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Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown addresses the media in Bonn, Germany, in October 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 14, 2025

Cook Islands in talks with China on deep-sea mining

The Cook Islands causes concern in New Zealand as it moves toward a possible collaboration with China on deep-sea mining.
A site in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, where a road cave-in occurred in January
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2025

Sewage pipe abnormalities found at locations in Saitama Prefecture

Inspections were carried out as a deteriorated sewage pipe is believed to have caused a road cave-in the city of Yashio.
Showa Kogyo employee Yuki Maeda (right) holds fish-gathering plates she developed, alongside company president Akinori Kazeoka.
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional voices: Chubu
Feb 24, 2025

Fish-gathering plate proves a big hit with anglers

The plate, which reflects light under the sea to attract filefish, was developed by a Showa Kogyo employee who loves fishing.
An uprooted tree as Cyclone Zelia made landfall in a suburb of Port Headland, Western Australia
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 14, 2025

Powerful tropical cyclone hits Australia's iron ore hub

The weather bureau warned the system could bring record-breaking rainfall to the region.
Chinese President Xi Jinping
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 14, 2025

Xi to chair symposium attended by Jack Ma and other Chinese business leaders, sources say

Xi rarely chairs symposiums about the private sector, and the event underscores the numerous challenges currently facing China.
Created by a Hokkaido workshop, this Camembert represents the vanguard of Japanese cheeses no longer content with a reputation as low-quality, processed slices.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 16, 2025

Fresh off awards, Japanese cheese seeks a taste ‘unique to this land’

A growing number of Japanese cheesemakers are gaining international recognition, and some are aiming for a new frontier of flavor.
No South American fare is complete without empanadas, one of the traditional recipes in Kiera Wright-Ruiz's cookbook.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 16, 2025

Chewing on race, culture and 'okonomiyaki' quesadillas

Kiera Wright-Ruiz’s debut cookbook serves up deep thoughts on her biracial heritage alongside delicious recipes.
Tyler Wright competes in the WSL Pipe Pro event at Pipeline in Hawaii on Feb. 8.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 14, 2025

LGBT surfer Tyler Wright to compete in UAE after assurances of safety

The WSL confirmed last year it would add Abu Dhabi to the pro surfing calendar for the first time, prompting criticism from Wright's wife and brother.
Sydney-based Minotaur Capital outperformed the global stock market in its first six months while slashing research costs by using AI.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 14, 2025

Hedge fund startup that replaced analysts with AI beats the market

Minotaur Capital, which has no analysts on staff, returned 13.7% in the six months ending January versus 6.7% for the MSCI All-Country World Index.
The structure that covers the remains of the damaged reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is seen damaged on Friday.
WORLD
Feb 14, 2025

Russian drone 'struck' Chernobyl cover, but no radiation increase detected: Zelenskyy

Ukraine said Russia launched more than 100 drones across the country overnight targeting northern regions of the country where the Chernobyl power plant lies.
Data show that the policies of Japan’s last decade or so have served the rich better than the vast majority of the country’s households.
BUSINESS
Feb 14, 2025

Assets of Japan’s wealthiest jump to a record $3 trillion

Between 2011 and 2023, the wealth of Japan’s rich more than doubled and super rich tripled.
While Valentine’s Day in the West is traditionally associated with men giving flowers to women, in Japan the day has typically involved women giving gifts of chocolate to men.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 14, 2025

A sweet Japanese Valentine's Day tradition is nearly dead

The custom of giri-choco, loosely meaning "obligatory chocolate,” was once commonplace in offices around the country.
In a 2024 survey, a total of 14.7% of respondents said they had more or less friendly feelings toward China, up 2.0 percentage points from 2023, and 56.3% said they had such feelings toward South Korea, up 3.5 percentage points.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 14, 2025

Japanese sentiment on China and South Korea improves, survey shows

A total of 14.7% of respondents said they had more or less friendly feelings toward China while 56.3% said they had such feelings toward South Korea.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks at the Munich Security Conference in the German city on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 15, 2025

Vance attack on Europe overshadows Ukraine talks at security conference

The U.S. vice president said what worried him most about Europe was an alleged censoring of free speech and "out-of-control" immigration.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during the Munich Security Conference in the German city on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 15, 2025

China will have to hit back at U.S. ‘bullying,’ Beijing's top diplomat says

Still, Foreign Minister Wang Yi sought to take a broader view of relations, expressing confidence that the two countries will remain engaged long into the future.
Ukrainian soldiers from the Shkval Special Forces Assault Battalion during training exercises in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine on Thursday
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 15, 2025

Trump team makes confused start to Ukraine diplomacy

This was a disorienting week for those anxious over how the new Trump administration will fulfill Donald Trump's vow to end the Ukraine war.
The Trump administration has fired scores of the Centers for Disease Control's "disease detectives," the researchers are hired annually through a competitive process that each year whittles down hundreds of applicants — including doctors, nurses, scientists and more — to a class of a few dozen.
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 15, 2025

Trump admin fires CDC 'disease detectives' as bird flu fears rise

Established in 1951, the Epidemic Intelligence Service is a two-year post-doctoral training program whose officers have been on the front line of investigating outbreaks.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during family photo session with other leaders and attendees at the Group of 20 summit in the city of Osaka in June 2019.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 15, 2025

Saudis spearhead Arab scramble for alternative to Trump's Gaza plan

Draft ideas will be discussed at a meeting in Riyadh this month of countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
One of the representatives of 2024 Nobel Peace Prize winner Nihon Hidankyo, Terumi Tanaka, speaks during the Nobel Peace Prize awarding ceremony in Oslo City Hall on Dec 10.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2025

Over 80% in U.S. unaware of Nihon Hidankyo's Nobel Prize: poll

The proportion of respondents who said that they knew of Nihon Hidankyo's award and the reason behind it stood below 10% in all seven countries polled.
The N Seoul Tower was lit up on Saturday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between South Korea and Japan.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2025

Tokyo and Seoul towers light up to mark anniversary of ties

Ambassadors from Japan and South Korea respectively attended the lighting ceremonies in the two countries.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 16, 2025

Trump suggests no laws are broken if he’s ‘saving his country’

U.S. President Donald Trump shared a quotation on social media, making it clear it was one he wanted people to absorb.
The National Police Agency has been warning people that gambling on online casinos is illegal in Japan even if they are operating legally overseas.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 16, 2025

Police investigate comedians over alleged online casino gambling

Officials warn that online casinos are illegal in Japan even if they are operating legally overseas, but the number accused of using them continues to rise.
Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2025

Himeji Castle entrance fee to go up 2.5-fold for nonresidents

The city plans to use the resulting windfall for maintenance, online ticket sales, bag check services and guided tours for foreign visitors.
The U.S. State Department has dropped the phrase "we do not support Taiwan independence" from a fact sheet on the democratic island on its website.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 16, 2025

U.S. drops website wording on not supporting Taiwan independence

The page has also added a reference to Taiwan's cooperation with a Pentagon technology and semiconductor development project.
Tokyo Koon stands at the forefront of tackling the so-called 2025 issue, also known as the “Magnetic Tape Alert.”
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Feb 17, 2025

The race to save 20th-century history

Analog recordings are at risk of disappearing as old tech breaks down and spare parts run out.
Pierre Poilievre, leader of Canada's Conservative Party, speaks during a "Canada First" rally in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 17, 2025

Canada’s conservative leader pitches economy overhaul to counter Trump

Opposition leader Poilievre aimed to persuade Canadians Sunday that he’s the best candidate to lead the country in a looming tariff war with the U.S.
As an alternative way of wagering on yen strength, some firms are using strategies involving European currencies, rather than the U.S. dollar, to profit from a widening rate differential with Japan.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 17, 2025

Dollar swings drive creative yen bulls to European-currency trades

Some firms are using strategies involving European currencies, rather than the dollar, to profit from a widening rate differential with Japan.
Co-leader and main candidate of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Alice Weidel is seen on a screen as she takes part in a TV debate in Berlin on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 17, 2025

Anger, fear, nostalgia: Why German voters back far-right AfD

All other parties have pledged to isolate it behind a "firewall" of noncooperation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin of Russia after a military parade on Victory Day in Red Square in Moscow on May 9, 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 17, 2025

EU seeks a military revival under pressure from Putin and Trump

European leaders have been charged with reviving the continent’s military power after almost 80 years in which they essentially outsourced much of their security to the U.S.
Elon Musk speaks next to U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Feb. 11.
WORLD
Feb 17, 2025

Musk’s DOGE team seeks access to taxpayer information

The U.S. has strict laws that prohibit the disclosure of taxpayer data, though there are exceptions for law enforcement.

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