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A Ukrainian ship in the Black Sea off the coast of Odesa in March 2022. Ukraine has issued a warning that commercial ships using any of six Russian Black Sea ports would be considered military targets.
WORLD
Aug 6, 2023

Ukraine drone hits second Russian ship in two days

Ukraine has issued a warning that commercial ships using any of six Russian Black Sea ports would be considered military targets.
A stock board at an intersection in Shanghai in October
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 6, 2023

China is losing out as global funds chase returns in Japan stocks

Foreign buying of Japanese equities has exceeded that of Chinese peers for the first time since 2017, according to a Goldman Sachs Group report.
Indian border security force soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint along a highway leading to Ladakh in Kashmir's Ganderbal district in June 2020.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 6, 2023

China-India border conflict holds lessons for Japan, too

India has learned that bilateral ties and economic interdependence do not constrain China's territorial ambitions. That is a lesson Japan should heed.
In 1990, there were five times as many men who had alcohol use disorder than women — now it’s two times, according to the director of a research institute on alcoholism and alcohol abuse.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2023

Women are drinking more alcohol and it’s killing them

Analysis of data from the CDC found that alcohol-related deaths among women increased by nearly 15% per year between 2018 and 2020.
Load and haul operations at Thungela's thermal coal mining operation, Isibonelo Colliery (formerly Anglo American), in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, in March 2019
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 1, 2023

Coal miners forced to insure themselves amid climate concerns

Dozens of insurers have announced restrictions on their cover for the coal industry, particularly for new projects
Journalists tour the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and the tanks that contain contaminated water on Aug. 27
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 6, 2023

We need to put low-dose radiation into perspective

Public fear of the effects of low-dose radiation isn’t backed by science. The Fukushima water release shows, once again, that better education is needed.
Many scientists say more research into volcanoes is vital to gauge how far eruptions can briefly affect the long-term trend of global warming, which is primarily driven by burning fossil fuels.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / ANALYSIS
Sep 15, 2023

Why is 2023 so hot? A rare Pacific volcano is among the suspects

Greenhouse gas emissions are overwhelmingly to blame, scientists say, but water vapor from the Tonga eruption last year may have played a role too.
China with its government subsidies has become a dominant player in the EV market, causing concern in Europe and the United States.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 19, 2023

EV leadership means more than just sales figures

EV dominance matters because electric vehicles are the future.
A nurse pushes a bed at the COVID-19 ward at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem.
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 23, 2023

Long COVID linked to multiple organ changes, research suggests

A third of people hospitalized with COVID-19 have "abnormalities" in multiple organs months after getting infected, the study said.
A boat piloted by a Philippine fisherman is intercepted by Chinese coast guard boats as they tried to enter the Scarborough Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 25, 2023

With bullhorns and water cannons, Chinese ships wall off the sea

The world’s most brazen maritime militarization is gaining muscle in the South China Sea, waters through which one-third of global ocean trade passes.
Boxes of Ozempic, a semaglutide injection drug made by Novo Nordisk
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 6, 2023

Popular weight loss drugs linked to higher risk of certain serious gastrointestinal problems

The drug type was associated with significantly higher risks of stomach paralysis, pancreatitis and bowel obstruction.
U.S. President Joe Biden joins members of the United Auto Workers union as they strike in Belleville, Michigan, on Sept. 26 to demand higher wages.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 8, 2023

Down on the Biden economy: Why Americans aren't happy

The U.S. economy is doing well. Why, then, are people not satisfied? The answer lies in their pockets.
Chef Stuart Brioza (left) of San Francisco’s State Bird Provisions explores the vineyard at Domaine Takahiko in Yoichi, together with his partner, Nicole Krasinski, and their son, Jasper.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 22, 2023

A California chef's quest across Hokkaido for umami

Acclaimed chef Stuart Brioza has been to Hokkaido many times — but never with a focus like this on the island’s stunning natural bounty.
Matthew Perry at the premiere of "The Kennedys After Camelot" in Beverly Hills, California, in 2017
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 29, 2023

'Friends' actor Matthew Perry dies at age 54

Law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times that Perry was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home.
Thon Soukhon, who has been a ranger in Virachey since the forest became one of Cambodia’s first national parks in 1993, holds a rope as he crosses a rain-swollen river within the protected area.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Oct 29, 2023

In the name of sustainability, Cambodia risks its ‘final frontier’ of biodiversity

Virachey National Park is a rare untouched wilderness in Southeast Asia, but potential hydropower plans threaten its future.
A stock board in Beijing last month. China’s benchmark CSI 300 has slumped 7.4% as a faltering economy dashed optimism over the nation’s reopening from COVID-19 restrictions.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 4, 2023

Japan’s fading rally drives some investors to cheap China shares

Japanese stocks have trounced their Chinese peers this year, but some investors are betting the tide is about to turn.
U.S. President Joe Biden attends an event at the White House in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 6, 2023

Trump leads in five critical states as voters blast Biden, poll finds

Voters in U.S. battleground states said they trusted Donald Trump over Joe Biden on the economy, foreign policy and immigration.
Lukasz Krupski, a service technician for Tesla in Norway who says he was fired after expressing safety concerns, in Drammen, Norway, on Nov. 6
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 15, 2023

Man vs. Musk: A whistleblower creates headaches for Tesla

An employee who was fired after expressing safety concerns leaked personnel records and sensitive data about driver-assistance software.
Petroleum pipelines and fuel storage tanks at a refinery near Manama, Bahrain, in 2017
ENVIRONMENT
Nov 18, 2023

To meet climate goals, Gulf countries will have to overhaul everything

The growing oil-rich region faces myriad challenges as the world pushes to decarbonize.
Palestinian children hold pots as they queue to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, amid shortages in food supplies, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Thursday.
WORLD / Society
Dec 15, 2023

Desperation grows among families in Gaza as aid deliveries falter

The Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip has made it almost impossible for aid convoys to move around.
Dodgers owner Mark Walter puts a jersey on Shohei Ohtani during the superstar's introductory news conference on Thursday. The structure of Ohtani's contract could help the Dodgers get a full return on their investment in the two-way player.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 15, 2023

For the Dodgers, Ohtani's megadeal could end up being a bargain

The Dodgers have the makings of a juggernaut, and success on the field will allow the franchise to cash in on Ohtani’s transcendent marketability.
Music streaming service Spotify started offering audiobooks in October, but not everyone in the book industry is thrilled.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 20, 2023

Spotify's push into audiobooks sparks concern among authors

Spotify began offering complimentary audiobooks to millions of customers in October as part of their monthly subscriptions.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 2, 2024

Who might succeed Fumio Kishida in 2024?

Several names have emerged as potential candidates for prime minister in the wake of a political funds scandal enveloping the LDP.
A screen displays the Nikkei 225 Stock Average figure on the trading floor at the Nomura Securities headquarters in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 13, 2024

Tokyo stocks find their mojo as bubble-era highs draw nearer

The roaring start to 2024 looks to be on far more solid ground than last time stocks reached these levels as investors bet the country is escaping deflation.
Three plaintiffs are set to file a lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court on Monday, seeking compensation over claims of racial profiling by police.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 24, 2024

Foreign residents to file landmark suit alleging racial profiling by police

Three men are to file a lawsuit over claims that they have been repeatedly questioned by police because of their ethnicity or appearance.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a munitions factory at an undisclosed location in this picture released on Jan. 10.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 26, 2024

Is North Korea's Kim preparing for an actual war?

Some believe he may be disillusioned with diplomacy and is girding for conflict; others think the provocations are timed to coincide with U.S. and South Korean elections.
Military vehicles carrying intercontinental ballistic missiles during a military parade in Beijing in 2019
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 5, 2024

Fear and ambition propel Xi’s nuclear acceleration

As China’s arsenal grows, its military looks to warheads as both defensive shield and potential sword — to intimidate and subjugate adversaries.
Pop superstar Taylor Swift delighted fans at her sold-out Tokyo Dome show on Wednesday by confidently telling the audience, “Eras Tour e yokōso!” (“Welcome to The Eras Tour!”)
CULTURE / Music
Feb 9, 2024

Taylor Swift slays her Tokyo era

Pop's reigning queen gets sold-out crowd singing along to her hits for the Japan leg of the global Eras Tour.
A Ukrainian serviceman with the call sign "Skorpion" prepares to fire a multiple launch rocket system toward Russian troops near a front-line, at an undisclosed location in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Feb. 4.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 22, 2024

Ukraine outnumbered, outgunned and ground down by Russia

Heavy casualties at the hands of Russian forces have been compounded by dreadful conditions on the eastern front.
Beyond factors such as the "motherhood penalty," Japanese women struggle to advance in their careers due to the structure of the workforce, including the two-tiered clerical versus managerial track.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 6, 2024

Why is it taking so long to break the glass ceiling?

Japan isn't unique in having a thick glass ceiling, but some factors don't apply to other countries, like the U.S., where many more managers are women.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami