Global warming danger zone

The Japanese general public's interest in the global warming issue has been sagging of late, and few LDP government leaders appear ready to try to prop it up.

Are we all blinded by our sense of beauty?

Are we all blinded by our sense of beauty?

by Stuart Munro

Sophie Calle is an enigma. She is an artist, writer, photographer and filmmaker yet doesn’t work exclusively in any of these areas. She has become famous for her work in photography but her objects and later films have drawn equal attention — work that ...

February 2013
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Feb 26, 2013

Park sworn in as first female South Korean leader

Park Geun Hye became South Korea’s first female president Monday, vowing zero tolerance of North Korean provocations and demanding Pyongyang “abandon its nuclear ambitions” immediately. As leader of Asia’s fourth-largest economy, Park, the 61-year-old daughter of late military strongman Park Chung Hee, faces challenges ...

Emotional pope celebrates final Sunday prayers

Feb 26, 2013

Emotional pope celebrates final Sunday prayers

Pope Benedict XVI delivered an emotional final Sunday prayer in St. Peter’s Square, saying God had told him to devote himself to quiet contemplation but pledging not to “abandon” the church. Tens of thousands of supporters turned out for Benedict’s weekly Angelus prayer, his ...

Masterful Day-Lewis makes Oscars history

Feb 26, 2013

Masterful Day-Lewis makes Oscars history

Ben Affleck’s Iran hostage crisis drama “Argo” won the coveted best film Oscar on Sunday at the 85th Academy Awards, Hollywood’s biggest night. Taiwan-born Ang Lee won best director for the 3-D fantasy spectacular “Life of Pi,” Daniel Day-Lewis took home an unprecedented third ...

Feb 26, 2013

Dollar climbs past ¥94 on BOJ news

The dollar climbed above ¥94 in Tokyo trading Monday on news that Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda, an advocate of bold monetary easing, is expected to be nominated to lead the Bank of Japan. At 5 p.m., the dollar was quoted at ¥94.12-17, ...

Banksy artwork pulled from U.S. sale

Feb 26, 2013

Banksy artwork pulled from U.S. sale

Artwork by British graffiti artist Banksy that appeared listed for auction in the U.S. after disappearing from a London wall earlier this month has been withdrawn from sale, a council official said Sunday. The mural is of a boy making Union Jack bunting on ...

Feb 26, 2013

Is the U.S. near a tipping point for government debt?

by Neil Irwin

How much debt can America handle? The question is one of the most fundamental the nation faces, and the answer should determine how the United States handles the delicate task of reducing budget deficits without walloping economic growth. A new paper argues that the ...

Feb 26, 2013

Firefox handset OS to challenge Google, Apple

Mozilla Foundation announced Sunday it will launch in midyear its Firefox operating system for smartphones in a direct challenge to the duopoly of Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. Mozilla, which campaigns for open development of the online world, showed off the first commercial version ...

Oil cash helps Turkmenistan turn capital into marble marvel

Feb 26, 2013

Oil cash helps Turkmenistan turn capital into marble marvel

In an extraordinary construction boom, the isolated Central Asian nation of Turkmenistan is spending billions of dollars on remodeling its capital, Ashgabat, into a gleaming white showpiece where even the curbs are made of marble. The gas-rich desert country says that the massive spending ...

Feb 26, 2013

Nikkei hits 52-month closing high on BOJ governor pick

Stocks scored robust gains Monday, inspired by a reported government selection of the Bank of Japan’s new chief and expectations of the country’s entry into Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade negotiations. The Nikkei 225 average improved by 276.58 points, or 2.43 percent, to finish at the ...

Feb 26, 2013

Aquino inks bill to pay victims of Marcos era

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III signed a landmark law Monday compensating human rights victims of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, 27 years after a bloodless “People Power” revolution ended his reign. Ten billion pesos ($244 million) will be distributed to potentially thousands of people who were ...

Feb 25, 2013

Tiny ancient continent found in Indian Ocean

Scientists have found traces of a micro-continent hidden underneath the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, they said in a report published Sunday. The slab, dubbed Mauritia, was probably formed around 61 million to 83 million years ago after Madagascar split from India, but eventually ...

China may tap former envoy to Japan for foreign minister slot

Feb 25, 2013

China may tap former envoy to Japan for foreign minister slot

China is considering former Ambassador to Japan Wang Yi, who currently heads the Taiwan Affairs Office, to replace outgoing Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, multiple Chinese government-related sources said. The consideration of a seasoned diplomat well-versed in Japanese affairs as China’s next foreign minister appears ...

Feb 25, 2013

Abe 'snubbed' by Obama on Senkaku issue: Chinese state media

China’s official media said Sunday that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, during talks with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on Friday, failed to secure explicit words of support for Japan amid its dispute with China over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. ...