The Israeli army has told Palestinians to leave areas in southern Gaza ahead of what it said would be "intense fighting” with Hamas, a sign it plans to extend ground operations to pressure the militant group into releasing hostages still held captive. The notification on Monday covered Rafah, a city near the border with Egypt, as well as surrounding areas. People were told to move to Al Mawasi, an area near the coast. Two Israeli military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a ground operation would follow against targets...

Rights advocates raised the alarm, including over free speech concerns, on Thursday after it was reported that the U.S. State Department will use artificial intelligence to revoke the visas of foreign students who it perceives as supporters of Palestinian Hamas militants. The U.S. Constitution's First Amendment protects freedom of speech and assembly. Free speech advocates like the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and pro-Palestinian groups said AI should not be relied upon for assessments related to the decades-old and nuance-filled Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Real wages in Japan declined for a third consecutive year in 2024 as inflation continued to outpace pay increases, which have been generous on a nominal basis in recent years. “Inflation turned out to be higher than projected mainly due to rising rice prices and stronger downward pressure on the yen,” said Saisuke Sakai, chief economist at Mizuho Research & Technologies. Inflation-adjusted pay including bonuses fell 0.2% in 2024. The nominal increase was 2.9%, while consumer-price inflation for the year came in at 3.2%. Real wages fell 2.5% in 2023...

Beyonce on Sunday finally won the Grammy for the year's best album for her culture-shaking "Cowboy Carter," as rapper Kendrick Lamar posted a clean sweep on a night that served as a love letter to fire-ravaged Los Angeles. Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, Doechii and Sabrina Carpenter emerged as big winners at the performance-heavy gala, while heavyweights Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish went home empty-handed. Beyonce's win for "Cowboy Carter" now makes her the most nominated, most decorated artist at the awards show ever — as well as the first Black...

SoftBank Group will spend $3 billion a year to adopt and deploy OpenAI technology throughout its operations, while the two companies have agreed to form a joint venture to market the artificial intelligence as an enterprise solution. “This initiative will not only transform the way SoftBank Group operates but also revolutionize the way companies work in Japan and around the globe,” SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said in a statement Monday. The technology, which the company describes as an advanced enterprise AI called Cristal intelligence, will be used at all companies...

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, on Sunday successfully launched the fifth H-3 rocket carrying the Michibiki No. 6 satellite for the Japanese version of the U.S. Global Positioning System. The rocket blasted off at 5:30 p.m. from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture. The satellite was placed into its target orbit. The Michibiki satellite series is designed for the Japanese positioning system that provides location data in units of several centimeters. The first satellite in the series was launched in 2010. There are currently four Michibiki satellites...

The U.S. skating community was in mourning on Thursday after learning some of the country's most promising young figure skaters, as well as parents and coaches, were aboard an American Airlines regional passenger plane that crashed near Reagan Washington National Airport. The plane, carrying 64 passengers and crew, was en route to Washington from Wichita, Kansas, on Wednesday when it was involved in a midair collision with a U.S. Army helicopter. Officials said they do not believe there were any survivors. U.S. Figure Skating, the sport's national governing body, said...

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver raised the possibility that the league could someday switch from 12-minute to 10-minute quarters to appeal to a changing television audience and align with international rules.

"I'm a fan of four 10-minute quarters," Silver said on "The Dan Patrick Show" on Wednesday, although he acknowledged such a change would need much further study.

"I'm not sure that many others are," he conceded. "It's such a dramatic change to the game. I think something like that would have to be talked more about over time."

Climate change made Southern California’s dangerous wildfire conditions in early January 35% more likely than they would have been before the industrial era, according to a new analysis by the scientific group World Weather Attribution. Greenhouse gas pollution raised temperatures, made drought more likely and extended the duration of fire season, contributing to the most destructive fire disaster in U.S. history, killing at least 28 people and destroying more than 16,000 structures. The fires were also 6% more intense because of climate change, the analysis found. "The fires that we...