Search - 2020

 
 
A man tries to start his car after Israeli airstrikes at the Nuseirat Market in the Gaza Strip on Monday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 24, 2023

How the Israel-Hamas war imperils action against global warming

The conflict complicates already fragile global diplomacy ahead of crucial climate talks.
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.
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.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee delivers his annual policy address at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong on Wednesday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 25, 2023

Hong Kong's leader says to create new national security law in 2024

Pro-democracy protests rocked the finance hub in 2019, bringing hundreds of thousands of people to the streets to call for more autonomy from China.
Newly elected Speaker of the House Mike Johnson takes his oath of office after he was elected to be the new Speaker, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 26, 2023

Untested new U.S. House speaker faces daunting first days

Republican Mike Johnson, a conservative with little leadership experience, was elected as speaker on Wednesday.
The armed suspect in a shooting in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday. At least 22 people have been reported killed and dozens injured in the city, U.S. media has reported, citing police.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Oct 26, 2023

At least 22 killed and dozens wounded in Maine shootings

If the death toll of 22 is confirmed, the massacre would be the deadliest in the United States since at least August 2019.
Chinese astronauts attend a see-off ceremony at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center near Jiuquan, Gansu province, China, on Thursday
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Oct 26, 2023

China's youngest-ever crew of astronauts heads to space station

The spacecraft and its three passengers lifted off atop a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
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.
In September, the Sapporo Convention Center played host to the first Adventure Travel World Summit ever to take place in Asia.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 28, 2023

Travel pros warn against diluting ‘Japaneseness’

“Don’t dilute the Japaneseness, because that’s what makes it special,” said one travel expert. “We want to come to Japan.”
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei  speaks before an audience in Tehran on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 28, 2023

U.S. airstrikes send twin messages to Iran, American officials say

The airstrikes were the latest gamble by the United States to modify Iran’s behavior, few of which have worked in the past.
Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, with his wife Karen Pence, speaks at an event in Las Vegas on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 29, 2023

Republican Mike Pence drops out of U.S. presidential race

The eventual demise of Mike Pence's bid to be chosen to take on U.S. President Joe Biden next year had only seemed a matter of time.
Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly during the seventh inning of his team's Game 2 victory in the World Series in Arlington, Texas
BASEBALL
Oct 29, 2023

Diamondbacks rout Rangers to pull level in World Series

Arizona pitcher Merrill Kelly struck out nine and scattered three hits over seven innings to spark the Diamondbacks to a 9-1 win.
Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell discussed a regional trade pact with Japan's economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura during their meeting in Osaka on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 30, 2023

Australia reassures Japan on CPTPP and strength of relationship

Australian Trade Minister discussed a regional trade pact with Japan's economy minister during their meeting in Osaka.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 30, 2023

Orix's Gonzalez eager for more jewelry with win in Japan Series

The Buffaloes infielder, who is in his first season in Japan, is fine tuning his approach as he goes along.
Toyota’s gigacast rear component. The company plans to employ the gigacasting technology in making electric vehicles.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 30, 2023

Tesla’s latest disruption in carmaking draws followers in Japan

Carmakers in Japan are starting to embrace gigacasting as they seek to make up for lost ground in the shift to EVs.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a press conference at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 31, 2023

Netanyahu's ‘Mr. Security’ image fades as rivals want him out

Opponents say Netanyahu failed spectacularly by ignoring Hamas’ true intentions.
Laborers work at a private garment factory in Hanoi in 2021.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2023

Clothing-makers find it hard to break with China’s supply chain

Amid economic uncertainty and weakening consumer demand, many are discovering that finding alternative production hubs comes with its own challenges.
Single-use bathing wear that comes in the form of a blouse or a dress
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Nov 6, 2023

Breast cancer survivors face tough time at public baths

It is customary in Japan not to take clothing or towels into the water at public baths, and some facilities make it a rule for hygienic reasons.
Saudi women exercise in a mall in Riyadh on Oct. 15. Long popular in the United States, another car-centric country with an obesity problem, mall-walking is increasingly becoming a Saudi sport.
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 31, 2023

Saudis tackle obesity while beating heat with mall-walking

Roughly one in five Saudi adults is obese, according to an in-depth study published by the World Bank last year.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 31, 2023

Defense chief condemns ‘outrageous’ response in SDF harassment case

A male perpetrator of sexual assault was forced to apologize directly to the female victim despite her wishes not to see him.
The front entrance gate leading to the former Ashigakubo Elementary School in Yokose, Saitama Prefecture. The school, which was more than a century old, was forced to close in 2009.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 5, 2023

School's out forever in aging Japan

As the number of children in Japan decreases, public money has been made available to help municipalities repurpose old schools.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 1, 2023

How Yuki Udagawa’s steely nerves quieted Koshien’s raucous crowd

Instead of being rattled, Yuki Udagawa fed off the electric energy pulsating through the stadium as he protected a one-run lead in a 5-4 win.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Nov 1, 2023

The risers — and fallers — in the latest sumo rankings

The sumo rankings ahead of the upcoming Kyushu Basho produced its share of winners and losers.
An Israeli man attends a day of prayer in the Old City of Jerusalem on Oct. 19 where attendees called for the safe return of hostages taken by Hamas militants earlier in the month. 
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2023

Israel’s own 9/11 moment

Israel needs to prepare now for when the fighting stops. Will it look to the Palestinian Authority to administer Gaza? What role will the U.N. play?
Fortnite is estimated to be played by over 400 million people worldwide.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2023

Fortnite developer fails to report ¥30 billion in revenue in Japan

The problem, which lasted for three years to December 2020, was uncovered in an investigation.
Texas Rangers players storm the field after defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks to win the World Series in Game 5 on Wednesday in Phoenix.
BASEBALL
Nov 2, 2023

Rangers down Diamondbacks in Game 5 for first World Series title

A 5-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 5 on Wednesday clinched the Rangers' first title in three trips to the Fall Classic.
Under President Vladimir Putin rule, reason, logic, and humanity appear to have been systematically eroded from Russian life, similar to the era of Stalin and his gulags. 
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 2, 2023

Russian life imitates dystopian art

The state in Russia has always tended toward absolutism and its coercive and penal arms have rarely wielded as much power as they do now.
A Chinese paramilitary guard stands at the North Korean Embassy in Beijing in September 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 3, 2023

Dire economy prompts mass North Korean embassy closures

The last time the nuclear-armed country dropped diplomatic missions on this scale was in the mid-to-late 1990s.
Participants pose for photos at a news conference ahead of the Gay Games in Hong Kong on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 3, 2023

First Gay Games in Asia set to begin, despite pushback

The event, which features both LGBTQ and heterosexual athletes, will see 2,381 people compete in sports including football and badminton.
A construction crane beyond an apartment building at dusk in the Prenzlauer Berg district in Berlin, in February.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 3, 2023

Europe’s great housing crisis is only getting started

With housing already tight, the situation threatens to weigh on growth and further stoke political tensions as shortages squeeze more and more voters.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji