Cardinal Stephen Chow, the bishop of Hong Kong, speaks during Mass in Hong Kong in November 2023. During the opening Mass a three-day event to draft guidelines for the clergy's use of artificial intelligence in the region Asia, he described AI as a gift from God. | REUTERS Catholic bishops and priests from across Asia are set to conclude a three-day event in Hong Kong on Friday, during which they drafted guidelines for the clergy's use of artificial intelligence in the region. The Federation of Asian Bishops -- a 55-year-old institution that includes representatives from across the region, including Indonesia, Taiwan, Sri Lanka and Japan -- discussed AI and its impact on humanity, the church, and how it can serve as a tool to conduct scripture searches. They also discussed the principles for use of AI in evangelization. The theme of the meetings was a call to embrace AI responsibly.

'Children's cafeterias' in Japan hit record 12,601 sites, survey reveals The number of children's cafeterias that provide free or low-cost meals mainly to children in need in Japan rose by more than 1,700 from the previous fiscal year, according to a survey by a nonprofit organization. The number of children's cafeterias, which provide free or low-cost meals mainly to children in need in Japan, has reached a record 12,601 this fiscal year, according to a survey by a nonprofit organization. The total rose by more than 1,700 from the previous fiscal year, said the survey released Thursday by Musubie, a Tokyo-based nonprofit supporting kodomo shokudō programs nationwide. The nonprofit organization said the expansion reflected efforts by central and local governments to create comfortable spaces for children. We aim to create an environment that makes it easier to start and sustain kodomo shokudō programs, Musubie head Rie Mishima said at a news conference.

Abrego Garcia released as U.S. bid to detain him ruled'constitutionally infirm' Salvadoran migrant and U.S. resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia arrives at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Maryland, on Aug. 25. A federal judge in Maryland has ordered the immediate release of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant at the center of political and legal battles as a symbol of U.S. President Donald Trump's hard-line immigration policies. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis held on Thursday that U.S. officials lacked legal grounds to keep Abrego Garcia in custody and that his ongoing detention appeared to be "constitutionally infirm." Abrego Garcia has been fighting Trump administration efforts to deport him while also defending against human smuggling charges in Tennessee. U.S. officials' latest plan had been to send him to Liberia, but a judge has blocked that for now.

All 50 economists expect the Bank of Japan to raise its benchmark rate to 0.75% at a policy meeting set to conclude next Friday, a Bloomberg survey of BOJ watchers found. The Bank of Japan will raise its policy interest rate next week, resuming a hiking cycle for the first time since January, according to a Bloomberg survey of BOJ watchers. All 50 economists expect the central bank to raise its benchmark rate to 0.75% at a policy meeting set to conclude next Friday, according to the poll. This is the first time every respondent has predicted a rate shift under Gov. Kazuo Ueda's watch. The BOJ is expected to restart the cycle of hikes after pausing for months to assess the impact from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff campaign.

Magnitude 6.7 quake off Aomori triggers tsunami advisory Areas under a tsunami advisory are shown in yellow following a magnitude 6.7 earthquake on Friday | JAPAN METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY A magnitude 6.7 earthquake triggered a tsunami advisory for parts of Hokkaido as well as the coasts of Aomori, Iwate and Miyagi prefectures on Friday. The quake struck at 11:44 a.m., registering 4 on Japan's seismic intensity scale in some areas. Waves of up to 1 meter are possible in areas under the advisory, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). A tsunami advisory, a level lower than a tsunami warning, urges those in the area to stay away from the ocean. Evacuation is not required under an advisory.

OpenAI and its investor Microsoft have been sued over a Connecticut murder-suicide in the latest case to blame ChatGPT for dangerous psychological manipulation of users. OpenAI and its investor, Microsoft, have been sued over a Connecticut murder-suicide in the latest case to blame the popular ChatGPT chatbot for dangerous psychological manipulation of users. The lawsuit turns on the actions of a 56-year-old man who lived with his 83-year-old mother in Greenwich, Connecticut, and had been conversing for months with the chatbot over his fear that he was under surveillance and people were trying to kill him. In August, according to police and the state medical examiner, Stein-Erik Soelberg killed his mother, Suzanne Adams, then took his own life. Soelberg's dialogue with ChatGPT convinced him that he had made the chatbot conscious, and that he had been implanted with a "divine instrument system" in his neck and brain, which related to a "divine mission," according to a complaint filed Thursday in California Superior Court in San Francisco, where OpenAI is based.

Flags flutter as soldiers participate in a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Beijing in September. The maiden flight of the unmanned Jiutian drone mothership has highlighted its advances in unmanned aerial vehicles capable of unleashing weaponized swarms. China conducted the maiden flight of what is considered to be the world's largest drone mothership, underscoring its advances in unmanned aerial vehicles capable of unleashing weaponized swarms. The unmanned Jiutian completed its first mission in the northwestern province of Shaanxi, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Thursday without elaborating. The aerial vehicle has been likened to an aircraft carrier for its ability to host multiple drones and missiles.

A woman and her relatives look at her home, which was damaged during a night of Russian missile and drone strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Novi Petrivtsi, outside Kyiv, on Saturday. Microchip manufacturers Intel, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Texas Instruments were accused in a series of lawsuits of failing to keep their technology out of Russian-made weapons used to kill and wound civilians in Ukraine. Those companies -- along with a company owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway -- demonstrated willful ignorance" as third parties resold restricted chips to Russia to power drones and missiles in violation of U.S. sanctions, according to one of the five suits, filed Wednesday in state court in Texas. The lawsuits, filed on behalf of dozens of Ukrainian civilians by Mikal Watts and prominent law firm Baker & Hostetler, cite five attacks between 2023 and 2025 that killed dozens of people. One attack allegedly involved Iranian-made drones with components associated with Intel and AMD, while the others involved Russian-made KH-101 cruise missiles and Iskander ballistic missiles.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a conference following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, at the U.S. Federal Reserve in Washington on Wednesday. Washington - The Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Wednesday in another divided vote, but signaled it will likely pause further reductions in borrowing costs as the U.S. central bank looks for clearer signals about the direction of the job market and inflation that remains somewhat elevated. New projections issued after the Fed's two-day meeting showed the median policymaker sees just one quarter-percentage-point cut in 2026, the same outlook as in September, with inflation expected to slow to around 2.4% by the end of next year even as economic growth accelerates to an above-trend 2.3% and the unemployment rate remains at a moderate 4.4%. In considering the extent and timing of additional adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Committee will carefully assess incoming data, the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee said in language that in the past has been used to signal a pause in policy actions -- an outlook at odds with market expectations, which remained locked into two rate cuts next year even after the Fed issued its statement. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

A drone flies over a railroad track during a trial in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Tuesday. It was the first drone flight above a railroad track out of the sight of an operator in an inhabited area in the country. The test was conducted jointly with Deloitte Tohmatsu. Sagawa Express and East Japan Railway cooperated with the test. The drone flew in an area of 3.5 kilometers from east to west by 2.4 kilometers from north to south.