Search - 2021

 
 
A man carrying shovels walks along an area affected by a flood near the bank of the Teesta River in Singtam, Sikkim, India, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 7, 2023

A calamitous flood shows the dangers lurking in melting glaciers

At least 26 people were killed in the tiny state of Sikkim. But as much as the disaster was a shock, it was hardly a surprise.
The remains of a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel lies on a road where it fell in Ashkelon, southern Israel, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Oct 11, 2023

Who is the secretive Hamas commander behind the attack on Israel?

Mohammed Deif has topped Israel's most wanted list for decades, held responsible for deaths of dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings.
Caroline Ellison (left), former chief executive officer of Alameda Research LLC, exits court in New York on Tuesday. Her ex-boyfriend and former boss, FTX Co-Founder Sam Bankman-Fried, is charged with seven counts of fraud and money laundering following the collapse of his cryptocurrency empire last year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 11, 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried's ex says he directed her to commit crimes

In her first day of testimony, Caroline Ellison, 28, portrayed Sam Bankman-Fried as the brains behind fraudulent operations at FTX.
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban meet in Budapest in October 2021. Modern autocrats focus on manipulating public opinion while gradually weakening the democratic institutions from which they claim legitimacy.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 5, 2023

No, the world's democracies are not 'backsliding'

Fears that we're turning the clock back on democracy are inaccurate — and unhelpful for dealing with new shades of authoritarianism.
A portion of a Microsoft data center that supports the Pentagon, and is next door to a bitcoin mine operated by Chinese-owned Bit Origin, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on Sept. 29. Aside from the intelligence-gathering concerns over Chinese bitcoin mines in the U.S., the energy sucking facilities can also put immense pressure on power grids.
WORLD
Oct 14, 2023

Across U.S., Chinese bitcoin mines draw national security scrutiny

Microsoft reported one site in because of its proximity to a nuclear missile base. Other cryptocurrency facilities have ties to the Chinese state.
A Palestinian fighter from the armed wing of Hamas takes part in a military parade to mark the anniversary of the 2014 war with Israel, near the border in the central Gaza Strip, in July.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 14, 2023

How Hamas secretly built a 'mini-army' to fight Israel

The group has a military academy training a range of specializations and boasts a naval commando unit among its 40,000-strong military wing.
Enza Guzzo holds the letter of dismissal in Arese, Italy, on Oct. 11. Guzzo's former employer fired her in 2011 after she had a second daughter. She later won a lawsuit against them.
WORLD / Society
Oct 16, 2023

Job or baby? Italian women's struggle to have both holds back growth.

Over half of Italian women said they found it impossible to combine work and childcare.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen attends the launching ceremony of Narwhal, its first domestically built submarine, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Sept. 28.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 16, 2023

Fearing China, South Korea targets Taiwan navy submarine contractors

Seoul has avoided arming the island, even as its companies ink weapons deals with other Asian neighbors.
Chinese fishing boats depart from a port in Zhejiang province on their way toward the East China Sea where the disputed Senkaku Islands are located. China uses swarming tactics around the islets involving multiple vessels in its effort to challenge Japan's control over the area.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 17, 2023

Increased vigilance is needed to address unconventional warfare in the Indo-Pacific

Increased vigilance is needed to address security challenges posed by states that use unconventional methods to achieve their geopolitical objectives.
Plastic waste in Yangon's Shwepyithar township. In a working-class neighborhood of Myanmar's Yangon, plastic waste is piled a meter high, the toxic product of what a recent investigation says is rampant dumping of Western trash.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Oct 20, 2023

'License to hide': Western plastic waste dumped in Myanmar

For years, sites across Shwepyithar township have been filling up with trash that chokes fields, blocks the drainage of rains and causes fire risks.
Mercedes' George Russell said the new amount drivers can be fined "seems obscene."
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Oct 20, 2023

Formula One drivers stunned by threat of increased fines

The sport's governing body quadrupled the amount that stewards can fine drivers.
There are a lot of reasons for why the Pacific saury is becoming scarcer, including overfishing in international waters and changing ocean conditions.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Longform
Oct 23, 2023

A saury state: How the price of 'autumn's fish' skyrocketed

A fish so cheap and abundant that even the cats would ignore it, the Pacific saury is becoming a sought-after dish as stocks dwindle.
A bear waits for passing cars that might provide food, on a road in Covasna, Romania.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Oct 23, 2023

Keep or cull? Romania divided over its bear population

In Romania, bear attacks are on the rise as the creatures venture out looking for food, often brought by tourists or left in unsecured garbage cans.
Much of the focus on Meta stemmed from a whistleblower's release of documents in 2021 that showed the company knew Instagram, which began as a photo-sharing app, was addictive and worsened body image issues for some teen girls.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 25, 2023

Lawsuits against Meta in 33 states claim Instagram harms children

Children have long been an appealing demographic for businesses, which hope to attract them as consumers at ages when they may be more impressionable.
SkyDrive displays its eVTOL flying car at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 25, 2023

Japan’s largest auto show returns with focus on mobility

The organizer has renamed the event for the first time since 1964, with the Japan Mobility Show replacing the Tokyo Motor Show.
Chinese astronauts attend a see-off ceremony at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center near Jiuquan, Gansu province, China, on Thursday
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Oct 26, 2023

China's youngest-ever crew of astronauts heads to space station

The spacecraft and its three passengers lifted off atop a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
In September, the Sapporo Convention Center played host to the first Adventure Travel World Summit ever to take place in Asia.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 28, 2023

Travel pros warn against diluting ‘Japaneseness’

“Don’t dilute the Japaneseness, because that’s what makes it special,” said one travel expert. “We want to come to Japan.”
A protestor depicts Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez as the fictional character Pinocchio during a protest in Madrid on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 30, 2023

Tens of thousands rally in Spain against amnesty for separatists

The country's right wing accuses the president of threatening Spanish unity and seeking amnesty only to cling to power.
Ryo and Kaho Nagata greet a regular customer from the second floor of their cafe in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Nov 6, 2023

Young migrants bring vitality to rural Hiroshima

Some new residents found a place where they could try something new, as well as having cheaper rents for stores and homes compared to Tokyo.
Single-use bathing wear that comes in the form of a blouse or a dress
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Nov 6, 2023

Breast cancer survivors face tough time at public baths

It is customary in Japan not to take clothing or towels into the water at public baths, and some facilities make it a rule for hygienic reasons.
An assembly engineer works on a lithography system at chipmaker ASML in Veldhoven, Netherlands, on June 16.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Nov 2, 2023

How can the EU strengthen its strategic autonomy regarding chips?

The bloc has felt a sense of crisis over the fact that its growth strategy has been largely dependent on third countries.
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton has finished the last two races second on track, although he was disqualified from the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin when the car failed post-race checks, and has looked increasingly comfortable in the car.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 2, 2023

Hamilton wants to win in Brazil but has sights on future glory

The 38-year-old great has not triumphed since 2021 but he remained optimistic about the future.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 3, 2023

With Naoto Kan's exit from the CDP, some see a generational shift

The exit of the former prime minister, a high-profile figure and political veteran from the CDP’s liberal wing, comes at a time of change for the party.
Nippon Steel has dropped lawsuits against Toyota and Mitsui & Co. over electrical steel sheet patents.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 3, 2023

Nippon Steel drops patent lawsuits against Toyota and Mitsui

Having two of Japan's manufacturing giants locked in a rare court battle signified the high stakes involved in materials production.
The Self-Defense Forces face numerous obstacles in meeting their recruitment targets: Demographics, private-sector competition and image and morale issues.
EDITORIALS
Nov 3, 2023

The SDF has a big problem: Filling its ranks

The Japanese government needs to take steps to address SDF recruitment challenges that put the nation's security at risk.
Former FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried leaves Manhattan federal court in New York in January.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Nov 4, 2023

Swift FTX case vindicates prosecution ‘need for speed’

ON Thursday, the jury took only a few hours to convict Sam Bankman-Fried of treating FTX as his personal piggy bank.
A woman and her children at the Minnanouen Kitakagaya community garden in Osaka's Suminoe Ward
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Nov 5, 2023

How simple steps can help alleviate climate anxiety

From gardening to flood-proofing your home, experts say there are simple ways you can ease some of your concern.
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX, exits the federal courthouse in Manhattan in February.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried won't be the last crypto mogul behind bars

If Sam Bankman-Fried culpability for the "pyramid of deceit” behind FTX’s collapse seemed so obvious, it’s partly because he was prosecutorial gold.
Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani steals second base against the Oakland Athletics during the fifth inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California, on Sept. 3.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 7, 2023

Ohtani nominated as finalist for AL MVP award

Corey Seager and Marcus Semien of the Rangers, as well as Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, are finalists for the American League MVP Award.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom during his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on Monday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Nov 7, 2023

Trump shouts from witness stand in $250 million civil fraud trial

The former U.S. president appeared visibly angry and sometimes shouted over questions, accusing the judge next to him of being "biased."

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji