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[ad_1] Kashihara, Nara Pref. – Almost four decades ago, a phantom creature of ancient Japanese folklore captured the public imagination in a craze that would rival sightings of Scotland's Loch Ness Monster.It began with a remote western village appealing to the rest of the country for volunteers to join a hunt for a snake-like being called the "tsuchinoko." A feverish but short-lived boom followed with offers of cash prizes that […]

[ad_1] Singapore’s Transport Minister Subramaniam Iswaran has resigned after being charged with corruption in the biggest political scandal in almost four decades, which has cast a pall on the city-state known for clean governance.Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong accepted Iswaran’s resignation as a cabinet minister and lawmaker, according to a statement from Lee’s office. Iswaran, who’s out on bail, rejected the 27 charges against him, including allegedly obtaining tickets to […]

[ad_1] TEL AVIV – Life in Tel Aviv appears normal for Rhona Ukrainsky three months after Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7, but the pain and fear are just under the surface, causing her to cry when the subject is mentioned and flinch when she hears a loud noise.The trauma inflicted by the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust has not faded. She feels distraught over the hatred […]

[ad_1] The NFL playoffs have already delivered high-stakes moments around a simple decision: After a touchdown, should your team kick for 1 point, or go for 2?The 2-point try — where teams get to run one play to score from the 2-yard line — was initially a hit with coaches when it was introduced to the NFL in 1994, but its popularity soon faded. In recent seasons, that trend has […]

[ad_1] Previewing Japanese films for any given year is partly an exercise in deja vu — I’ve seen these movies before, or rather ones very much like them. This is especially true of Toho, the studio, distributor and exhibitor that towers over its competition like its iconic character, Godzilla.Toho’s lineup for 2024, features many familiar franchises and genres, which will doubtless produce most of the year’s biggest box-office hits for […]

[ad_1] Two-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes will finally face rabid, boisterous and unfriendly fans in a postseason setting.Mahomes, who is in his sixth season as a starting quarterback, will play his first road playoff game on Sunday night when his Kansas City Chiefs face the Buffalo Bills in the AFC divisional round in Orchard Park, New York.Mahomes has played 12 playoff games at home during his career, but has […]

[ad_1] The Philippines plans to propose the creation of a Southeast Asian regulatory framework to set rules on artificial intelligence (AI), based on the country's own draft legislation, the speaker of its Congress said on Wednesday.At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Martin Romualdez said on that the Philippines would present a legal framework to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) when it chairs the bloc in 2026."We'd like […]

[ad_1] Thirty-eight thousand nine hundred fifteen point eight-seven.It’s a number seared into the mind of any long-term Japan stock-watcher: The Nikkei 225’s all-time high, recorded on the last trading day of 1989. The nation’s economic bubble had already begun to burst and early that next year the index tumbled. The S&P 500 has gained some 1,200% since then, while the Nikkei has yet to scale those heights once more.But after […]