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[ad_1] WASHINGTON – American-led negotiators are edging closer to an agreement in which Israel would suspend its war in the Gaza Strip for about two months in exchange for the release of more than 100 hostages still held by Hamas, a deal that could be sealed in the next two weeks and would transform the conflict consuming the region.Negotiators have developed a written draft agreement merging proposals offered by Israel […]

[ad_1] Lone yokozuna Terunofuji claimed his ninth top-division title Sunday by defeating joint leader Kotonowaka in a thrilling championship playoff at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament.The pair had started the final day tied for first place at 12-2 after promotion-seeking sekiwake Kotonowaka knocked ozeki Kirishima from the top of the leaderboard in their highly anticipated Day 14 battle at Ryogoku Kokugikan.Kotonowaka was first to book his place in the […]

[ad_1] OSAKA – Ethiopia's Workenesh Edesa won the Osaka Women's Marathon and second-place finisher Honami Maeda took a giant step toward earning an Olympic spot by breaking Japan's 19-year-old national record Sunday.Maeda clocked 2 hours, 18 minutes, 59 seconds, to finish eight seconds behind Edesa, in the first of the two "Final Challenge" races for Japan's third and last spot in the women's marathon at this summer's Paris Olympics.The 27-year-old […]

[ad_1] NEW YORK – Shohei Ohtani received his American League MVP award Saturday at the Baseball Writers' Association of America dinner in New York, where he gave a rare speech in English to express his thanks.The two-way star last attended the dinner in 2019 after winning AL Rookie of the Year for the 2018 season. Ohtani won his first MVP in 2021 but there was no dinner in early 2022 […]

[ad_1] RIYADH – Riyadh has spent billions to try to turn itself into a hub for electric vehicles and overcome obstacles including a lack of infrastructure, talent and raw materials, as it seeks to catch up in the global race to reap the profits of the new industry.As part of a broader plan by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to wean the economy off oil and create jobs, the […]

[ad_1] MELBOURNE – Aryna Sabalenka won her second Australian Open title in emphatic style on Saturday and hailed her team of coaches for making life a little "crazy" off the court to ease the pressure that comes with elite level tennis.The Belarusian became the first woman since her compatriot Victoria Azarenka in 2013 to retain the title after pummeling China's Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena to win […]

[ad_1] Sendai – Unbeknownst to many, there is an old, withering tree in the city of Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, that remains standing nearly 13 years after miraculously saving the lives of eight residents after they climbed its branches to escape an impending tsunami following the March 2011 earthquake.Keiko Onodera, 62, a local resident who lost her father to the disaster, has written a story that frames the life-saving Japanese zelkova […]

[ad_1] Tokyo District Court on Friday ordered rakugo storyteller Sanyutei Enka IV to pay ¥800,000 in damages over power harassment against a former pupil. Bajaku Yoshiwara, who was studying the art of traditional Japanese storytelling under Sanyutei Enka IV at the time, sought ¥3 million in compensation in the lawsuit against his former master, claiming that he had been subject to assault and verbal abuse. "Simply put, this is a […]

[ad_1] Shanghai / Hong Kong – Dylan Run, a Shanghai-based finance sector executive, started moving a bit of his money into cryptocurrencies in early 2023, when he realized that the Chinese economy and its stock markets were declining.Crypto trading and mining has been banned in China since 2021. Run used bank cards issued by small rural commercial banks to buy cryptocurrencies through grey-market dealers, and capped each transaction at 50,000 […]