The U.S. and Japan bolstered ties
Throughout a pomp-filled ceremony on the White Home, President Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan stated their nations would improve their cooperation as a part of worldwide efforts to counter China’s aggression.
Biden stated that the U.S. and Japan would create an expanded protection structure with Australia, take part in three-way army workouts with Britain and discover methods for Japan to affix a U.S.-led coalition with these two nations.
Financial and local weather initiatives additionally figured prominently on the agenda. Biden additionally introduced {that a} Japanese astronaut would go to the moon as a part of NASA’s Artemis program, which might be the primary time a non-American had stepped on the lunar floor. (A later assertion clarified that two Japanese astronauts may be a part of this system.)
The day ended with an elaborate state dinner, an honor reserved for less than the closest U.S. allies. It featured a efficiency by Paul Simon and a visitor record that included Invoice and Hillary Clinton and the Olympian determine skater Kristi Yamaguchi.
Subtext: The go to got here amid hand-wringing in Washington and Tokyo about the potential of a return to energy by Donald Trump, whose unpredictable overseas coverage as president saved many world leaders on edge. One purpose of the summit, officers stated, was to strengthen the connection with Japan earlier than the election.
South Korean chief’s social gathering crushed in parliamentary elections
Voters handed President Yoon Suk Yeol and his social gathering a bruising defeat in parliamentary elections, giving the opposition one in every of its largest electoral victories in current a long time. Now, Yoon is going through the potential of changing into a lame duck for the rest of his single five-year time period.
It appeared that the opposition Democratic Get together, together with a celebration allied to it, would win way over half of the 300 seats within the Nationwide Meeting. The Democratic Get together’s candidate for president, Lee Jae-myung, narrowly misplaced to Yoon in 2022. Yoon’s Folks Energy Get together and its satellite tv for pc social gathering had been anticipated to win greater than 100 seats, based on The Related Press. Last official outcomes are anticipated later in the present day.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and all of Yoon’s senior advisers, besides these accountable for safety points, have supplied to resign, The A.P. reported. Yoon’s workplace didn’t instantly say whether or not the resignations had been accepted.
Missteps by Yoon and opposition management of Parliament have stalled his business-friendly home agenda, and his objectives will stay imperiled by the lopsided election outcomes. In distinction, Lee, who hopes to run for president once more in 2027, is more likely to get an enormous push from the election.
Israeli floor troops have largely pulled out of Gaza, however Israel nonetheless conducts airstrikes throughout the territory. The Israeli army confirmed the deaths, noting that the three sons had been Hamas army operatives.
“The enemy is delusional if it thinks that by killing my kids, we are going to change our positions,” stated Haniyeh, who leads Hamas’s political bureau from exile and has been engaged cease-fire negotiations which have stalled, in an announcement.
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That’s one essay query on a check for folks making use of to work as artificial-intelligence tutors — that’s, contractors paid to coach A.I. fashions. As A.I. know-how has change into extra refined, so have the roles of those that should painstakingly train the programs, which means that yesterday’s photograph tagger is in the present day’s essay author.
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ARTS AND IDEAS
Is free the correct value for a soccer recreation?
Final November, Paris F.C. grew to become residence to an unlikely revolution by saying that it was principally eliminating ticket costs for the remainder of the season. The experiment raised the query of whether or not followers should pay to see a recreation, or — in an period when soccer, like all sports activities, is a tv enterprise — whether or not observers in a stadium are a part of the manufacturing.
The transfer amounted to a advertising and marketing technique, because the tickets price solely about $6, and Paris F.C. has lengthy trailed Paris St.-Germain because the Metropolis of Mild’s favourite workforce. Months later, most metrics counsel the gambit has labored.
That’s it for in the present day’s briefing. Thanks for spending a part of your morning with us, and see you tomorrow. — Dan
You’ll be able to attain Dan and the workforce at briefing@nytimes.com.