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Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk gets in a Tesla car as he leaves a hotel in Beijing in May last year.
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Apr 22, 2024

Elon Musk’s robotaxi dreams plunge Tesla into chaos

The idea of creating an autonomous taxi service has been kicking around Tesla for at least eight years.
Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks stand on a log as plastic bottles and trash float on the the El Cerron Grande reservoir in Potonico, El Salvador, in 2022.
ENVIRONMENT
Apr 22, 2024

Negotiations on global plastic treaty to resume in Canada

After promising to finalize a treaty by the end of this year, 175 countries are meeting in Canada from Tuesday to hammer out the details.
Ryoken Hirayama, a construction worker arrested in connection with the discovery of the two charred bodies in Tochigi Prefecture, leaves a Tokyo police station on Monday. He has been handed over to prosecutors.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 22, 2024

Man held over charred bodies found in Tochigi says he didn't know victims

Police are investigating further following a disclosure by the man that he had acted on a request from an unnamed person.
People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at the main railway station in Seoul, on April 2.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 22, 2024

North Korea fires off salvo of several short-range ballistic missiles

Japan's Defense Ministry said it had confirmed at least one apparent ballistic missile had been fired into the Sea of Japan.
Shohei Ohtani has been appointed as the new technology ambassador for Rapsodo, the company announced Monday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 22, 2024

Shohei Ohtani signs deal with sports technology company Rapsodo

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has signed a deal to become the technology ambassador for Rapsodo, the company announced on Monday.
Chinese athletes take part in the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Games in July 2021.
OLYMPICS
Apr 23, 2024

WADA rejects cover-up charge over investigation into Chinese swimmers

Reports claimed that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine ahead of the Tokyo Games.
An employee prepares to place a mortar into a box at an arms production facility in an undisclosed location in Ukraine.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Apr 23, 2024

Cash shortages and attacks take toll on Ukraine's growing arms sector

Firms are struggling to fund production and secure long-term deals, and all are concerned about being targeted in intensifying Russian missile strikes.
Tesla remains the dominant EV maker in the U.S. market, but its earnings have been under pressure for several quarters.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2024

Tesla speeding up release of cheaper cars after sales miss

The maker of electric vehicles plans to release more affordable models by the end of this year or in early next year.
Sanrio is marking Hello Kitty's 50th anniversary this year. The character's rise mirrors that of kawaii culture globally, and her longevity offers important clues as to the future of cute culture.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 22, 2024

Hello Kitty turns 50. What will the next cat's meow be?

The global rise of Hello Kitty, who turns 50 this year, tracks that of Japanese culture. What, then, does the next half-century of kawaii have in store?
Naomi Osaka hits a shot against Greet Minnen during the first round of the Madrid Open on Wednesday.
TENNIS
Apr 25, 2024

Naomi Osaka cruises in first round in Madrid for first win on clay since 2022

The former world No. 1 grew up playing on hard courts in the United States and has mostly struggled on the red dirt over the years.
An estimated 835,200 people were due to travel through Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture during the 11-day Golden Week period — about 77% of the number during the same period in 2019, before the eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 27, 2024

Travelers flock to train stations and airports as Golden Week begins

Japan kicked off its Golden Week holidays, which run through May 6, on Saturday, with many people heading to resorts or their home towns.
Protesters in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and pro-Israel counterprotesters scuffle during demonstrations at the University of California Los Angeles on Sunday.
WORLD
Apr 29, 2024

White House urges 'peaceful' campus protests after hundreds arrested

The wave of demonstrations began at Columbia University in New York but they have since spread rapidly across the country.
A staff member works at the animation studio Shake Hands in Kyoto on Jan. 24. The studio aims to provide job training and confidence to people with autism.
JAPAN / Society
May 5, 2024

Anime studio draws on talent of autistic artists

The groundbreaking initiative aims to provide job training and confidence to people with autism.
A rickshaw driver drinks water as he rests during ongoing heat-wave in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Tuesday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 1, 2024

Islamic charitable giving may offer Bangladesh a route to climate adaptation

Global faith-based finance could support poor countries whose needs for funds are 10 to 18 times greater than the financing they currently receive.
Laxman Narasimhan has been CEO of Starbucks for just over a year.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 2, 2024

Sales slump and shares dive at Starbucks as inflation cuts thirst for treats

The global chain expressed confidence in its forecast as recently as November, saying that demand for iced shaken espressos was resilient.
A drone view of three berths able to load vessels with oil is seen after their construction at Westridge Marine Terminal, the terminus of the Canadian government-owned Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, on April 26.
WORLD / Politics
May 2, 2024

Constraints on Canada's Trans Mountain pipeline may crimp oil exports

After 12 years, a project to nearly triple the crude-oil flow from Alberta to Canada's Pacific Coast began commercial operations, but with setbacks.
A World Anti-Doping Agency logo is seen at the WADA Symposium in Lausanne, Switzerland, on March 12, 2024.
MORE SPORTS
May 2, 2024

USADA slams WADA for making 'half-truths' in China doping case

WADA has been under fire since last month, when the New York Times reported 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine before the Tokyo Games.
A guide stands next to a CV9040 infantry fighting vehicle and other military hardware at an exhibition displaying equipment captured by the Russian army from Ukrainian forces in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, at the Victory Park open-air museum on Poklonnaya Gora in Moscow on Wednesday
WORLD / Politics
May 2, 2024

Russians who fled war return, in boost for Putin’s war economy

Many Russians are returning to their homeland after finding countries abroad have become less accommodating for them — a gain for the domestic economy.
Superintendent Mandeep Mooker, officer-in-charge of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT), speaks at a news conference providing an update into the Hardeep Singh Nijjar homicide investigation in Surrey, British Columbia, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 4, 2024

Indian nationals charged in murder of Canadian Sikh activist

The murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, last year sparked a major diplomatic clash between India and Canada.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right) gives an address to the Leaders’ Plenary during the 2024 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Center in Melbourne, on March 6.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 7, 2024

Australian PM Albanese calls Chinese military air incident 'unacceptable'

A Chinese fighter jet dropped flares above and ahead of an Australian helicopter above the Yellow Sea during an operation to enforce North Korea sanctions.
Tourists pose in front of a convenience store with Mount Fuji on Friday in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture. Local residents are upset over littering, overcrowding and the inconvenience caused by the visitors.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 7, 2024

Thanks, tourists. Views of Mount Fuji are now blocked.

Japan needs better long-term strategies to manage tourism sustainably.
Cleaning worker Hu Dexi, 67, at a shopping mall in Beijing on April 10
BUSINESS / Economy
May 8, 2024

In rapidly aging China, millions can't afford to retire

With a low retirement age, meager pension benefits and no family to support them, many in China feel they simply can't ever stop working.
Russian officers march during the main military parade rehearsals in Moscow's Red Square on May 5.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 8, 2024

Russia’s war economy starves crucial oil industry of manpower

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, its oil and gas sector has faced increasingly strict international sanctions aimed at limiting petrodollar revenue.
SoftBank Group is in talks to acquire Graphcore, a struggling British semiconductor startup.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 9, 2024

SoftBank said to be in talks to buy troubled AI chip firm Graphcore

Graphcore reported just $2.7 million in revenue for 2022, a 46% drop from the prior year, according to its latest financial report.
Archaeologists say a 1,600-year-old wooden coffin at the Tomio Maruyama tumulus in the city of Nara was kept in good condition probably because it was protected by a layer of clay and copper ions that had seeped out of the mirrors that were buried together.
JAPAN / History / FOCUS
May 9, 2024

How the discovery of a giant sword in Nara offers clues into ancient Japan

Experts say a series of surprise finds at the burial mound could help untangle the many mysteries surrounding the rulers of fourth-century Japan.
Japanese people are exposed to less online disinformation compared to other countries, partly due to language barriers and inherent skepticism.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 9, 2024

Japan’s accidental resilience in the disinformation age

The Japanese are exposed to less online disinformation compared to other countries, partly due to language barriers and inherent skepticism.
Pete Reynolds (front row, right) has trained for 38 years with the Bujinkan, an organization that teaches skills used by ninja. The American moved to Japan in 2000 and is now a senior instructor at the organization’s dojo in the Nezu neighborhood in Tokyo.
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 10, 2024

The unexpected acolytes helping to keep ninja heritage alive

What may have started as youthful fantasy has led to a deeper passion in an area of Japanese history by non-Japanese martial arts practitioners.
Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
May 11, 2024

How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan

Five years into the Reiwa Era and the challenges Japan's moms face are unique, though the qualities that help them persevere haven't changed a bit.
Spectators gather on South Padre Island to watch the planned launch of SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft from the company's Boca Chica launchpad, near Brownsville, Texas, on March 14.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2024

Musk's SpaceX is quick to build in Texas, slow to pay its bills

Unpaid bills and finger-pointing among contractors have led many construction-industry businesses to file liens against SpaceX properties.
Relations between Russia and Western nations have been in the deep freeze since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but Norway has been keen to keep some limited cooperation alive through the Arctic Council.
WORLD / Politics
May 15, 2024

West and Russia manage limited cooperation in Arctic despite chill in ties

Norway has been keen to keep some limited cooperation between Russia and the West alive.

Longform

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