Tokyo mulls ordinance banning littering as downtown trash worsens

Inquirer.net - Sep 18, 2026

TOKYO – The Tokyo metropolitan government is considering an ordinance banning littering, as trash left in downtown entertainment districts has increased with the rise in tourists following the Covid-19 pandemic, government sources said Thursday. While Shibuya and Shinjuku wards already have such ordinances in place, rules at the metropolitan level would prevent disparities in regulations

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Trump to host Xi amid pomp, low expectations
Sep 18, 2026

Trump to host Xi amid pomp, low expectations

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military honor guard has been rehearsing and the new White House helipad is ready. But will Xi Jinping and Donald Trump achieve lift-off at their summit next week? Warnings of an AI apocalypse hang heavy over the Chinese president's first White House meetings with Trump, as both countries race for technological supremacy. Trump's Iran war casts a long shadow too, as China seeks to avoid U.S. sanctions against countries dealing with Tehran, despite reports that Beijing supplied Tehran with intelligence for a strike on U.S. troops. A simmering trade war between the world's two largest economies is of even greater concern, while the threat of military confrontation over Taiwan looms large as well. Behind it all is a desire to manage tensions between a superpower keen to keep its place at the top and a rapidly rising rival determined to make the 21st century a Chinese one. The U.S. president, media-minded as ever, is also focused on the optics of the visit, having been hosted with high pomp during his own state visit to China in May. Trump, who was welcomed by China's v

Brazil's Lula announces 15% welfare boost ahead of election
Sep 18, 2026

Brazil's Lula announces 15% welfare boost ahead of election

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a decree on Thursday increasing benefits of his flagship welfare program by 15 percent, weeks before the first round of the presidential elections. The minimum monthly benefit per family of Bolsa Familia (Family Grant) will rise to 691 reais ($134) next month, from 600 reais. The decree says that it adjusts payments for accumulated inflation since March 2023. The measure will increase the purchasing power of voters, who will decide in October whether to grant Lula a fourth, nonconsecutive term, or elect Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, a son of former President Jair Bolsonaro , in a likely run-off vote. Polls show the two are currently running neck-and-neck. “Bolsa Familia is central to our strategy to look after more vulnerable families, guarantee income so that people emerge from poverty and don’t suffer from food insecurity,” Finance Minister Dario Durigan said. The additional spending would be absorbed within existing budget allocations and would not represent a new expenditure, he added. Lula introduced the cash-tr

King Charles sounded like 'lottery winner' after Diana's death, her brother writes
Sep 18, 2026

King Charles sounded like 'lottery winner' after Diana's death, her brother writes

LONDON — Britain's King Charles sounded "like a lottery winner" after the death of his late first wife Diana, her brother writes in his forthcoming book, new extracts of which were published on Thursday. Diana's brother Charles Spencer said the then-Prince Charles was "giddily elated" in the immediate aftermath of Diana's death in 1997, possibly because he felt it meant he was freer to marry again, according to passages in the Daily Mail. Charles on Wednesday took the unusual step of responding to criticism after the first extracts of Spencer's book were published in the Daily Mail, saying via a spokesperson that grief could impact reason, judgment and memory. There was no new comment from the king on the latest excerpts, which also stated that Diana went to a site of many suicides on Britain's south coast, but that her love for her sons, William and Harry, "stopped her from going further." "It is a sad fact that, in her later years, Diana drove herself more than once to Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in England, while contemplating ending it all," Spencer wrote. Diana was kil

Trump says progress made toward establishing US Army base in Poland
Sep 18, 2026

Trump says progress made toward establishing US Army base in Poland

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said on Thursday that progress is being made toward establishing a U.S. Army base in Poland, crediting "the bold leadership" of Polish President Karol Nawrocki. "If this happens, the location will be announced very soon. This will be a historic step for our Great U.S./Polish Alliance," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Poland has been pushing for a bigger allied presence on NATO's eastern flank after Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine in 2022.

Harry makes first public appearance since return to UK
Sep 18, 2026

Harry makes first public appearance since return to UK

LONDON — Prince Harry on Thursday made his first public appearance since his shock return to Britain from the United States with his family three weeks ago. Harry, who quit Britain for California six years ago with his wife Meghan amid tensions with his family, attended a fundraising evening for his Invictus Games for wounded veterans in London. Dressed in a smoking jacket adorned with his military decorations, the 42-year-old prince took selfies with injured former soldiers at the event. Meghan did not accompany him. Along with their two children, Harry and Meghan landed back in the UK on August 26 and have kept a relatively low profile since. Speculation abounds over the reasons for their return, given that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex left in the middle of a falling-out with his family, which only worsened after Harry published his tell-all memoir "Spare." His appearance at the event comes after the brother of Princess Diana, Harry's mother, unleashed a barrage of stinging criticism against King Charles III's behaviour towards his ex-wife. In a memoir being serialised in the Daily Ma

'In our lane': Fed's Warsh defies Trump but still fighting for credibility
Sep 18, 2026

'In our lane': Fed's Warsh defies Trump but still fighting for credibility

WASHINGTON — U.S. Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh delivered the interest rate hike this week that many economists think surging inflation required, defying President Donald Trump — but questions about the central bank chief's credibility linger. The Fed on Wednesday raised rates in the world's largest economy by 25 basis points to between 3.75 and 4.00 percent, with policymakers signalling at least one more rate hike before year-end. Trump has launched an unprecedented assault on the Fed's independence to set monetary policy since taking office, initiating a criminal probe into Warsh's predecessor and attempting to fire another Fed governor in his quest for lower rates to spur economic activity. He frequently insulted and berated former chair Jerome Powell, but delivered a muted — if still extraordinary — response to Warsh's announcement of the rate hike. Trump told reporters he spoke with Warsh before the Fed's meeting, telling him to "do what you want" and ascribing the decision to raise rates — which the Fed chair voted for and stood by — to a "hostile board." Asked by a

Anthropic's Claude is building its own next version, company says
Sep 18, 2026

Anthropic's Claude is building its own next version, company says

Anthropic's Claude is helping the company develop the next, more intelligent version of the model, the artificial intelligence lab said in an announcement Thursday. Claude is leading 26 percent of Anthropic's model research and development, which the company said means it can complete most of a given task “end-to-end from a high-level prompt" while still being under human supervision. The model is not yet working completely autonomously. Still, about 90 percent of the company's research and development is done in “collaboration” with Claude, which Anthropic said means the model can do “large chunks of work under close human direction.” The announcement came as some leading figures in AI, led in large part by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, are calling for a slowdown in the technology’s development over safety concerns. As leaders consider pacing AI's development, “we should do everything possible to minimize the gap between what frontier labs know and what the public knows,” the company said in a blog post. “This means better measuring the development of AI, reporting on it

Russians begin voting in controlled election as war drags
Sep 18, 2026

Russians begin voting in controlled election as war drags

MOSCOW — Polling stations opened early Friday in Russia's Far East, kicking off a three-day election that President Vladimir Putin's party is all but guaranteed to win in the fifth year of war with Ukraine. It will be Russia's first parliamentary election since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022. The conflict has since killed hundreds of thousands. Only parties that support Putin and the Kremlin's dragging military campaign have been registered to run. Moscow has also organized voting in occupied Ukraine. While few in Russia doubt Putin's United Russia party will sail to victory again, the vote is an opportunity for the Kremlin to gauge public support for the Ukraine war, the effects of which have hit home more than ever this year. The vote to renew the 450 seats in the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, will run until 1800 GMT on Sunday. Russia's Kamchatka peninsula and Chukotka — on the Pacific — are the first of Russia's 11 time zones to begin voting. Putin has ruled Russia since New Year's Eve 1999 and his United Russia party has dominated Russian politics sinc

Iran says struck oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz
Sep 18, 2026

Iran says struck oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz

TEHRAN — Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Friday they struck an oil tanker sailing under the Togolese flag in the Strait of Hormuz, state news agency IRNA reported. Tehran has imposed an effective blockade of the strait since the United States and Israel struck Iran in late February. The Islamic republic wants to charge tolls for passage, attacking ships it accuses of attempting to circumvent its preferred route. "The Togo-flagged oil tanker 'Trend' had been targeted and detained after a fire broke out on board," the statement said, referring to an attempted "illegal passage" through the vital waterway. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) announced Thursday a "security incident in the Strait of Hormuz, 16 nautical miles (29.6 km) northeast of Khasab, Oman." UKMTO did not provide details about the vessel involved, and it is unclear whether it is the same mentioned by the Revolutionary Guards.

WHO sees some progress in Congo's Ebola fight but cases surge in one area
Sep 18, 2026

WHO sees some progress in Congo's Ebola fight but cases surge in one area

GENEVA — The head of the U.N. health agency is hailing “encouraging signs” in the fight against an Ebola outbreak in one part of eastern Congo, while warning that case counts are rising fast in another as officials race to tamp down the virus. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that signs of gaining ground against the Bundibugyo virus, the rare species behind the outbreak, have emerged in Ituri province. But he said that the situation is one of “many outbreaks in many places.” “We are now starting to see encouraging signs that we are gaining ground. In the most affected parts of Ituri province, transmission is going down,” Tedros told reporters at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva. South Kivu, he said, has reported no new cases since May. “But make no mistake, the epidemic continues to grow and continues to kill,” Tedros said. He said more than 7,200 cases and more than 3,500 deaths have been reported across seven provinces. In North Kivu, “cases are rising fast,” Tedros said. The number of weekly cases has nearly

The king and AI: UK monarch Charles meets artificial intelligence leaders as safety concerns swirl
Sep 18, 2026

The king and AI: UK monarch Charles meets artificial intelligence leaders as safety concerns swirl

LONDON — King Charles III on Thursday urged senior leaders from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind and Nvidia to make sure that artificial intelligence remains under control and in the service of people and the planet. The gathering in Scotland was convened to discuss how AI can benefit society, and comes at a pivotal moment for the technology as debate swirls around whether rapid advances will soon put it beyond the ability of humans to rein it in. "The development of AI — its substance and its pace — are both intriguing and deeply concerning in equal measure," the king said in his opening remarks. The "existential dangers of such technologies falling into the wrong hands, and being used in potentially catastrophic ways” should be urgently considered, he said. "Surely, then, we need sufficient means of control before it is all too late?" The king asked attendees, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Google DeepMind Chair Demis Hassabis, to consider the "fundamental principles" that should guide AI development. ChatGPT maker OpenAI's Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar was also at

Gaza building collapse shows dangers plaguing enclave since Israel-Hamas truce
Sep 18, 2026

Gaza building collapse shows dangers plaguing enclave since Israel-Hamas truce

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The deadly collapse of a multistory building in Gaza has drawn new attention to the hardships facing Palestinians there nearly a year after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas promised to kickstart reconstruction. But as talks faltered, plans for rebuilding stalled. Many residents have since moved back into some of the hundreds of thousands of homes damaged by the war despite the risk of weakened foundations and unstable walls suddenly giving way. The Gaza Health Ministry said 21 people were killed in the collapse in Gaza City on Wednesday. Um Mohammad Adas, whose relatives were among the dead, said the fallen building had become a shelter of last resort. “Now, they are lying in the street homeless and with absolutely nothing,” she said of her family members who survived the collapse. “Even the clothes they are wearing were borrowed.” Families living in similar structures said they couldn’t afford any other shelter. “We don’t have money to go somewhere else,” Ahmad Arafat said on a street full of rubble near his home. “And we can’t afford

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