kong police announced bounties on Tuesday of HK$1 million (around US$130,000) for information leading to the arrest of six democracy advocates based overseas and accused of national security crimes.

Blogs to Bluesky: social media shifts responses after 2004 tsunami

The world's deadliest tsunami hit nations around the Indian Ocean two decades ago before social media platforms flourished, but they have since transformed how we understand and respond to disasters -- from finding the missing to swift crowdfunding.

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts, spewing columns of lava

One of the world's most active volcanoes sprang into life again Monday, spewing columns of lava 80 meters (260 feet) above Hawaii, US vulcanologists said.

Haitians massacred for practicing voodoo were abducted, hacked to death: UN

A massacre of more than 200 people in Haiti this month followed a gang-ordered manhunt that saw victims, many of them elderly, pulled from their homes and shot or killed with machetes, the UN said Monday.

Canada records 50,000 opioid overdose deaths since 2016

Nearly 50,000 people in Canada died of an apparent opioid overdose from January 2016 to June 2024, with fentanyl playing an increasingly prominent role in fatalities, the national health agency said Monday.

Guatemalan authorities recover minors taken by sect members

Guatemalan authorities on Monday recovered several minors taken from a care center by members of an ultra-orthodox Jewish sect under investigation for alleged child sexual abuse.

Biden commutes almost all federal death sentences

US President Joe Biden on Monday commuted the death sentences of 37 of the 40 federal inmates on death row, ahead of the return of Donald Trump who oversaw a sweeping number of executions during his first term.

France's new government to be announced Monday evening: Elysee

President Emmanuel Macron's office said the composition of France's new government would be announced on Monday evening amid efforts to drag the second-largest EU economy out of a deepening political crisis.

London toy 'shop' window where nothing is for sale

With its twinkling Christmas fairy lights and nostalgic array of vintage toys, the window of one London "shop" never fails to enchant passers-by.

Accused killer of US insurance CEO pleads not guilty to 'terrorist' murder

The man accused of gunning down a health insurance executive in a brazen hit in New York pleaded not guilty Monday to state charges including "terrorist" murder.

Acid complicates search after deadly Brazil bridge collapse

A search operation for a dozen people missing after a deadly bridge collapse in Brazil was being complicated by the possible presence of acid in the water, authorities said Monday.

Mali singer Traore child custody case postponed

A Belgian court Monday postponed the trial of Malian singer Rokia Traore to January 8 over an outstanding two-year prison sentence handed down in a child-custody dispute.

France mourns Mayotte victims amid uncertainy over government

France on Monday observed a day of mourning for the victims in the cyclone-hit Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte as the clock ticked for President Emmanuel Macron to appoint the fourth government in a year marked by political crisis.

Bangladesh launches $5bn graft probe into Hasina's family

Bangladesh has launched a probe into the alleged $5 billion embezzlement connected to a Russian-backed nuclear power plant by ousted leader Sheikh Hasina and her family, the anti-corruption commission said Monday.

Biden commutes sentences for 37 of 40 federal death row inmates

US President Joe Biden on Monday commuted the death sentences of 37 of 40 federal inmates, taking action ahead of the return of Donald Trump who oversaw a sweeping number of lethal injections during his first term.

Police arrest suspect who set woman on fire in New York subway

New York City police arrested a man suspected of setting fire to a woman on the subway in Brooklyn who died from the incident, authorities said, calling it "one of the most depraved crimes" a person could commit.

China vows 'cooperation' over ship linked to severed Baltic Sea cables

Beijing on Monday promised to continue "cooperation" with regional authorities over a Chinese ship linked to the recent severing of two undersea cables in the Baltic Sea.

Afghan bread, the humble centrepiece of every meal

Every day before dawn, Jamil Ghafori gets to work on the floor of a cramped Kabul bakery with five other men churning out thousands of traditional flatbreads -- the staple of every Afghan meal.

The Japan Times - Boulevard (English)