Search - 2016

 
 
Beijing's push to integrate core socialist values into its chatbots highlights a significant challenge in China's bid to compete with the U.S. in AI development.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2024

What's wrong about ‘Chat XiPT’ is bigger than China

The difficulty of creating AI models infused with specific values will likely hurt China’s efforts to create chatbots as sophisticated as those in the U.S.
Flavor Flav is at the Paris Games as the hype man for the U.S. water polo team.
OLYMPICS
Jul 26, 2024

Hip-hop legend Flavor Flav relishes role as hype man for U.S. water polo team

The rapper is using his fame to help support the U.S. team.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama embraces Vice President Kamala Harris while arriving to speak on the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid in the East Room of the White House in Washington in April  2022.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 27, 2024

Harris to lean on tight team and Obama staff in White House run

Here’s a look at the people in her orbit as she moves to reshape the campaign and form the nucleus of a potential new administration.
American gold medalists Jack Alexy, Chris Guiliano, Hunter Armstrong and Caeleb Dressel celebrate after winning the 4x100-meter freestyle relay on Saturday at the Paris Olympics.
OLYMPICS / Swimming
Jul 28, 2024

Winning gold 'doesn't get old' for Dressel after American clinches eighth

The United States beat Australia and Italy to win the 4x100-meter freestyle at La Defense Arena on Saturday.
The latest research indicates that heat stress is likely to worsen the condition of people with Alzheimer’s disease — which accounts for over half of all dementia cases in Japan — by making them more irritated or exacerbating their cognitive decline.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Boiling Point
Jul 29, 2024

For aging Japan, a troubling link between heat and dementia

The latest research indicates that heat can exacerbate cognitive decline and worsen dementia symptoms.
American Simone Biles competes in the floor exercise during gymnastics qualifiers on Sunday at the Paris Olympics.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Jul 29, 2024

Biles dazzles in Paris Olympics debut despite injury scare

The American, aiming to add to the four gold medals she won in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, tweaked her left calf during warm-ups but still managed to shine.
Students in Bangladesh have faced a crackdown against protests demanding an end to the quota system for public jobs. Despite a scaling back of the system, more needs to be done to address their woes.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 29, 2024

An Arab Spring for Bangladesh?

Student protests in Bangladesh against the quota system for public jobs could help restore democracy by bringing down Prime Minister Hasina's violent rule.
Bereaved family members make soap bubbles to mourn for the victims of the 2014 Mount Ontake eruption during a memorial climb on the mountain, which straddles Nagano and Gifu prefectures, on Sunday.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 2024

Bereaved families climb Mount Ontake ahead of 10th eruption anniversary

At the Kengamine peak, they observed a moment of silence at 11:52 a.m., the same time the eruption occurred on Sept. 27, 2014.
Team Japan celebrates after winning gold in the men's team gymnastics event at the Paris Olympics on Monday.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Jul 30, 2024

Japan rallies past China to win gold in men's team gymnastics

Hashimoto completed the comeback in the team event with a golden performance on the horizontal barJapan passed China in the final rotation to win gold.
Inscriptions on a disaster monument in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture (left), can be seen clearly when illuminated using a smartphone app "Hikari Takuhon" developed by researcher Hideyuki Uesugi.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jul 30, 2024

Number of natural disaster monuments on state map increasing in Japan

Stone monuments inscribed with descriptions of the damage caused by past natural disasters and lessons from forerunners have been erected since ancient times.
The U.S. Capitol building stands past visitors taking photographs at the Washington Monument in Washington in 2017.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 30, 2024

Russia, Iran and China all seek to shape U.S. election, officials say

Some U.S. citizens have been knowingly helping foreign governments shape the election narrative while others have been tricked into helping.
The Maersk Launcher, a ship chartered by The Metals Company, carries seabed samples from the remote Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean on June 7, 2021.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Jul 30, 2024

The future of deep sea mining hinges on a contentious election

The vote will determine whether companies can begin strip-mining the world’s oceans for critical metals despite concerns about the impacts.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris might maintain some of the economic policies of former President Donald Trump.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jul 30, 2024

A President Harris might be decidedly Trumpy in approach to Asia trade

The efforts to contain China economically is a common theme that is likely to be maintained after the election.
Traditional soap cakes are manufactured in Aleppo in northern Syria in February.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 31, 2024

Japanese importer fights to preserve traditional Aleppo soap

It is said that Aleppo has upheld the tradition of soapmaking for approximately 1,000 years, using olive and laurel oil with alkali made from charcoaled desert shrubs.
Teammates swarm Daiki Hashimoto after his gold medal-clinching performance on the horizontal bar on Monday.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Jul 31, 2024

How Japan's gymnasts picked each other up and toppled China

With hope of a gold medal fading, the Japanese men's gymnastics team rallied around each other and simply refused to give up.
Medalists in the mixed doubles Olympic table tennis competition take a selfie on the podium on Tuesday in Paris.
OLYMPICS
Jul 31, 2024

North-South Korea Olympic podium selfie goes viral

After South Korea won bronze and North Korea silver in the mixed doubles table tennis, South Korea's Lim Jong-hoon took a group photo after the medal ceremony.
The world needs a smaller, more focused Olympics to ensure sustainability and relevance amid changing global conditions.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 31, 2024

Olympics host cities don’t belong on a warming planet

The world needs a smaller, more focused Olympics to ensure sustainability and relevance amid changing global conditions.
Japan's Shinnosuke Oka celebrates after winning the artistic gymnastics men's all-around final at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Aug 1, 2024

Shinnosuke Oka holds off Chinese duo to claim all-around gold in Paris

Defending champion Daiki Hashimoto, who hasn't looked like himself in Paris, finished sixth.
Japan midfielder Yui Hasegawa is challenged by Nigeria's Rasheedat Ajibade during their Olympic group stage match on Wednesday.
OLYMPICS
Aug 1, 2024

Japan to face U.S. in women's soccer after both nations advance

Japan finished second in its group after beating Nigeria 3-1 in Nantes, with Maika Hamano, Mina Tanaka and Hikaru Kitagawa scoring goals.
A Samsung HBM chip
WORLD / Politics
Aug 1, 2024

U.S. weighs restrictions on China’s access to AI memory chips

The new restrictions are likely to be unveiled as soon as late August as part of a broader package that also includes sanctions against over 120 Chinese firms.
Then U.S. President Donald Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea, on June 30, 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 1, 2024

North Korea wants to restart nuclear talks if Trump wins, says ex-diplomat

The former diplomat said North Korea has also set Russia, the U.S. and Japan as its top foreign policy priorities.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida (left) and Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe hold a joint news conference in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 1, 2024

Honda and Nissan to tighten ties on software, batteries and EV knowhow

Honda and Nissan sales fell about 40% and 27%, respectively, in June alone in China following the shutdown of some of their local plants.
Hideki Matsuyama in action during the first round of the Olympic men's golf tournament in Guyancourt, France, on Thursday.
OLYMPICS / Golf
Aug 2, 2024

Matsuyama leads Schauffele as golfers hail Olympic experience

Former Masters champion Matsuyama is looking to making the podium after missing out on a bronze medal in a playoff three years ago at the Tokyo Games.
Britain's Andy Murray says goodbye after he and teammate Dan Evans lost their men's doubles quarterfinal on Thursday.
OLYMPICS / Tennis
Aug 2, 2024

'Proud' Murray bows out of tennis with Paris Olympics defeat

The former world No. 1 and three-time Grand Slam title winner slipped into retirement at age 37 when he and Dan Evans lost in the men's doubles quarterfinals.
Algeria's Imane Khelif (left) punches Italy's Angela Carini in the women's 66-kg last 16 bout at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.
OLYMPICS / Boxing
Aug 2, 2024

Italian boxer quits bout, sparking furor over gender at Olympics

The issue has become the latest flashpoint in the politically charged debate over gender and fair play in sports.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, speaks during an interview at a conference for Black journalists in Chicago on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 2, 2024

Trump faces backlash over comments on Harris' racial identity

Donald Trump's comments came as he attacked Kamala Harris during a combative interaction with African American journalists in Chicago.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida (left) and Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe shake hands prior to a joint news conference in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 2, 2024

Honda-Nissan alliance completes Japan car industry consolidation

The carmakers' cozying up to one another follows Toyota acquiring stakes in Subaru, Suzuki and Mazda.
Temperatures are soaring across Japan, making getting to sleep at night a constant battle between your body and the right setting for your air conditioner to help you nod off.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Boiling Point
Aug 2, 2024

An ideal AC temperature for sleep? Science says yes ... and no.

Keeping your room at 26 degrees Celsius can help you sleep through summer’s steamy nights — but how long should you leave the AC on?
Gold medal-winning judoka Teddy Riner of France celebrates his victory at the Paris Olympics in the French capital on Friday.
OLYMPICS / Judo
Aug 3, 2024

France's Teddy Riner reigns supreme with record fourth gold

The judoka now has three individual titles — a record shared with Japan's Tadahiro Nomura, who won three consecutive titles in the -60kg category in 1996, 2000 and 2004.
General-Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President To Lam speaks during a news conference at the National Convention Center in Hanoi on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 3, 2024

Vietnam's Communist Party names To Lam top leader

The Communist Party elected Lam as general secretary in the morning, making him the most powerful figure in Vietnam's leadership structure.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan