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Facebook Tweet Email Link Tokyo — Japan’s precipitous population decline shows no sign of slowing, with the nation shrinking by more than 900,000 people last year – the biggest annual drop on record, according to government data. The data, released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on Wednesday, showed that the number of Japanese nationals fell by 908,574 in 2024, bringing the total population to 120 million. Since peaking at 126.6 million in 2009, the population has declined for 16 consecutive years, diminished by various factors like a struggling economy and deep-seated gender norms. With the population of…
Facebook Tweet Email Link The Israeli military has “illegally and indiscriminately” used US munitions to attack school shelters in Gaza, killing hundreds of people, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says. The US-based campaigners’ report, “Gaza: Israeli School Strikes Magnify Civilian Peril,” was published Thursday. Israel’s campaign following the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023 has made the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.1 million people homeless – forcing many to flee their neighborhoods in search of civilian infrastructure. Israel has frequently said its strikes on school facilities in Gaza target embedded Hamas fighters. But HRW said it only found seven instances where…
Facebook Tweet Email Link Heavy rainfall that triggered floods in Pakistan in recent weeks, killing hundreds of people, was worsened by human-caused climate change, according to a new study. The study by World Weather Attribution, a group of international scientists who study global warming’s role in extreme weather, found that rainfall from June 24 to July 23 in the South Asian nation was 10% to 15% heavier because of climate change, leading to many building collapses in urban and rural Pakistan. Pakistan’s government has reported at least 300 deaths and 1,600 damaged houses due to the floods, heavy rain and…
Facebook Tweet Email Link NFL players will be allowed to use “smelling salts” during games after all. The NFLPA sent a memo to players on Wednesday saying that the ban that the league informed teams about on Tuesday only prohibits team employees from distributing smelling salts and any other ammonia inhalant during pregame activities, games and halftime on the sideline or locker rooms. “The NFL Players Association is aware of the memo issued by the league Tuesday regarding the use of smelling salts and ammonia capsules,” said the memo to players, which was obtained by The Associated Press. “We were…
Facebook Tweet Email Link Early in President Donald Trump’s second term, plenty of ink was spilled on the question of whether his 2024 voters regretted their votes. The verdict – including my own – was generally that this theory was overblown. There were anecdotes, yes, but it didn’t seem to be an especially measurable phenomenon. More than six months in, that could be changing, at least somewhat. It’s probably still too simple to say that lots of Trump supporters regret their votes. But to appropriate a phrase you might have heard from your parents once upon a time: Many Trump…
Facebook Tweet Email Link A British holidaymaker has been charged with attempted murder after he allegedly tried to drown his daughter-in-law in a Florida swimming pool, authorities have said. Mark Raymond Gibbon, 62, was on vacation at the Solterra Resort in Davenport, Florida, with his family when deputies from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office were called to a disturbance in a backyard swimming pool on Sunday evening, the sheriff’s office said in a post on X. According to the victim and witnesses, Gibbon was in the swimming pool with his 33-year-old daughter-in-law when the pair started arguing about his grandchildren,…
Facebook Tweet Email Link As the Trump administration tries to chart a path out of its Jeffrey Epstein mess, senior aides turned to someone who has increasingly become one of the president’s chief problem solvers: Vice President JD Vance. Vance originally planned to convene top White House and Justice Department officials at his residence Wednesday evening to talk over the administration’s handling of the Epstein case, as well as the need to craft a unified response, though the meeting appeared to have been moved amid intense media scrutiny. Still, the planned meeting was just the latest high-stakes task following an…
Facebook Tweet Email Link A meeting between Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin could take place as early as next week, a top Kremlin aide said Thursday, as the US president’s deadline for Moscow to show progress in ending its war in Ukraine looms. Preparations for the meeting are already underway, and although it was “difficult to say” how long they will take, the goal is for the meeting to take place next week, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said, according to Russian state media RIA Novosti. If the meeting does go ahead, it would be the first held between…
Facebook Tweet Email Link When the plane started shaking violently on a Delta flight from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam last week, some passengers thought it was going to crash. The jet had hit severe turbulence, flinging people into the ceiling, and service carts across the cabin. One passenger said it felt like an earthquake. The plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Minneapolis, where 25 people were taken to the hospital. It was just the latest in a series of recent turbulence incidents resulting in injuries, hospitalizations and even a death. A 73-year-old man died of a…
Facebook Tweet Email Link Island getaways have long captured our imagination. South Pacific landfalls with coral reefs and tropical beaches, European isles bristling with medieval castles, a remote cabin in the woods on a lake island — the choices seem almost unlimited. But we’re not alone in our attraction to these idyllic escapes. Many of the more famous names have become expensive and overcrowded. But it doesn’t have to be that way. These 11 magical American island destinations aren’t on every “best islands” list, and they’re better for it. Apostle Islands (Wisconsin) This Lake Superior archipelago is split between the…