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Technicians assemble a component of the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment at the CERN nuclear research facility in Cessy, France, in March 2007. International cooperation in science is essential for solving global challenges and maintaining innovation.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 30, 2024

Geopolitics threatens science and societal progress

In this world, the prospect of greater controls or reduced international cooperation can only be damaging.
World Anti-Doping Agency President Witold Banka holds a news conference in Paris on July 25. WADA and the entire global anti-doping system have been under intensifying scrutiny in recent months.
OLYMPICS
Jul 31, 2024

Anti-doping agency acknowledges concern over use of tainted food as excuse

The global anti-doping regulator disclosed Tuesday that it is investigating why athletes in China and other countries who are testing positive for banned drugs are escaping discipline through claims that they have unwittingly ingested the performance-enhancing substances through food.
A public safety officer wipes away sweat in Times Square during high temperatures in New York on June 20.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 31, 2024

This is how we know when the world has its hottest day

These conclusions rely on a near real-time picture of the Earth’s climate for roughly every 30-square-kilometer chunk of the planet’s surface.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend a ceremony to decorate India's leader with the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on July 9.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 31, 2024

India emerges as player in bid to mediate end to Ukraine war

India has become more vocal in its calls for a negotiated solution, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly considering a visit to Kyiv in August.
Diners in the Salamanca neighborhood of Madrid in 2023
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 31, 2024

Spain ranked as the best country for remote work: report

Japan, which announced a digital nomad program on April 1, was 16th on the list.
The front facade at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture. The stadium, widely regarded as the spiritual home of Japanese baseball, turns 100 on Thursday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jul 31, 2024

Koshien at 100: 'Sacred' dirt, the Hanshin Tigers and a storied high school tourney

For baseball fans across Japan, Koshien Stadium — which celebrates its 100th anniversary on Thursday — is more than just a ballpark. It's a cathedral.
A Samsung HBM chip
WORLD / Politics
Aug 1, 2024

U.S. weighs restrictions on China’s access to AI memory chips

The new restrictions are likely to be unveiled as soon as late August as part of a broader package that also includes sanctions against over 120 Chinese firms.
Surrounded by Iranian lawmakers, Ismail Haniyeh (center), a chief political leader of Hamas, flashes a victory sign at a swearing-in ceremony for President Masoud Pezeshkian, in Tehran on Tuesday. Haniyeh was assassinated hours later, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said, a severe blow to the Palestinian group that threatens to engulf the region in further conflict.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 1, 2024

Iran and Hamas blame Israel for killing of top official and vow to strike back

In recent years, Israel has carried out several high-profile assassinations in Iran, rattling the country’s leaders.
U.S. President Joe Biden holds the arm of Elizabeth Whelan, sister of Paul Whelan, as he delivers remarks on a prisoner swap that included the release of Paul Whelan from Russia, in the East Room at the White House in Washington, on Thursday.
WORLD
Aug 2, 2024

The Russia prisoner swap was years in the making for the U.S.

Talks that led to the prisoner exchange started more than two years ago and almost didn't happen.
Members of the Romanian Olympic women's gymnastics team check their smartphones during a training session early last month.
OLYMPICS
Aug 2, 2024

Social media trolls beware: Olympic athletes have had enough

Online abuse has become such an issue that the Japanese Olympic Committee released a statement asking fans to mind their manners on the internet.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government is working hard to enhance Japan's global and regional influence through strategic defense reforms and international partnerships.
EDITORIALS
Aug 2, 2024

Japan’s defense reforms and diplomacy boost regional security

Considerable progress was made this week in a series of meetings with Tokyo's counterparts in various endeavors, the heart of which is the Japan-U.S. alliance.
The entrance gate of the SEG electronics market in Shenzhen, China, on June 27.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 5, 2024

With smugglers and front companies, China is skirting U.S. AI bans

The U.S. worries advanced semiconductors could help China develop superior weaponry, launch cyberattacks and make faster decisions on the battlefield.
People pray at the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima to mark the anniversary of the dropping of the A-bomb in 1945. Over half a century on, the global framework to stop nuclear weapons proliferation needs a serious rethink.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 5, 2024

What stands in the way of a nuclear weapon-free world?

Almost 80 years after the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the world is still far from abolishing nuclear weapons due to a crumbling of the nonproliferation architecture.
The Great War of Africa between 1998 and 2003 was the world’s deadliest conflict since World War II. Now, hostilities between Congo, Rwanda and Uganda are reigniting.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 5, 2024

Africa is heading toward another deadly war

Armed clashes between Congo, Rwanda, Uganda and others could see a repeat of the world’s deadliest conflict since WWII, unless an escalation can be averted.
Kohei Saito, associate professor of philosophy at the University of Tokyo, in a "common forest" in Hachioji, Tokyo, in July
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2024

Slow down to save the planet, says Japanese philosopher Kohei Saito

Capitalism is the root cause of climate change, and we need to stop chasing growth, Saito argues.
Athletes who are part of the Refugee Olympic Team participate in the Parade of Nations on the River Seine during the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics on July 26.
OLYMPICS
Aug 6, 2024

Refugee Olympic Team representing displaced people and making its mark in Paris

The refugee team, which first competed at the 2016 Games, will walk away from the Paris Olympics with one medal and potentially more.
Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist, leaves his house to attend a court hearing in Dhaka on May 2.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 7, 2024

Nobel winner Yunus to lead Bangladesh after shunning politics

Though he’s mostly stayed away from politics, Muhammad Yunus is one of Bangladesh’s most famous faces.
Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota, speaks during an event at Earth Rider Brewery in Superior, Wisconsin, on Jan. 25.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 7, 2024

How Tim Walz pushed Minnesota toward aggressive climate policies

Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor tapped to become the Democratic vice presidential nominee, has accelerated his state’s embrace of clean energy and electric vehicles.
Shujun Wang leaves the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on June 26 during his trial on charges that he acted as an agent of a foreign government. Wang, who billed himself as a scholar and a democracy activist, was convicted in Brooklyn federal court on Tuesday of acting as a spy for the Chinese Communist Party.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 7, 2024

Chinese academic convicted of acting as foreign agent in U.S.

The U.S. Department of Justice is cracking down on what it calls "transnational repression" by U.S. adversaries such as China and Iran.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin attend the Japan-U.S. Extended Deterrence Dialogue in Tokyo on July 28.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 7, 2024

Japan-U.S. alliance transforms with concrete 'two-plus-two' talks

Despite the long and challenging history of Japan-U.S. two-plus-two meetings, this year's Tokyo meeting was truly groundbreaking.
A Deadpool cosplayer walks outside the convention center during Comic Con International in San Diego, California, on July 26.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Aug 8, 2024

Box-office hero Deadpool could set record at comic-book auction

Cover artwork featuring Deadpool's first appearance in the comics went on sale at Heritage Auctions with an asking price of $7.5 million.
Vinesh Phogat of India (in red) wrestles Yusneylis Guzman Lopez of Cuba in the women's 50-kg semifinals on Tuesday at the Paris Olympics. Phogat was later disqualified for being 100 grams over the weight limit.
OLYMPICS
Aug 8, 2024

Disqualification costs India a medal, but its Olympic future still looks bright

Vinesh Phogat had a chance to win a first Olympic gold for Indian women. But even after he disqualification, the country's female athletes have a promising future.
A bulletin board shows the day's highest temperature in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, on July 29.
JAPAN / Boiling Point
Aug 8, 2024

From Naha to Nemuro, how Japan’s cities are responding to more heat

Municipalities are reaching for everything from automated misting systems to anime to help cool residents and educate them about the risks of heat.
Utagawa Hiroshige produced several highly successful series of landscape prints over the course of his career, including “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo” — the largest collection of his career.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 8, 2024

The definitive guide to Utagawa Hiroshige's masterwork is a feast for the eyes

Ukiyo-e expert Andreas Marks' new book is a rare compendium of the Japanese artist’s landscapes, even by local standards.  
A petrochemical plant in China. Asia's producers face the toughest outlook, with oversupply likely to persist.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Aug 9, 2024

Petrochemical makers enter survival mode amid global glut

Major petrochemical producers in Asia and Europe are selling assets, shutting older plants, and retrofitting facilities.
Homes surrounded by floodwaters in Steinhatchee, Florida, after Hurricane Debby made landfall on Aug. 5.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 10, 2024

Clashing risk predictions cast doubt on black box climate models

Insurers and investors are using private modeling tools to make risk assessments, but they have major inconsistencies.
“Ghost Cat Anzu” centers on an 11-year-old girl who travels to hell and back with a walking, talking, moped-driving, human-sized cat.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Aug 11, 2024

Two hidden gems hint at a path to more diversity in anime

“Ghost Cat Anzu" and “A Few Moments of Cheers” stand out from blockbuster hits by finding creative partners abroad and embracing techniques old and new.
Flaring at the Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. Flaring, a common sight at LNG plants, is a controlled burning of gas for reasons ranging from depressurizing equipment to disposing of gas that can’t be used. The practice is a "waste of money" and negatively impacts climate change and human health, says the International Energy Agency.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Aug 11, 2024

Japan fuels U.S. LNG boom even as climate targets and impacts loom

For over half a century, Japan has been a sizable buyer of LNG, and its government, banks and energy companies have played a key role in continued investment.
Protesters countering the far right gather in London on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 12, 2024

White supremacists turn U.K. riots into online recruiting pitch

Using messaging app Telegram and social media platform X, they promote conspiracy theories and incite violence in their bid to lure new members.
Hindus block the streets as they protest against violence in their community in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 12, 2024

Bangladesh government is working to 'resolve' attacks on minorities

After Sheikh Hasina's abrupt resignation and flight abroad, there were numerous reports of attacks against Hindu households, temples and businesses.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes