Search - 2021

 
 
Chinese President Xi Jinping during the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on Wednesday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 20, 2023

Europe’s snub turns Xi’s Belt and Road into Global South party

The Chinese leader appears to have reformed the initiative as a club for emerging economies known as the Global South.
A growing number of local governments in Japan have adopted digital technology for over-the-counter services to allow residents to carry out procedures without having to fill out application forms.
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2023

More local governments in Japan go digital for counter services

The measure has helped reducing waiting times and burden on visitors.
Ashleigh Surma (second from right) assists Elva Case (left), Linda Lupe (second from left) and Joycelene Johnson in recording indigenous languages during the ICILDER 2023 Conference in Bloomington, Indiana
WORLD / Society
Oct 20, 2023

Tech breathes new life into endangered Native American languages

Of the more than 6,000 Indigenous languages recognized globally, nearly half of them are at risk of disappearing.
In almost 30 years of fighting wildfire, Art Gonzales has seen blazes grow progressively bigger and stranger.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 20, 2023

‘It’s all-consuming.’ Wildfire whispering is now a year-round job

What was once limited to certain months now encompasses an entire ‘fire year'
U.S. Army soldier Travis King. Details are still scarce about King's treatment in North Korean custody and the soldier has not publicly explained why he fled to one of the world's most reclusive nations on July 19.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 20, 2023

U.S. Army charges Travis King with desertion over North Korea dash

Details are still scarce about King's treatment in North Korean custody
The health ministry found that, following the reported death of a TV personality in May 2022, the number of excess suicides in Japan spiked for two or three weeks.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 20, 2023

Copycat suicides spiked in Japan after celebrity's 2022 death

A government report is calling for the media to ensure that coverage is in line with the World Health Organization’s suicide reporting guidelines.
Neymar moves with the ball during a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay in Montevideo on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Oct 19, 2023

Neymar to have surgery after tearing ACL and meniscus

The Brazilian star is expected to miss several months after rupturing the ACL in his left knee.
Japan is facing a serious shortage of generic drugs.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 22, 2023

Serious generic drug shortage hits Japan amid flu spread

The supply of cough medicines, in particular, has fallen by 15% compared with levels before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the ministry.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen races in the U.S. Grand Prix sprint at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 22, 2023

Max Verstappen beats Louis Hamilton to Austin sprint race victory

The main event at the Texas track is on Sunday, with Red Bull's Verstappen chasing his 50th grand prix win from sixth on the grid.
The site of the al-Ahli Arab Hospital after a blast ripped through the facility on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 22, 2023

In global conflict zones, hospitals and doctors are no longer spared

Over the last two decades, medical facilities and staff have become casualties of war more frequently, in violation of international law.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 23, 2023

In blow to Kishida, LDP loses one of two seats in by-elections

An independent candidate backed by the opposition won in the Tokushima-Kochi Lower House race, while the LDP pick won in the Nagasaki Upper House poll.
In recent years, China has arrested dozens of Chinese and foreign nationals on suspicion of espionage.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 22, 2023

China says it uncovered another U.S. spy

In recent years, China has arrested dozens of Chinese and foreign nationals on suspicion of espionage.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers a policy speech during an extraordinary session of parliament in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 23, 2023

The economy takes center stage in Kishida’s policy speech

"'The economy, the economy, the economy.’ I will focus my attention on the economy more than anything else,” Kishida said in opening remarks.
Construction works at the site of the proposed Amazon regional headquarters development beyond the Liesbeek River in Cape Town, South Africa
WORLD / Society
Oct 23, 2023

How one river highlights South Africa's land inequality

The river has become emblematic of the myriad of sometimes conflicting land disputes in a country struggling to right the wrongs of the past.
A used KIA electric car is seen for sale outside the showroom of a used car dealer in Manchester, Britain
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 23, 2023

The battery test race to work out what used EVs are really worth

There used to be no way to measure battery health. But that is changing as firms rush to scale up EV battery tests — some of which take just minutes.
Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo's new contract will give him the option to remain with the club through the 2027-28 season.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Oct 24, 2023

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo agrees on contract extension

The Greek star has spent the entirety of his NBA career with Milwaukee since being drafted by the franchise in 2013.
SOCCER / J. League / From the Spot
Oct 24, 2023

Go Kuroda's one-year revolution brings Zelvia to J1 promised land

The western Tokyo club will play in the top flight for the first time in 2024 as it continues to flourish on and off the pitch.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 24, 2023

Sawai joins list of drugmakers known for manufacturing misconduct

The company had been fraudulently using capsules with new, replaced outer shells for post-approval quality testing, in place of ones it should have used.
A photo of Henry Li and his husband, Edgar Ng, hangs on a wall in their apartment at Ma On Shan in Hong Kong.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society / FOCUS
Oct 25, 2023

Hope and heartbreak after Hong Kong court decision on LGBTQ partnerships

The LGBTQ community has seen incremental legal victories, but same-sex marriage remains out of reach.
The bird flu virus was most likely brought by birds returning from their migration to South America, where there has been a huge number of cases, British experts have said.
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 25, 2023

Bird flu detected in Antarctica region for first time

Scientists had been fearing that the worst outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza would reach Antarctica, a key breeding ground for many birds.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 25, 2023

Total transplants from brain-dead donors near 1,000 after 26 years

Less than 3% of patients waiting for organ transplants have received transplants, as Japan still faces a serious shortage of organ donors.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 25, 2023

Prosecutors raid Tokyo ward mayor's office over election campaign

The special squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office were acting on a criminal complaint filed by local residents against the mayor.
Vietnamese environment activist Hoang Thi Minh Hong holds a banner during a protest in Ho Chi Minh in 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Oct 25, 2023

Vietnam's detentions of climate activists slow clean energy shift

The country's communist government tolerates no opposition to its one-party rule and regularly jails critics.
Participants hold a giant rainbow flag during a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Pride Parade in Hong Kong
WORLD / Society
Oct 25, 2023

How nations allow or restrict legal gender change

A small number of countries have made it easier for transgender people to change their legal gender, while other nations have restricted such changes.
Sections of the forests in Colville, Washington, have already been thinned, allowing trees to grow less densely and reducing the risk for wildfire.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Oct 26, 2023

How to prevent forest fires by building cities with more wood

Not everyone is convinced mass timber will help forest health.
An increasing number of middle-aged men are using currency trading apps to buy and sell the yen to get short-term profits.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 26, 2023

Middle-aged salarymen exploit volatile yen with smartphone trades

Smartphone traders amplify volatility in currency markets by seizing on intraday moves, departing from a previous focus on interest rate differentials.
Nomura's majority-owned joint venture in China has struggled to grow since its launch in 2019.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 26, 2023

Nomura reviews business plan for mainland China as losses rise

The move comes as a further blow to the top Japanese investment bank's global expansion strategy.
U.S. President Joe Biden toasts with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during an official state dinner at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 26, 2023

U.S. and Australia seek military drone cooperation with Japan

The moves comes as the nations aim to maintain an edge in the face of China's growing military might.
It’s hard to talk about space-based solar — that is, transmitting the energy — without conjuring images of a death ray. But the team at the California Institute of Technology says the power density of the beam would be comparable to the power density of sunlight.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science
Oct 27, 2023

Beam solar energy from space? These scientists say yes

The hurdles that have grounded space-based solar in the past aren’t merely technical, they’re also financial.
An employee operates at a production facility of Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, this month.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Oct 27, 2023

Ukraine's once-mighty steel sector choked by export blockade

Until producers can get steel to markets via the Black Sea, where Russia continues to pose a threat to shipping, there is little prospect of recovery.

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