Japan's internal affairs industry may introduce artificial intelligence agents at local governments facing labor shortages. Japan's internal affairs ministry has begun considering the introduction of artificial intelligence agents to autonomously perform tasks at local governments facing labor shortages. On Thursday, the ministry held the first meeting of a related study group consisting of relevant experts and local government officials to discuss which tasks could be assigned to AI agents and how local government employees could manage them. The group will compile an interim report by the end of fiscal 2026 and aim to release its final report around summer 2027. According to the ministry, 74% of the country's local governments were using AI in some form as of October 2025. While AI tools to classify data and make predictions and those to generate text and images based on prompts were commonly used, AI agents were rarely used, except in trials at some organizations.

Ukraine creates'long-range' command to step up strikes on Russia Ukrainian uncrewed aerial vehicles hit what the Ukranian military say was a Russian tanker during a strike at a location given as Sea of Azov in this screenshot taken from video released Thursday. Kyiv - Ukraine is setting up a "long-range impact" command within its armed forces, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as Kyiv's campaign against Russian energy and logistics has forced Moscow to ban diesel exports and restrict shipping near the Sea of Azov, which abuts the Black Sea. For months, Ukrainian attack drones have been targeting key energy infrastructure thousands of kilometers across Russia in what Kyiv casts as long-range sanctions against the primary contributor to Russia's state budget, backing its war effort. In recent weeks, Ukraine has reported strikes almost daily, with officials saying it is only fair to bring the war to Russia more than four years since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the Microsoft Build conference at the Seattle Convention Center Summit Building in Seattle in May 2024. Apple sued OpenAI for trade secret theft, accusing the artificial intelligence startup and its hardware chief of engaging in a coordinated campaign to steal information about upcoming products. The iPhone maker said in a suit Friday that OpenAI encouraged Apple employees to share information, components, drawings and other materials related to upcoming products -- part of efforts by the AI company to develop its own suite of devices. As part of the litigation, filed in the Northern District of California, Apple also named Tang Tan, the chief hardware officer at OpenAI. He was previously Apple's vice president of product design, leading development of the iPhone, smartwatch, AirPods and several other offerings in the company's hardware engineering division. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

Smoke rises from an oil refinery following a Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow last month. Kremlin insiders say recent Ukrainian strikes have strengthened Russian President Vladimir Putin's resolve to keep fighting. Russian President Vladimir Putin is rejecting calls to negotiate peace with Kyiv, three sources close to the Kremlin said, with Ukraine's recent drone strikes on Russia's oil refineries and ports strengthening his resolve to keep fighting for now. Two of the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Putin was instead likely to escalate the conflict, now well into its fifth year. One of them, who meets regularly with the president, described a "high probability" of escalation in the coming months.

Since their listing in 2024, Kioxia's shares have surged on runaway demand for AI memory chips. Bain Capital has sold its entire stake in flash memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings, closing a chapter on a deal that's transformed the Japanese tech and investment landscape. "We don't have a stake any more in Kioxia," Bain Managing Partner David Gross said in an interview. The U.S. private equity firm has logged record-setting returns after a global spending spree on AI catapulted Kioxia's shares more than 4,800% from their debut, transforming the chipmaker into one of Japan's most valuable companies. "It's worked spectacularly for all the stakeholders involved," Gross said.

China had previously restricted the import of Nvidia's H200 chips on concerns that a flood of American-designed AI processors would hinder the government's long-held goal of developing an indigenous chip industry. China plans to allow its top artificial intelligence companies to buy a limited number of H200 chips from Nvidia, a sign the country is easing restrictions on the coveted U.S. technology, according to The Information news site. Chinese officials have informed companies such as Alibaba Group Holding, ByteDance and DeepSeek that they will have permission to purchase some of the processors, which are used to develop AI models, the news site said Wednesday. The companies need to say how many chips they need -- and why -- to get approval, according to The Information. The chips have emerged as a geopolitical flash point for the world's two largest economies.

Japan's Terra Drone plans to set up a system enabling domestic production of up to tens of thousands of interceptor drones a year, the company's head, Toru Tokushige, said in a recent interview. As well as domestic development for such defense drones, the Tokyo-based company aims to speed up work to establish supply chains that do not rely on imports by promoting the development and production of drone components at home. In March, Terra Drone announced its full-scale entry into the defense drone market, in addition to civilian-use drones. As part of the move, the company has acquired two Ukrainian firms that develop interceptor drones. In Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Middle East conflict, cheap drones are said to have changed the concept of war by shooting down expensive missiles and attacking important enemy bases.

Russia tries to jam Musk's Starlink systems to counter Ukrainian drones Service members of the Sparta company of the 422nd Unmanned Systems Regiment Luftwaffe of the Ukrainian Armed Forces prepare a Zozulia midstrike drone for a flight while they work at a position near a front line in an undisclosed location in southern Ukraine. ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, Ukraine - Russian forces are trying to counter Ukrainian "midstrike" drone attacks by camouflaging cargoes and installing powerful jamming systems to disrupt Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet system, Ukrainian drone commanders and pilots said. Kyiv's development of "midstrike" drones that can hit targets dozens of kilometers behind front lines accurately and cheaply, and are often flown via Starlink, has transformed the war in Ukraine. In a concerted midstrike campaign this year, Ukraine has attacked supply lines, fuel storage facilities, air-defense installations and command centers, disrupting Russian forces' logistics and causing fuel shortages in Russian-occupied Crimea. But Russia is now developing many ways to try to counter the midrange strikes, four drone commanders and pilots told a Reuters crew that visited Ukraine's 422nd Unmanned Systems Regiment at work in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.

Iran targets sites in Bahrain, Kuwait after wave of U.S. strikes Security forces stand guard in front of a portrait of Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as mourners gather for a funeral procession in Najaf on Wednesday. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait on Wednesday after the U.S. launched a wave of military strikes on Iran in response to attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. In the latest blow to the fragile ceasefire agreement, the IRGC said it carried out a joint missile and drone operation against key U.S. military sites in Bandar Salman, Bahrain's Fifth Naval District and Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, and shot down a U.S. MQ-9 drone attempting to interfere in the operation. Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain and Kuwait, and the Kuwaiti army said air defenses were confronting "hostile" missile and drone attacks. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets her Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong at a bilateral meeting in Tokyo in March. Singapore - Japan and Singapore have signed a memorandum on cooperation to promote the peaceful use of space. The move came after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her Singaporean counterpart, Lawrence Wong, agreed at a meeting in Tokyo in March to upgrade the two countries' relations to a strategic partnership, and identified the space sector as a pillar of the partnership. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the National Space Agency of Singapore signed the memorandum Monday on the sidelines of the Spacetide 2026 international space business conference in Tokyo. The pact is the first bilateral agreement for NSAS.