Search - 2021

 
 
Journalist and #MeToo advocate Sophia Huang Xueqin and labor activist Wang Jianbing were arrested on Sept. 19, 2021, but their trial in the southern city of Guangzhou was only due to begin on Friday, according to supporters.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Sep 24, 2023

Chinese activist pair indicted for state subversion, supporters say

Journalist and #MeToo advocate Sophia Huang Xueqin and labor activist Wang Jianbing were arrested on Sept. 19, 2021.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute 46th Annual Gala at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 24, 2023

Biden allies seize on impeachment as weapon against Republicans

Tapping White House aides and veterans of Donald Trump impeachments, the plan is to paint the picture of an evidence-free stunt.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 25, 2023

Syphilis cases in Japan top 10,000 for second year in 2023

It is unclear why new cases have shot up, reaching 10,000 two months earlier than last year.
China's push to obtain hard power and "meta-power" has seen it lean heavily on its science and technology sectors.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Sep 28, 2023

China looks to science and technology in its push for more power

Further power could give Beijing the ability to restrict other nations by structuring or restructuring systems, rules or frameworks.
Mitsubishi Chemical’s plan for a new semiconductor materials plant comes as the government makes investments in the domestic sector.
BUSINESS
Sep 25, 2023

Mitsubishi Chemical to open new semiconductor materials plant

Details on when or where it will be built or how much it will cost have not been decided, but Fukuoka Prefecture is reportedly a candidate location.
Rupert Murdoch in his office in New York in 2007. Murdoch's decision to step down from the boards of News Corp. and Fox Corp. marks the end of a decadeslong media career.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 25, 2023

Rupert Murdoch, the last of the press barons

No living person has influenced the media landscape like Rupert Murdoch. Should we view his career in a favorable light, or is his legacy one of darkness?
Charles Wang Zhonghe, a senior banker at Nomura Holdings, has reportedly been barred from leaving China in a move connected to a long-running investigation of a top dealmaker in the country.
BUSINESS
Sep 25, 2023

Senior Nomura banker barred from leaving China, report says

The exit ban on the chair of investment banking for China at the bank's Hong Kong arm is linked to an investigation of a top dealmaker in the country.
Self-proclaimed president of the "Free Republic of Liberland" Vit Jedlicka (center) poses with the Liberland flag and future citizens in the village of Backi Monostor, Serbia, in May 2015
WORLD / Society
Sep 25, 2023

Breakaway Balkans micronation dreams of a crypto future

"Liberland" has attracted libertarian supporters across the globe who see a natural harmony between libertarianism and crypto.
Mike Trout batted .263 with 18 home runs and 44 RBIs in 82 games this season for the Angels.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 26, 2023

Mike Trout says he will play for Angels in 2024

Trout was recently shut down for this season due to a fractured hand sustained on July 3.
People walk on the bank of the frozen Spree river in Berlin in 2021.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 27, 2023

EU forecasts a more comfortable winter ahead without Russian gas

Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Nord Stream 1 pipeline had accounted for 15% of Europe's gas imports in 2021.
Customers load their shopping into a vehicle at a New World supermarket in Wellington, operated by Foodstuffs New Zealand.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Sep 27, 2023

Cost-of-living stress fuels crime wave in Australia and New Zealand

While the thefts are brazen, organized and increasingly violent, experts say the shoplifting underscores the hardship many people are facing.
China Evergrande Group Chairman Hui Ka Yan
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 27, 2023

Evergrande’s billionaire chairman Hui under police surveillance

Hui was taken away by Chinese police earlier this month and is being monitored at a designated location. It’s not clear why he is under surveillance.
ASML is the world’s only maker of very high-end semiconductor lithography equipment and is one of Europe’s most valuable technology companies.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 27, 2023

ASML to open Hokkaido facility as Japan's chipmaking push gathers steam

The maker of high-end chip equipment, which currently has eight sites in Japan, plans to grow its headcount by around 40%.
Directed by four different directors, the anthology film “Almost People” focuses on siblings who each lack an emotion.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 28, 2023

‘Almost People’: Anthology on emotions comes together in harmony

The film’s segments, which center on joy, anger, pleasure and loneliness, are beautifully integrated and show compassion for their characters’ flaws.
In Australia, past El Nino events have led to destructive fire seasons, including the catastrophic Black Summer of 2019-2020.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2023

Australia hoped to dodge wildfires. El Nino has other plans.

The 1983, 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2015 fire seasons, some of the most damaging in the country’s history, all occurred during El Nino.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 27, 2023

Online casino settlement agents arrested in Japan

Police believe the suspects transferred tens of billions of yen and earned more than ¥2.1 billion in commission fees.
A man walks past a television showing a news broadcast featuring a photo of U.S. soldier Travis King, who ran across the border into North Korea while part of a tour group visiting the Demilitarized Zone on South Korea's border, in Seoul, on Aug. 16.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 28, 2023

U.S. soldier in American custody after release from North Korea

U.S. Army soldier Travis King was released by Pyongyang more than two months after he sprinted across the border from the South in July.
China's COSCO Shipping Ports is the world’s largest shipping company and port terminal operator.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2023

China’s port investments and risks to national security

The gray area between domestic and foreign jurisdictions and private and state-owned enterprises should be cause for concern.
Mark Zuckerberg speaks onstage during the Meta Connect Developer Conference in Menlo Park, California, on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 28, 2023

Meta unveils AI assistant and Facebook-streaming glasses

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the products as bringing together the virtual and real worlds while emphasizing lower costs.
Demonstrators during a Women's Day march in Tokyo on March 8
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 28, 2023

Consent issue casts shadow on safe abortion in Japan

The law stipulates that abortion must be carried out in the early stages of pregnancy with the consent of one's spouse.
The famous Nike swoosh and Air Jordan logo on an Air Jordan 1, called "Notorious" and released from 1984-85, during a preview for "The Rise of the Sneaker Culture" exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum in New York in 2015.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 28, 2023

Air Jordan resale prices tumble, casting shadow over Nike

Sneaker styles that once sold on StockX for $100 or more above Nike's list price are now selling for a premium of less than $10.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 28, 2023

Japanese universities move up in global rankings

The overall improvement is due to a change in methodology by Times Higher Education.
The cast of Chelfitsch’s play “The Window of Spaceship ‘In-Between’” includes individuals with different levels of Japanese-language proficiency. They participated in workshops hosted by the theater company to promote more inclusivity in Japanese theater.
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 29, 2023

Chelfitsch challenges Japanese theater's language barriers

The theater company questions the status quo of the Japanese stage by casting non-native speakers in new project, 'The Window of Spaceship "In-Between."'
Members of the Afghan women's volleyball team spin balls for photos after practice in Hangzhou, China, on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 28, 2023

Games-displaced Afghan women athletes defy Taliban at Asian Games

There are 17 Afghan women competing at the Asian Games
TikTok can advertise to more than 100 million users in Indonesia, but they now need to go on a different app or site to buy.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 28, 2023

TikTok’s e-commerce ambitions stall as global backlash grows

Complaints about how TikTok is squeezing local players has stalled the Chinese-owned social media platform's e-commerce ambitions
Europe captain Luke Donald speaks during the opening ceremony for the Ryder Cup in Rome on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Sep 29, 2023

Luke Donald calls on fans to create rowdy atmosphere at Ryder Cup

The United States will have to block out raucous home support at the Marco Simone Country Club, east of Rome.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet addresses the 78th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Sept. 22
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2023

Cambodia's dictatorship marches on and nary a word

Just as quickly as countries condemned Cambodia’s sham elections, its new leader, Hun Manet, was welcomed by the U.N.
The Materials Provided by Mizuno Baseball Bat Tableware set is made from a recycled, discarded baseball bat and includes two large tumblers, a vase, a small cup, four cutlery rests and a sake cup.
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Sep 30, 2023

Game-changing designs from sporting goods brands

On: Design looks at two major Japanese sporting goods companies that have launched unique SDG-inspired projects.
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
Sep 30, 2023

Ohtani becomes first Japanese player to lead MLB season jersey sales

Now those jerseys might be collector's items as Ohtani is expected to sign a new contract with another MLB team for the 2024 campaign.
Jessica Pegula of the U.S. serves against Maria Sakkari of Greece during their semifinal match at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo on Saturday.
TENNIS
Sep 30, 2023

Pegula books clash with Kudermetova in Tokyo final

The American, gunning for her second title of the season following her triumph in Montreal, will take on Russian Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday.

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