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Mariejo Ramos
Rescuers near the rubble of a building that was leveled by an Israeli airstrike in Abbassiyeh, Lebanon, on Friday.
WORLD
Oct 19, 2024
Foreign workers trapped and terrified amid conflict in Lebanon
The International Organization for Migration says Lebanon hosts more than 177,000 migrant workers, primarily from Africa and Asia.
A girl charges her phone at the Delpan Evacuation Center after Typhoon Kammuri hit Manila in December 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Oct 7, 2024
Crowd-sourcing data could help Philippines tackle deadly floods
The Philippines is hit by around 20 large storms every year and, due to climate change, that is expected to only get worse.
An oil slick in the waters off the coast of Manila Bay, in Pamarawan, Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines, on July 29.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 14, 2024
Philippine fishers call for justice after oil tanker sinks
The largest oil spill in the country since 2006 prompted the government to impose a fishing ban that has pushed the industry toward debt and hunger.
Local miners collect small rocks as they mine for gold in Benguet province in the northern Philippines.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 1, 2024
Toxic, deadly, cheap: Life for women gold miners in the Philippines
One in three of the illegal mining workforce is female — and women are 90 times more at risk of dying on the job than men.
A fisher on his way to inspect fish pens in Laguna Lake in the Philippines. About 13,000 people depend on the lake for their livelihoods, according to the Laguna Lake Development Authority.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Aug 12, 2024
Philippines fishers worry solar farm on lake will hurt incomes
A group of fishers is opposed to the government's plan to place solar panels atop Laguna de Bay, one of the country's biggest sources of freshwater fish.
Children use a mobile shower, provided by the local government, amid extreme heat in metro Manila on May 2.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 6, 2024
From the Philippines to Mali, countries fail to count deaths from extreme heat
A lack of reliable data is undermining efforts to mitigate the risk of extreme heat and provide better protection for the most vulnerable.
People wade through a flooded road in Balagtas, Bulacan province, Philippines, on July 29, 2023.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 12, 2024
Hell or high water: Filipino schools lashed by climate extremes
The state weather bureau has said the country is likely to experience more tropical cyclones in 2024 due to the potential return of the La Nina weather phenomenon.
Migrant workers harvest and package vegetables in a greenhouse in Gasan-myeon, South Korea, in December 2023. Though a shrinking population makes imported labor vital, migrant workers routinely face predatory employers, inhumane conditions and other abuse.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jun 11, 2024
South Korea accused of 'human trafficking' with seasonal worker program
Filipino workers say brokers charge excessive fees to find them back-breaking work, confiscate their passports and documents, and cheat them out of wages.
Filipino parents and children. In public schools in Metro Manila, a survey of more than 8,000 teachers last month showed 87% of students had suffered from heat-related conditions.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Apr 25, 2024
First COVID, now heat: Online schooling returns to the Philippines
Pupils at 7,000 public schools in the country were sent home last week due to unusually hot weather.
Globally, the area covered by mines has doubled over the past three years, driven by demand for critical minerals, according to a 2023 study.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 25, 2024
For mineral-rich Philippines, green metals rush is a balancing act
The county has the world's fourth-largest copper reserves, fifth-biggest nickel deposits and is also rich in cobalt — which are important for clean energy.
Vehicles and pedestrians by the intersection of Burgos and Real streets in Tacloban city, Leyte province, the Philippines, on Oct. 12.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Nov 6, 2023
Sex trafficking plagues Philippine city where typhoon wrought havoc
Typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 6,000 people and displaced millions, triggered a humanitarian crisis that provided fertile ground for traffickers.
Coffins carrying bodies of Thai migrant agricultural workers who were killed in an attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel, arrive at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand, on Oct. 20
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Oct 31, 2023
Stay or leave? Israel's migrant workers face tough choices
While many migrant workers fear for their safety if they stay in Israel, some said they cannot afford to give up their jobs.
A community health worker speaks during a meeting with pregnant teenagers, teen mothers and their partners, in Navotas, Metro Manila, in 2016.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Oct 28, 2023
Can new law help tackle Philippines' teen pregnancy emergency?
The costs of teen pregnancies in the country are high, with around 30% of the population now under 15 years old.
A Filipino woman looks at pictures of fellow wartime survivors of sexual servitude at a resource center, in Quezon city, Manila, in August 2015.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 25, 2023
For Filipino wartime rape survivors, a last hope for reparations
For the few remaining elderly survivors, the reparations demand issued by a U.N. committee earlier this year is realistically their last hope.
A fisherman rows his boat ashore in Cochin, Kerala, India.
ENVIRONMENT / Oceans
Sep 6, 2023
India bets on seaweed's future as food industry appetite grows
Grains are the backbone of food security in India, but seaweed advocates trumpet its dietary benefits, diverse uses in processed foods and sustainability.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jul 12, 2023
Activists in the Philippines fight back as online threats rise
The Philippines ranks second — after Mongolia — among countries most plagued by web threats worldwide, according to a 2022 report from global cybersecurity company Kaspersky.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 17, 2023
Coding to training: Philippines tackles online child sexual abuse
Inside an unmarked building in a Manila business district, a war is being waged 24/7 against dark and mostly hidden crimes — the online sexual abuse and exploitation of children.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 20, 2023
AI boom is dream and nightmare for workers in developing countries
For workers labeling the text, images, video and audio needed for AI services, lax labor regulations and low wages are the norm, tech experts say.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 28, 2023
As Philippines scraps jeepney buses, operators struggle with costs
The government has ordered replacement of the beloved but elderly utility vehicles with greener, safer models.

Longform

The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?