Tag - oceans

 
 

OCEANS

Activists stage a demonstration in front of the United Nations Offices in Geneva on Monday.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Aug 5, 2025
Pressure from oil producers and U.S. threaten global pact on plastics pollution
Plastic production is set to triple by 2060 without intervention, choking oceans, harming human health and accelerating climate change, according to the OECD.
A man walks on a beach in Nice, France, amid a heavy rain storm. European governments are ramping up their own data collection systems to monitor climate change and weather extremes.
WORLD
Aug 2, 2025
Europe is breaking its reliance on American science
Amid Trump's cuts, European governments are ramping up their own data collection systems to monitor climate change and weather extremes.
A shipwreck of a boat, used by refugees in the past, is stranded at a shore in the northern part of Lesbos island, Greece
WORLD
Aug 1, 2025
On Europe's hardened frontier, Greek island keeps migrants at bay
Ten years after it was a hot spot for migrants, Lesbos shows how far government responses have hardened against people seeking refuge in Europe.
A person records images of waves following a tsunami advisory generated by local authorities after an earthquake struck off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, prompting warnings and evacuations stretching across at the South Pacific, in Vina del Mar, Chile, on Wednesday.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / EXPLAINER
Jul 31, 2025
Why did such a powerful earthquake produce such a weak tsunami?
Part of the reason the waves were weaker than anticipated may have to do with the size of the quake off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia.
People ride in a boat past a newly built concrete barrier in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, Egypt, on April 20.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 29, 2025
Rising seas and shifting sands attack ancient Alexandria from below
The warming waters of the Mediterranean are rising due to climate change, leading to coastal erosion and undermining buildings from below.
Manhattan Beach on the California coast
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 25, 2025
‘Unprecedented’ ocean heat waves in 2023 suggest climate tipping point
The world’s oceans experienced a staggering amount of warming in 2023, as vast marine heat waves affected 96% of their surface.
Marine biologist Teina Rongo on his boat passing the research vessel MV Anuanua Moana in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, on June 12. Mining exploration has left many Cook Islanders such as Rongo fearing deep-sea mining could taint their precious ocean forever.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 23, 2025
The Pacific island nation that wants to mine the ocean floor
Research vessels roam the seas around the Cook Islands in search of deposits of battery metals, rare earths and critical minerals.
Silver Dania, a Norwegian-owned ship suspected of cable sabotage in the Baltic Sea, whose crew are Russian citizens, in the port of Tromso, Norway, where it has been brought for investigation, on Jan. 31.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 22, 2025
Lawmakers want U.S. tech CEOs to address concerns about submarine cables
Washington has been sounding the alarm about the network of more than 400 subsea cables that handle 99% of international internet traffic and about threats from China and Russia.
Polymetallic nodules — bulbous lumps of rock that are rich in battery metals such as cobalt and nickel which carpet huge tracts of Pacific Ocean seabed — in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands on June 12.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 22, 2025
Trump’s critical minerals obsession reignites deep-sea mining
President Donald Trump has issued an executive order expediting U.S. licensing of seabed mining, departing from international law.
Activists from Greenpeace protest deep-sea mining with an inflatable octopus and a banner that says "'Protect the deep sea" in Berlin earlier this month.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science
Jul 20, 2025
Restoring sea floor after mining may not be possible, researchers warn
One of the last wild zones on the planet, the sea floor is a coveted frontier for companies and countries eager to access high-demand minerals found there.
A coral reef in Okinawa in July 2022. Some jurisdictions around the world have moved to ban certain sunscreens in a bid to protect coral reefs, but some say the impact on reefs is far from clear.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / OUR PLANET
Jul 20, 2025
Japan’s top brands get tied up in the great sunscreen debate
The debate over the damage sunscreens cause to the marine environment is heating up as some regions ban certain chemical ingredients.
The ancient ocean was full of squids, whose population exceeded that of fish or ammonites, a Japanese research team mainly from Hokkaido University has found through a new method using technology.
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2025
Japan team finds ancient ocean full of squids
The team of researchers discovered a large number of squid fossils from rocks of the late Cretaceous period using a technique called digital fossil-mining.
A front-page article from July 1950 reported that Kyoto's historic Kinkakuji had been "totally razed" in a fire.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Jul 5, 2025
Japan Times 1950: Kyoto’s ‘Golden Temple’ burns to the ground
The historic Kinkakuji was destroyed in an act of arson in July 1950, a shocking event that would serve as the inspiration for a novel by Yukio Mishima.
Japan's deep-sea drilling vessel Chikyu is seen anchored at a pier in Shimizu port, Shizuoka Prefecture, in 2013.
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2025
Japan plans 'world first' deep-sea mineral extraction
Earlier this week the country pledged to work with the United States, India and Australia to ensure a stable supply of critical minerals.
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 29, 2025
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Want to be an advocate of Japan’s marine health? Look out for sustainably farmed fish the next time you dine at a restaurant.
The serpentine coastline of Funafuti Atoll, home to nearly half of Tuvalu's entire population of 11,500, on Feb. 19, 2004.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 26, 2025
Nearly one-third of Tuvalu citizens seek to live in Australia on climate visa
The visa program has been hailed as a landmark response to the looming challenge of climate-forced migration.
Japan said on Tuesday that it had lodged a protest with China after observing a new structure in a natural gas field in the East China Sea.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2025
Japan protests new Chinese construction in East China Sea
In the latest development, Japan said on Tuesday it lodged a protest with China after observing a new structure in a natural gas field in the East China Sea.
Killer whales have been caught on video breaking off pieces of seaweed and using them to rub and groom each other, scientists announced on Monday, saying it is the first evidence of cetacean tool manufacturing.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 25, 2025
Killer whales use seaweed as tools to groom each other
The researchers hypothesize that the behavior promotes skin health while strengthening social bonds.
The HMS Spey, a patrol vessel for Britain's Royal Navy, conducted a routine navigation through the Taiwan Strait that was part of a long-planned deployment and took place in full compliance with international law, the Royal Navy said.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 20, 2025
China calls British warship's Taiwan Strait transit an attempt to 'cause trouble'
Britain's Royal Navy said the patrol vessel conducted a routine navigation through the narrow waterway that was in full compliance with international law.
A dead sea star in 2015. About 5 billion sea stars died from a disease outbreak, likely including this one.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 18, 2025
Marine heat waves are spreading around the world
Some unusual ocean events have become so intense that scientists have coined a new term: super marine heat waves.

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Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear