Search - people

 
 
National Rally leader Marine Le Pen delivers a speech during a meeting in Etrepagny, central France, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 16, 2024

Le Pen takedown of Barnier holds lessons for next French PM

There is no placating the leader of the far-right National Rally, the largest party in the French National Assembly.
Customers queue at a bank ATM in Lagos. Roughly 93% of total currency in circulation sits outside of banks.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 16, 2024

Nigeria’s dying ATMs leave a cash-shaped hole filled by agents

Roughly 93% of total currency in circulation — or 4 trillion naira ($2.6 billion) — sits outside of banks as of September.
Indian activists angered over the jailing of a leading Hindu monk in Bangladesh try to break a police barricade during a protest in Kolkata on Nov. 28 demanding his release.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2024

Bangladesh’s descent into Islamist violence

An unstable Bangladesh mired in radical Islamism and political violence has long been India’s geopolitical nightmare
Mannequins are displayed inside a lingerie showroom at WeMet Industrial Park in the Guanyun county of Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China, on Nov. 26.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 16, 2024

China's 'erotic clothing' capital braces for e-commerce crackdown

The development of the lingerie industry in eastern Guanyun county in China has exploded partly due to a U.S. tariff exemption likely to soon be curtailed or scrapped.
A Taiwan High Speed Rail bullet train arrives at Nangang Station in the city of Taipei.
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2024

Taiwan’s bullet train a testament to shinkansen’s export potential

The line runs the length of Taiwan, over mountainous, unstable territory that makes the island a perfect test bed for the fast trains.
Tomoko Yamashita, head of the NPO that runs Park. Youth & Books & Design, says she wants to make the facility a place where older teens can feel secure.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Dec 23, 2024

New facility offers truant high school students a place to feel at home

Himitsukichi, a nonprofit group, has renovated an old, vacant house to turn it into a site for older teens.
The ancient city of Hatra, Iraq, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2024

Why cultural heritage must be protected in wartime

Attacks on cultural sites are acts of cultural erasure, born of the same eliminationist motives that also drive genocide.
Ko Sung-kook, a conservative commentator who hosts Kosungkook TV on YouTube, meets his fans during a rally to support President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 16, 2024

Inside South Korea's right-wing YouTube world openly embraced by Yoon

The impeached president's claims of "anti-state" pro-North Korean sympathizers as justification for martial law is a familiar theme on right-wing channels.
Jon Walsh, an urban farmer and the owner of Business Grow, has been teaching the residents of Tokyo how to grow their own food for over a decade.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Dec 31, 2024

Great things can grow in small places

This is a sponsored story, created and edited exclusively by Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Tokyo Updates website.
A date night on Christmas Eve typically starts with a romantic dinner at a restaurant often with a great view or a private space.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 18, 2024

Silent night? Not if you want to impress your Christmas Eve date.

In Japan, a date night on Christmas Eve typically starts with a romantic dinner at a restaurant often with a great view or a private space.
Employees of Takahashi Shouten working on the trial production of sake in New Delhi on Nov. 14.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 17, 2024

Japanese sake brewery to make foray into Indian market

Takahashi Shouten, based in the city of Yame in Fukuoka Prefecture, launched a subsidiary in India in February.
One problem with assessments of China’s economic health is that they tend to treat China like a “normal” modern economy, and assume that policy tools familiar to Western economies are similarly useful.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2024

China’s economy has not peaked

What happens to the world economy and global geopolitics in 2025 will depend significantly on China. But prevailing assessments of its economic health are deeply flawed.
A member of security inspecting a collapsed building in Vanuatu's capital Port Vila after a powerful earthquake hit the Pacific island on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 17, 2024

Major quake crushes buildings in Vanuatu capital; bodies seen

The 7.3 magnitude quake struck at a depth of 57 kilometers at 12:47 pm, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Makoto Uchida (left), chief executive officer of Nissan Motor, and Toshihiro Mibe, chief executive officer of Honda Motor, attend a joint news conference in Tokyo in August.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2024

Nissan and Honda consider merger to take on world's biggest carmaker

Such a deal would create an automotive rival to Toyota and would effectively consolidate the Japanese auto industry into two camps.
A rebel fighter stands in front of an abandoned tank in the town of Adra on the northeast outskirts of Damascus on Monday.
WORLD
Dec 18, 2024

Conflict in Syria 'has not ended,' U.N. warns

The U.N.'s special envoy for Syria has warned of "significant hostilities" already witnessed there between Turkish-backed and Kurdish fighters.
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket is launched for the Europa Clipper mission to study one of Jupiter's 95 moons, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Oct. 14.
WORLD
Dec 18, 2024

Power failed at SpaceX mission control before September spacewalk

The outage, which hasn't previously been reported, meant that SpaceX mission control was briefly unable to command its Dragon spacecraft in orbit.
Rep. Michael Waltz, a Republican from Florida, speaks with former President Donald Trump while attending the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines in August 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 18, 2024

For Waltz, advising isolationist Trump is a Taiwan-sized challenge

Florida congressman Mike Waltz has built his reputation in Washington as a China hawk, working on a House task force to coordinate policy toward Beijing.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako speak with evacuated people at Wajima Junior High School in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2024

Emperor and Empress mourn flood victims in Wajima

Four people were killed in the September floods, including a 14-year-old junior high school student.
The neon lights of a casino are reflected on a bus window as a passenger looks on, ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to mark the 25th anniversary of Macao’s handover, in Macao, China, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 18, 2024

Macao's civil society 'falls silent' after 25 years of Chinese rule

Public protests in Macao are just a memory after Beijing launched sweeping measures that ousted opposition lawmakers and chilled free speech.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Papua New Guinea leader James Marape address a news conference in Sydney on Dec. 12.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2024

Australia shows how smart diplomacy is done

Recent deals reflect the laser focus the Australian government is devoting to its closest neighbors and a bureaucratic reorganization that translates into action.
A fire burns inside a Palestinian house in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Dec 19, 2024

Gaza mediators intensify ceasefire efforts as Israeli strikes kill 20

A Palestinian official close to the negotiations said mediators had narrowed gaps on most of the agreement's clauses.
Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin
WORLD / Politics
Dec 19, 2024

Lula’s rival-turned-vice president finds himself in unwanted limelight

Many business leaders consider VP Geraldo Alckmin better equipped than Lula to respond to the growing economic and political challenges that are besieging Brazil.
Nomura Holdings and other major brokerages in Japan are raising compensation and benefits for senior employees age 60 or over.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2024

At Japan's brokerages, skills shortage improves conditions for older staff

Employees age 60 and above are increasingly getting paid for performance and given heavier responsibilities in line with their experience.
While the prospect of Eneos Holdings offloading a majority stake in JX has been mooted for years, it is coming closer to reality amid a hot market for share sales in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2024

Eneos considers IPO of up to 70% of JX Advanced Metals

Japan has seen the highest volume of IPOs this year since 2018.
Djafaruddin poses for a photograph near the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 19, 2024

'End of the world': Tsunami body collector's torment 20 years on

Whenever the collector passes the spot where he collected those lifeless bodies decades ago, he says it reminds him of his efforts that fateful day.
Nissan and Honda are exploring a merger, which would create a rival to Toyota Motor in Japan and better position the combined company to face competitive challenges around the world.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2024

Foxconn in talks with Nissan shareholder Renault, CNA says

Renault’s stake in Nissan is a holdover from a longstanding alliance between the French automaker, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors.
The site of an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Thursday
WORLD
Dec 20, 2024

Israel keeps up Gaza bombardment as cease-fire talks intensify

Mediators are trying to forge a deal to pause the 14-month-old war in the Hamas-ruled enclave that would include a release of hostages seized from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Australian rescue crews work at the site of a collapsed building on Friday after an earthquake struck Port Vila, the capital city of Vanuatu.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 20, 2024

Rescuers extend search for Vanuatu quake survivors

The 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the main island of Vanuatu on Tuesday.
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 20, 2024

Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'

Lawmakers were aiming to stop three amendments that would make it more difficult for voters to oust elected officials who they see as unfit.
A Meteorological Agency official speaks during a news conference held in Tokyo in August to announce the lifting of the government's emergency alert system for a megaquake that may occur in the Nankai Trough.
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2024

Japan improves public relations for Nankai Trough megaquake alert

The first such alert, issued in August, caused confusion and unrest as the system was not widely recognized.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’