Actors in Japanese military uniforms take pictures of each other while holding a flag demanding the return of uninhabited islets known as Senkaku isles in Japan, Diaoyu islands in China and Tiaoyutai in Taiwan, to China, during the filming of an anti-Japanese World War Two film at the Hengdian Film City in Zhejiang Province March 2, 2013. REUTERS/Aly Song

Why China's film makers love to hate Japan

HENGDIAN, China - Some directors have merged war dramas with semi-mystical, martial arts action where virtually unarmed Chinese slaughter platoons of hapless Japanese. Tokyo-bashing World War II dramas help underpin the Communist rule – but are raising tensions between East Asia’s giants.  Full Article | Slideshow 

Rockets hit south Beirut after Hezbollah vows Syria victory 4:43am EDT

BEIRUT - Two rockets hit a Shi'ite Muslim district of southern Beirut on Sunday and wounded several people, residents said, a day after the leader of Lebanese Shi'ite militant movement Hezbollah said his group would continue fighting in Syria until victory.

Graduating cadets stand in formation as they arrive for graduation ceremonies at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, May 25, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Segar

Hagel calls sexual assault a 'scourge' on military

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called sexual assault a "scourge" as he addressed graduates of the Military Academy at West Point, where a sergeant stands accused of videotaping female cadets in the showers.  Full Article 

Artist Gretchen Baer paints on a fence marking the U.S. border in Naco, Mexico April 17, 2013. REUTERS/Tim Gaynor

U.S.-Mexico neighbors reach across the fence

NACO, Mexico - As the United States pushes for tighter security along the Mexico border as part of efforts to overhaul immigration laws, residents on either side of the fence in southeast Arizona are taking the unusual step of working to strengthen neighborly ties.  Full Article 

A sushi chef serves sushi of high-quality fatty Atlantic bluefin tuna or "o-toro sushi nigiri" at a sushi restaurant in Tokyo March 18, 2010. REUTERS/Issei Kato

The sushi indicator: Tuna tells economy's tale

TOKYO - Investors in Japan might keep a close eye on sales of the homely horse mackerel as an early warning of any trouble ahead. Luckily, in the more confident Japan of 2013, tuna remains king.  Full Article 

The moon is pictured above Earth in this handout photo courtesy of Col. Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency. REUTERS/CSA/Col. Chris Hadfield/Handout

Ventures planned for the moon: NASA study

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida - Corporate researchers may be living on the moon by the time NASA astronauts head off to visit an asteroid in the 2020s, a study of future human missions shows.  Full Article 

Kuwaiti graphic designer Mohammad Sharaf talks about his work in his office in Hawalli, May 1, 2013. REUTERS/Stephanie McGehee

Young faces enliven Kuwait's faded art scene

KUWAIT - After two lackluster decades, Kuwait is experiencing a quiet revival of an arts scene once known as the most avant garde in the Gulf, thanks to a new generation eager to tackle sensitive issues using cutting-edge art forms.  Full Article 

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish bride Hannah Batya Penet dances with her relative during a wedding ceremony in Jerusalem, early morning May 22, 2013.  REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

The reality of a grand Hasidic wedding

JERUSALEM - Coming back home at 5 am, I was just beginning to digest the grand event I was lucky to witness and cover: the wedding of the grandson of one of the most influential spiritual leaders in Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community.  Full Article 

Jack Shafer

What war on the press?

The Obama administration's legal battering of the press, while real, hardly rises to the level of war. The leak crackdown - and there has been one - has been mostly on the supply side, in the bureaucracy where the government leakers dwell, and not the demand side in newsrooms.  Commentary 

Zachary Karabell

Two cheers for the tech industry's goofy energy

It’s easy to dismiss Internet ecosystems as froth, whether in New York or Silicon Valley. Yet optimism and ambition are not just heady. They are essential for constructive change.  Commentary 

Reihan Salam

Obama's legacy could be moral, not political

Lately Obama seems like he's playing defense. One possible alternative, hinted at in a recent speech, is that Obama might take advantage of his prestige and moral authority to make the case for stronger American families.  Commentary 

David Rohde

Changing Assad’s calculus

Even as the international community discusses 'grand strategy,' Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is taking decisive action.  Commentary 

Chrystia Freeland

Some cracks in the technocrat cult

We are living in the age of the technocrats, but there are sound reasons why not to rely mechanically on technocratic solutions. That’s why it is worth reading a new paper by Daron Acemoglu of MIT and James Robinson of Harvard University.  Commentary 

Nicholas Wapshott

Lessons of the London butchers

The cases of the butchers of London and the Boston bombers raise an even more fundamental question: What exactly is terrorism? Since 9/11, the central management of al Qaeda’s operation has been defeated and the duty to continue the Islamist fight has passed to individual jihadists.  Commentary