Search - 2020

 
 
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington in December 2014.
WORLD
Sep 29, 2023

Long-serving U.S. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein dies at 90

Feinstein was a Washington trail-blazer who among other accomplishments became the first woman to head the influential Senate Intelligence Committee.
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev prior to a meeting in Brussels on May 14
WORLD / Politics
Oct 1, 2023

In taking Karabakh, Azerbaijan's president avenged his father

A confluence of factors had convinced Ilham Aliyev, 61, that the time was right to do something his father couldn't.
The Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple where Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed in June in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 4, 2023

India's spies infiltrated West long before Canada's murder claim

Canada's recent allegations have thrust India's secretive Research and Analysis Wing into the global spotlight.
A woman walks past a market in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon. Lebanon is one of nine Arab nations using an algorithm-powered poverty assessment formula funded by the World Bank that ranks welfare applicants according to dozens of different data points.
WORLD / Society
Oct 5, 2023

In Middle East, poor excluded from welfare by 'faulty' algorithms

Around the world, 40 countries use an algorithm-powered poverty assessment formula funded by the World Bank to rank welfare applicants.
Giants manager Tatsunori Hara (left) waves to fans following his final game at Tokyo Dome on Wednesday. Shinnosuke Abe (right) will manage the team next season.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Oct 5, 2023

Giants prepare to start new era as manager Tatsunori Hara walks away

Manager Tatsunori Hara's departure closes the book on an eventful chapter in the storied history of the Giants.
The Singapore skyline
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 6, 2023

The rich are flocking to Singapore as bankers stick with Hong Kong

From Singapore’s earliest years as an independent state, it has aimed to be one of the key locales through which the world’s money flows.
Taylor Swift attends the MTV Video Music Awards at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sept. 12.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 8, 2023

Taylor Swift and the political needle

With hundreds of millions of social media followers and a staunchly loyal fan base, she can move any dial with the tiniest of efforts.
Iranians gather in Tehran on Saturday to show support for Palestinians after Hamas' attack on Israel.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 10, 2023

Gauging Iran’s culpability in the Israel conflict

Tehran has a lot of layers to sift through as it determines the extent of its support and the possible repercussions.
Both the 2028 and 2032 editions of soccer's European Championship will be cohosted, governing body UEFA has announced.
SOCCER
Oct 11, 2023

U.K. and Ireland to host Euro 2028; Italy and Turkey awarded Euro 2032

Both bids ran unopposed but still needed official approval from European soccer's governing body, which they received at a meeting in Switzerland.
A view of the outside of the OSIRIS-REx sample collector, with sample material from the asteroid Bennu seen on the middle right at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, in a recent undated photograph.
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 12, 2023

NASA unveils newly returned carbon-rich asteroid sample

A small quantity of the material collected by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu was unveiled at NASA's Johnson Space Center.
Signage for Japan's top banks, MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 12, 2023

Japan’s top banks pay women about half of what men earn

The country has a relatively high labor participation rate for women, but many of the positions they occupy have little prospect of better pay.
The 2028 Los Angeles Games are set to feature cricket, flag football, lacrosse, squash and baseball-softball, following approval from the International Olympic Committee.
OLYMPICS
Oct 16, 2023

Cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash make 2028 Games cut

Each host city, under IOC rules, can request the inclusion of several sports for their edition of the Games.
Palestinian refugees flee to Rafah, in southern Gaza, after Israeli airstrikes on Friday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 17, 2023

Japan must uphold humanitarianism in the Middle East

War cries from Israel and Hamas must be met with appeals for the defense of human life, a position Japan has historically held.
Rep. Jim Jordan after a vote for House speaker on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday
WORLD / Politics
Oct 19, 2023

Jordan defeated again for speaker as Republican stalemate deepens

The hard-line Republican from Ohio lost a second bid for speaker after running headlong into opposition from a group of mainstream GOP holdouts.
Obtaining dual nationality and having it uniformly recognized by authorities in Japan is no simple matter.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 19, 2023

When Japan's dual nationality ban meets a legal gray zone

Lawyer Yuri Kondo decided to naturalize as an American citizen. What followed was a mix of ambiguity and the feeling of a loss of identity.
Delegates arrive for the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum to mark the initiatives 10th anniversary in Beijing on Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Oct 20, 2023

China aims to remake the world with its Belt and Road initiative

Infrastructure is key to the success of the developing world and the failure to help emerging economies meet this vital need will rightly tar the West.
EF Polymer CEO Narayan Lal Gurjar (right) and COO Kunihiro Shimoji at the company in Onna, Okinawa Prefecture, in August
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Oct 30, 2023

Organic polymer brings water to drought-hit farmlands

The India-born, Okinawa-nurtured product seeks to replace petroleum-derived polymers to promote sustainability.
U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana
WORLD / Politics
Oct 25, 2023

U.S. Republicans try, try again with fourth speaker nominee

Congress has been at a standstill and unable to address multiple global crises, as well as the fast-approaching threat of a government shutdown.
Participants hold a giant rainbow flag during a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Pride Parade in Hong Kong
WORLD / Society
Oct 25, 2023

How nations allow or restrict legal gender change

A small number of countries have made it easier for transgender people to change their legal gender, while other nations have restricted such changes.
Japanese companies that have more female directors tend to outperform their peers in terms of stock market performance.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 26, 2023

Japan firms with more female directors beating peers

The positive impact from having more women in leadership roles hasn’t necessarily enhanced compensation for women in line with their contributions.
The Chairman's steamed flower crab with aged Shaoxing wine and chicken oil
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 5, 2023

Seeking 'the perfect combination of Chinese and French cuisine'

Chefs Daniel Calvert and Danny Yip are old friends, but for the first time this month, they're collaborators.
With a year left until the 2024 presidential election, Arab and Muslim American support for U.S. President Joe Biden threatens to plummet over his Middle East policy — a factor that could even swing certain states.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 3, 2023

Muslim anguish over Gaza holds electoral risks for Biden

While Muslims account for a small fraction of the U.S. population, the election could swing on votes in a few close races.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the first Japanese leader to address a special joint session of the Philippine Congress, waves beside Philippines' Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Philippines' House Speaker Martin Romualdez at the House of Representatives in Quezon City, Philippines, on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 4, 2023

Japan and Philippines agree to take defense ties to next level

Tokyo and Manila launched talks on a visiting forces agreement, while the Philippines became the first recipient of Japan's new military aid program.
Russian President Vladimir Putin marking Russia's Day of National Unity in Red Square in central Moscow, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 6, 2023

Putin’s move to secure Libya bases is new regional worry for U.S.

Such a move poses new threats to Washington and the EU, which are already occupied with Ukraine and the Kremlin's posturing in the Middle East.
Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani steals second base against the Oakland Athletics during the fifth inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California, on Sept. 3.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 7, 2023

Ohtani nominated as finalist for AL MVP award

Corey Seager and Marcus Semien of the Rangers, as well as Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, are finalists for the American League MVP Award.
Laura Enever during a competition in Rio de Janeiro in 2012.
MORE SPORTS / Surfing
Nov 9, 2023

Australian Laura Enever sets world surfing record in Hawaii

Enever, 31, caught a huge blue wall measured at 43.6 feet (13.3 meters), breaking the world record for the biggest wave ever paddled into by a woman.
If you spot a wild animal in the city, it's likely lost. Still, alert authorities immediately to prevent any unpleasantness.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / Longform
Nov 13, 2023

The concrete forest: Bears, boars and more head to the cities

Warmer winters, less food and an aging society all play a part in why wild animals are increasingly venturing into human-populated areas.
A giant panda at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington during one of its last days on American soil. Pandas Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and Xiao Qi Ji were returned to China on Nov. 8 upon Beijing's request.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 14, 2023

Pandas don’t play diplomatic hard ball like China does

Panda diplomacy is endangered, with the forced return of three bears from Washington to China an exercise in "dumb power."
Mainland Chinese student Zhou Hongxu arrives for a court hearing on suspicion that he attempted to develop a spy network for China in Taiwan in March 2018.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2023

Spies bring their China warnings in from the cold

The spy chiefs say Western nations need to safeguard technology innovation, particularly in areas like artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
A man wearing a t-shirt in support of QAnon, participates in a 'Back the Blue' rally in New York on Aug. 9, 2020.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 16, 2023

U.S. political violence driven by new breed of 'grab-bag' extremists

Such radicals eschew firm creeds. Instead, they embrace notions, no matter how divergent, that blends with their particular grievances.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat