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Singer Jimmy Buffett performs during NBC's "Today" show Summer Concert Series in New York City in July 2016.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 2, 2023

Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett dies at 76

Jimmy Buffett, the American singer-songwriter who went from Key West beach bum to billionaire behind the always-on-vacation "Margaritaville" commercial empire, has died at the age of 76.
Coco Gauff celebrates after a point during her match against Caroline Wozniacki   at the U.S. Open in New York on Sunday.
TENNIS
Sep 4, 2023

Coco Gauff ends Caroline Wozniacki's comeback tour at U.S. Open

Gauff has been playing the best tennis of her career this season, picking up titles in Washington and Cincinnati
Silicon Valley's AI tycoons believe discussions on AI's current carbon footprint underplay its revolutionary potential.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 4, 2023

Tech's carbon footprint: Can AI revolutionize responsibly?

Across the globe, data servers are consuming precious natural resources for the digital world, raising the question: can AI revolutionize responsibly?
A municipality worker collects garbage, most of which is plastic and domestic waste, along the shore of Jakarta.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Sep 4, 2023

Trash to treasure: Indonesian firm turns plastic into bricks

The company mixes volcanic ash, mountain stones, plastic waste and cement to make its bricks, which do not contain sand like regular ones.
Nestled behind a seawall on the Pacific coast are the Minamisoma Mano-Migita-Ebi solar power plant and the Manyo no Sato wind farm. The 2011 tsunami struck this portion of the coast with a wave that is reported to have been around 18 meters high.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Sep 5, 2023

How a nuclear disaster turned Fukushima into a renewables leader

Following 3/11 — and the cratering of support for nuclear energy — Fukushima positioned itself at the forefront of Japan’s low-carbon transition.
Chilean national rugby team players pose for a photograph with supporters during the team's welcoming ceremony at the convention centre in Perros-Guirec, France, on Sunday, ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Sep 5, 2023

First-timers Chile not at Rugby World Cup 'to take photos'

At number 22, Los Condore are the lowest ranked side in the tournament.
Minnows swimming in Lake Areau in the French Pyrenees, in Seix, southwestern France.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Sep 5, 2023

Minnows blamed for algae-filled French and Spanish lakes

Some of the tiny fish, used as live bait, have managed to escape the hooks and have thrived, devouring amphibians, insects and zooplankton.
A statue of Lady Justice is seen at the Court of Final Appeal building in Hong Kong on Tuesday as the city's top court ruled in favor of same-sex partnerships, including civil unions, though it stopped short of granting full marriage rights in a partial win for the city's LGBTQ community.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Sep 5, 2023

Hong Kong's top court rules to recognize same-sex civil unions

The ruling, a partial win for the city's LGBTQ community, stopped short of granting full marriage rights.
Japan flanker Kazuki Himeno takes part in a training session in Toulouse, France, on Tuesday, ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 6, 2023

Japan will not take 'gritty' Chile for granted at World Cup

Chile will be making its Rugby World Cup debut on Sunday when the side runs out against Japan, the hosts of the 2019 edition.
A South Korean teacher reacts as others chant slogans during a protest to demand better protection of their rights and to mourn a young teacher found dead in July in an apparent suicide, in Seoul on Monday. The signs read "Vote for an agreement on the protection of teachers' rights."
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 6, 2023

South Korean teachers want an end to parents’ harassment

Teachers say they often face pressure from parents who make excessive or impossible demands of them, including favoritism for their children.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura (center left) attends a meeting on the Osaka Expo in Tokyo on Aug. 31.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 6, 2023

Nippon Ishin’s political path in focus amid differing party views

There are growing differences over the party’s future direction, including whether to remain an opposition party or consider joining the ruling coalition.
A Progressive Party of Maldives worker poses with an "India Out" flag in Male, Maldives, in March 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 6, 2023

Maldives election could be key for China-India rivalry

A presidential election on Saturday could determine whether China or India wins a competition for influence over the tiny Indian Ocean island chain.
Naomi Osaka participates in a forum on mental health during the U.S. Open in New York on Wednesday.
TENNIS
Sep 7, 2023

Naomi Osaka makes U.S. Open return. But not for tennis.

Naomi Osaka returned to the U.S. Open to participate in a forum on mental health and sports alongside former Olympian Michael Phelps.
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during an interview in Singapore on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 8, 2023

Trudeau says no room for political rapprochement with China

"China has made decisions over the past years that have made it more difficult — not just for Canada but for other countries — to engage," Trudeau said.
The AI initiative is part of Morgan Stanley's strategy to drive its wealth division, where net revenue surged 16% to a record in the second quarter and new client assets grew $90 billion.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 8, 2023

Morgan Stanley to launch AI chatbot to woo wealthy

The bank will roll out a generative artificial intelligence bot this month, developed with the makers of ChatGPT, OpenAI
Mizuho Financial Group has been expanding its presence in the United States to tap the world’s biggest fee pool, becoming one of the four global investment banks leading Arm's IPO.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 8, 2023

Mizuho's SoftBank ties boost Wall Street ambitions via Arm IPO

The bank has been expanding its presence in the U.S. to tap the world’s biggest fee pool, even as deals slump globally following the pandemic.
More cooks are pursuing careers in cooking for wealthy clients, but the glitz that makes it into viral TikTok videos isn’t always the whole picture.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 10, 2023

Private chefs toe the line between occupation and isolation

A new chapter in the age of food celebrity is unfolding online as more cooks take up careers as private chefs and go public with the perks of the job.
Hoshoryu could become the first wrestler since Hakuho in 2006 to win the  Emperor’s Cup in his ozeki debut.
SUMO
Sep 8, 2023

Young ozeki duo will be in spotlight at Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament

The Autumn Basho is shaping up to be another unpredictable event.
The average for summer bonuses this year was slightly higher than the ¥845,453 in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, and trailed only the ¥870,731 in 2018, the labor ministry said Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 9, 2023

2023 summer bonuses second-highest on record in Japan

Bonuses at major Japanese companies this summer averaged ¥845,557, up 1.59% from a year before, the labor ministry has announced.
A ceremony is held in March 2016 in Markowa, Poland, at the grave of the Ulma family who were killed by the Nazis for hiding Jews during WWII.
WORLD
Sep 10, 2023

Polish family killed by Nazis to be beatified in Catholic first

The Ulma family will be the first ever to be beatified, a key step on a possible path to sainthood in the Catholic Church.
China's exports fell by 14.5% year on year in July, a stark contrast from the robust 17.2% export growth recorded in July 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 11, 2023

Why hasn’t China rushed to bail out its economy?

China's reluctance to unveil a massive stimulus package despite the ongoing economic slowdown has puzzled foreign observers and the Chinese public alike.
Fukuoka, known for its outdoor food stalls, is a popular destination for Japanese tourists, but now it's starting to draw more international travelers, too.
LIFE / Travel
Sep 9, 2023

Beyond its yatai, Fukuoka hosts travel pleasures aplenty

Tourists come for the city’s lauded cuisine, its casual atmosphere, vibrant arts and nightlife scenes and temperate climate.tk
A screen shows an image of Chinese People's Liberation Army soldiers in Beijing in August last year. The PLA's newspaper recently explained to its readers how ChatGPT can be used for military purposes.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Sep 12, 2023

Will generative AI hold power in international relations?

The technology has the ability to create influential text and imagery, giving it power to potentially sway public opinion.
An Apple store in Beijing. The iPhone has increased its percentage of total smartphones sold around the world while expanding its share of sales in four of the world’s largest regions: China, Japan, Europe and India.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 12, 2023

As smartphone industry sputters, the iPhone expands its dominance

The iPhone has about one-fifth of the world’s smartphone sales, up from a low of 13% in 2019.
Police officers guide the Halloween crowd at the Shibuya scramble crossing in Tokyo on Oct. 31 last year.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 12, 2023

Shibuya’s mayor has a message for Halloween revelers: Don’t come

Shibuya’s scramble crossing has become the go-to spot for younger generations, but past incidents have fueled concern among officials.
A health ministry worker fumigates a house to kill mosquitoes and curb the spread of dengue, chikungunya and Zika in Managua, Nicaragua.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Sep 13, 2023

What's in a mosquito bite? How warmer climates spread disease

Abundant water helps mosquitoes to breed, while more drought constrict the migratory birds' ecosystems, enabling some diseases to spread.
Nadia Umana, a Colombian environmental leader threatened by criminal gangs, poses for a picture during an interview in Bogota on Aug. 30.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Sep 13, 2023

Colombia deadliest country for green activists in 2022: report

Many of those targeted were Indigenous people, members of Afro-descendant communities, small-scale farmers and environmental activists.
A TSMC plant under construction in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 13, 2023

TSMC prizes Japan's chips skills after U.S. stumbles

The chipmaker is taking an increasingly optimistic view of Japan as a production base, as problems persist at its new factory in Arizona.
New Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa is seen in formal attire to attend an attestation ceremony after a Cabinet reshuffle in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 13, 2023

In Kishida's Cabinet reshuffle, two changes stand out

It will be the first time in 20 years that a woman has been foreign minister, while the new defense chief arrives amid dramatic shifts in defense posture.
Sofia Coppola (right), Bill Murray (center) and Scarlett Johansson attend the Venice Film Festival to present their movie “Lost in Translation” in August 2003.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 13, 2023

The complex legacy of ‘Lost in Translation,’ 20 years on

Sofia Coppola's acclaimed film relaunched Tokyo's global fame, but along the way it forgot to show its Japanese characters some love.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?