Search - world

 
 
Plastic bottles and other refuse collected from Border Field State Park Beach in San Diego in May
ENVIRONMENT / ANALYSIS
Aug 16, 2025

Tough U.S. stance casts gloom over plastics pollution deal after Geneva flop

Many states and campaigners blamed the failure on oil-producers including the U.S, which they said urged others to reject caps on new plastic production.
Carlos Alcaraz hits a forehand during his match against Andrey Rublev at the Cincinnati Open on Friday.
TENNIS
Aug 16, 2025

Alcaraz survives to reach Cincinnati semis as Rybakina topples No. 1 Sabalenka

French Open champion Coco Gauff, meanwhile, succumbed to Jasmine Paolini in a day of upsets in the women's draw.
U.S. President Donald Trump during a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2025

Trump releases message on WWII victory over Japan

The U.S. leader stated that "the Japanese Empire was defeated" and the world was "spared from the oppressive clutches of destruction and tyranny."
A BNP Paribas branch in Paris. The EU’s biggest bank by assets was questioning the value of continued Net-Zero Banking Alliance membership as recently as June.
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2025

Banking’s ailing climate coalition loses ground in Europe

Inside the world’s largest climate coalition for banks, there’s speculation that an exodus led by Wall Street could be about to spread to the European Union.
Carlos Alcaraz pumps his fist after a return against Alexander Zverev in the semifinals of the Cincinnati Open on Saturday.
TENNIS
Aug 17, 2025

Alcaraz to face defending champ Sinner in Cincinnati ATP final

Defending champion Sinner ruthlessly subdued 136th-ranked qualifier Terence Atmane, while Spanish second seed Alcaraz defeated an ailing Alexander Zverev.
Myanmar's democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi (right) serves tea to Sen Genshitsu, former grand master of Urasenke, in the city of Kyoto in April 2013.
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2025

Sen Genshitsu, Japanese tea ceremony master, dies at 102

Sen, a native of the city of Kyoto who became grand master in 1964, received the Japanese Order of Culture in 1997 for his efforts to deepen and modernize the ceremony.
The area around Shibuya Station in Tokyo. After the end of World War II, population concentration in the capital accelerated while other parts of Japan continue to see population declines.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Aug 18, 2025

80 years on: Tokyo prospers while local revitalization still insufficient

Experts stress the importance of setting up a system in which industrial resources are circulated locally in order to create a sustainable society.
Actors in period costume pose on a re-creation of a Tudor wine fountain at Hampton Court Palace in Surrey, England, in April 2010. England’s recent wine boom is hitting limits due to scale, costs and competition.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2025

England’s sparkling wine is losing its fizz

It really doesn’t help having higher taxes now measured on alcohol content. The going is only getting tougher for fledgling startups.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri celebrates on the podium after finishing second in the Hungarian Grand Prix on Aug. 3.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Aug 19, 2025

Home hero Piastri to have Australian F1 grandstand named after him

The naming of a grandstand is an honor typically reserved for sporting legends with a long line of achievements.
Izumi Nakamitsu, U.N. undersecretary-general and high representative for disarmament affairs, speaks during a news conference on Monday in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2025

U.N. official Nakamitsu urges Japan to attend disarmament summit

Nakamitsu highlighted the importance of Tokyo's involvement in disarmament in the face of rising tensions and nuclear threats.
Kishane Thompson (right) in action against Noah Lyles (left) and Kenneth Bednarek (center) during the Diamond League men's 100m final at Silesian Stadium in Chorzow, Poland on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Aug 19, 2025

Thompson out of sprint showdown with Lyles in Lausanne

Thompson won the much-anticipated rematch with Noah Lyles at Saturday's Diamond League meeting in Silesia.
Workations were a burgeoning trend in the corporate world for years before the COVID-19 pandemic turbocharged it.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 19, 2025

Tokyo crowned No.1 'workation' spot

Japan’s capital topped the rankings for its “exceptional broadband speeds, transport infrastructure, safety, culture, and new digital nomad visa.”
Sharon Kwok Pong, founder of the Hong Kong Parrot Rescue, interacts with "Winnie," a rescued yellow-crested cockatoo.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Aug 19, 2025

Hong Kong scientist puts hope in nest boxes to save endangered cockatoos

Their future now hangs in the balance, due to habitat loss and, some suspect, a black market for the rare birds.
A worker displays a handful of shredded hard drive pieces for e-waste processing at a facility in Festac, Nigeria, in 2020.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 21, 2025

Urban mining eases the critical minerals crunch 

Governments are waking up to the potential of e-waste recycling, and Japan is leading the way.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chiese President Xi Jinping in 2016. Modi has said he’s looking forward to meeting Xi during a visit China later this month — his first trip to the country in seven years.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 20, 2025

Modi hails China ties as Washington takes swipe at India's 'richest families'

New Delhi has been recalibrating its foreign policy more toward China and other BRICS group members after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to boost tariffs.
Jimmy Lai at the Next Digital offices in Hong Kong in 2020. The national security trial of the Hong Kong media mogul, which began in late 2023, entered its final stages on Aug. 14, as lawyers present closing arguments.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2025

Why Jimmy Lai’s persecution should worry Japan

The trial of 77-year-old publisher is showing how Beijing uses Hong Kong as a laboratory for silencing critics worldwide, from students to exiles.
A commuter uses a portable fan on an underground train at rush hour during a heat wave in the City of London financial district.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 21, 2025

As temperatures soar in London, regulations, not costs, put cooling beyond reach

The British capital has seen a surge in demand for air-conditioning units in high-end homes as climate change raises summer temperatures.
Chatbots are pivoting to the ad model and optimizing for eyeballs, just like social media did. And AI knows more about us than Google or Facebook ever did.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2025

Ads ruined social media. Now they’re coming to AI.

Imagine a person telling their AI they’re feeling depressed, and the system recommending some affordable holiday destinations or medication to address the problem.
In what is billed as the first major production in English of Hisashi Inoue's "The Face of Jizo,” the Japanese play will have performances at the Seymour Centre in Sydney both in English and in Japanese.
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 22, 2025

'The Face of Jizo': Hisashi Inoue's play staged in Sydney commemorates WWII victims

Billed as the first major English-language production of the play, "The Face of Jizo" also increases the variety of roles for Japanese actors in Australia.
South African skydiver Jean Jacques "JJ” Wallis glides after his jump from Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa on July 28, 2025.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 22, 2025

South African Wallis pushes wingsuit flying to global heights

Wallis, 35, is one of the world's fastest wingsuit flyers, achieving speeds of 230 kilometers per hour.
U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hand with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as they meet to negotiate for an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, last week.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2025

Was Trump’s Russia-Ukraine summit doomed from the beginning?

Negotiations are doomed to fail if you neglect both reality and standard practices that must never be ignored.
Sergio Gor
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 23, 2025

Trump nominates Sergio Gor to be next U.S. ambassador to India

Sergio Gor, who is currently the director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, would also serve as a special envoy for South and Central Asian affairs.
Trojena, the ski resort that is scheduled to host events during the 2029 Asian Winter Games, is part of the planned Saudi megacity of NEOM, which has faced a string of challenges in recent years.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 24, 2025

Saudi Arabia and Olympic Council weigh moving Asian Winter Games

The event is seen as a key marker for Saudi Arabia’s global ambitions and the kingdom could eventually simply choose to scale back plans for the planned ski resort.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (second from left) walks with Fed Chair Jerome Powell (left), European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde (second from right) and Bank of England Gov. Andrew Bailey outside the Fed’s Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 24, 2025

BOJ's Ueda expects tight labor market to keep upward pressure on wages

The remarks are likely to support growing speculation of another interest rate hike this year, although the BOJ governor didn’t directly discuss monetary policy in a presentation.
Novak Djokovic prepares to throw signed balls into the crowd after beating Learner Tien in the first round of the U.S. Open in New York on Sunday.
TENNIS
Aug 25, 2025

Novak Djokovic overcomes blisters to get off to winning start at U.S. Open

Djokovic won 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 to launch his latest quest for a record 25th major title.
Visitors look at paper cranes hung at Peace Park in Nagasaki on Aug. 8, a day ahead of the 80th anniversary of the World War II atomic bombing of the city.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 25, 2025

Japan ranked one of the most peaceful places in Asia as global tensions rise

Japan’s geography places it in close proximity to some of the biggest current geopolitical tensions and conflicts, but it still ranked highly in the Global Peace Index 2025.
Elon Musk (left) in Los Angeles in 2024 and Open AI CEO Sam Altman in Seoul in February. Elon Musk's companies xAI and X filed a sweeping U.S. antitrust lawsuit on Monday against Apple and OpenAI, alleging the tech giants formed an illegal partnership to stifle competition in artificial intelligence and smartphone markets.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 26, 2025

Musk sues Apple and OpenAI, saying they hurt AI competition

Musk is alleging the tech giants formed an illegal partnership to inhibit rivalry and innovation in artificial intelligence and smartphone markets.
Alexandra Eala in action during her first round match against Clara Tauson at the U.S. Open in New York on Sunday
TENNIS
Aug 26, 2025

From Philippines to Mexico, U.S. Open reflects game's global spread

Alexandra Eala secured the Philippines' first major match win on Sunday while qualifier Coleman Wong carried the flag for Hong Kong.
Japan Boxing Commision Secretary-General Tsuyoshi Yasukochi gives a press conference in Tokyo on Aug. 12.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Aug 26, 2025

Deaths could spell end for Japanese boxing, says commission chief

Japanese boxing authorities are considering a raft of new measures to make the sport safer.
Japanese manga artist Tetsuya Chiba speaks during an interview in Tokyo on July 8.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2025

Manga artist Tetsuya Chiba hopes for no more wars

Through his works, Chiba looks to pass down stories from World War II to future generations.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo