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Britain's Keely Hodgkinson crosses the line to win the women's 800-meter final at the Paris Olympics on Monday.
OLYMPICS / Athletics
Aug 6, 2024

In her teens, this British runner struggled to walk. Now she's an Olympic champion.

The 22-year-old buried a reputation for being always the bridesmaid and never the bride as she stormed to victory.
Sheikh Hasina, then the prime minister of Bangladesh, in her office in Dhaka on June 11, 2023
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 6, 2024

Swift downfall of iron-fisted Sheikh Hasina marks new era in Bangladesh

Hasina saw her 15-year rule as Bangladesh’s prime minister unravel over the course of a bloody weekend that left scores of people dead.
American Quincy Hall crosses the line to win gold in the men's 400-meter sprint at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday.
OLYMPICS / Athletics
Aug 8, 2024

Quincy Hall shows sheer grit to win Olympic 400-meter title

The 26-year-old lunged at the line to pip Britain's Matthew Hudson-Smith, who set a new European record of 43.44 seconds.
Japan’s civil servants will likely see the biggest salary increases in over three decades in the current fiscal year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 8, 2024

Japan’s public servants may see biggest pay hike in 32 years

The Finance Ministry estimates that implementing these recommendations could increase the financial burden of sustain services by roughly ¥382 billion ($2.6 billion).
Naoshi Hirata, chairman of a committee tasked with evaluating the risk of a Nankai Trough earthquake, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday evening.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2024

Japan issues first-ever alert over risk of Nankai Trough megaquake

It is believed that the chance of a major earthquake occurring in the Nankai Trough is relatively higher than usual, the weather agency said.
American Grant Holloway races to Olympic gold in the men's 110-meter hurdles final at Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Thursday.
OLYMPICS / Athletics
Aug 9, 2024

American Holloway powers to elusive Games gold

Holloway finally added Olympic 110-meter hurdles gold to his sizeable trophy cabinet as Japan's Rachid Muratake finished fifth.
An archival photo depicting a CWAJ board meeting from April 6, 1966
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Aug 15, 2024

From the division of war, 75 years of intercultural aid

Celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, the mission of the College Women’s Association of Japan remains straightforward yet ambitious: Women supporting women.
Ichiro Ozawa of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 10, 2024

Former CDP heavyweight Ozawa looks to replace Izumi in next leadership race

"We should pick the best suited person to wrest power," Ozawa said, reiterating his hopes to field a candidate other than Izumi for the leadership race.
Gold medalist Imane Khelif of Algeria kisses her medal.
OLYMPICS / Boxing
Aug 10, 2024

Algeria's Khelif delights newfound devotees with statement win at Paris Games

Khelif is the first Algerian woman to earn an Olympic boxing title and the first from her country to claim gold since Hocine Soltani at Atlanta 1996.
Flaring at the Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. Flaring, a common sight at LNG plants, is a controlled burning of gas for reasons ranging from depressurizing equipment to disposing of gas that can’t be used. The practice is a "waste of money" and negatively impacts climate change and human health, says the International Energy Agency.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Aug 11, 2024

Japan fuels U.S. LNG boom even as climate targets and impacts loom

For over half a century, Japan has been a sizable buyer of LNG, and its government, banks and energy companies have played a key role in continued investment.
Yuka Kagami celebrates with her medal after winning the women's 76-kg freestyle wrestling event on the final day of the Paris Olympics on Sunday.
OLYMPICS
Aug 12, 2024

Japan finishes third on medal table after strong showing at Paris Olympics

Japan won 20 gold medals at the Paris Olympics for its best showing at an overseas Games.
Botswana's Letsile Tebogo, who the men's 200 meters at the Paris Olympics, holds his gold medal as he arrives for a welcoming ceremony in Gaborone on Tuesday.
OLYMPICS / Athletics
Aug 14, 2024

Flags and dancing as Botswana welcomes home Olympic gold

Families with children, elderly people and young supporters waved Botswana's flag as the Olympic team, including sprinter Letsile Tebogo, arrived home.
Following the Paris Olympics, two swimming pools, the climbing wall and the skateboard parks are set to be dug out and moved — most of them to the poverty-stricken Seine-Saint-Denis suburb northeast of Paris.
OLYMPICS
Aug 14, 2024

Olympics infrastructure and equipment heads for 'second life' post-Games

Over decades, the world's biggest sporting event has forged a reputation for monumental waste, but Paris organizers are hoping to change that.
Digital minister Taro Kono (left), Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi (center) and former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba are among the potential candidates for the ruling party's presidential election next month.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 14, 2024

Kishida's out. Who will likely be Japan's next leader?

The prime minister's decision not to run in the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential race has ignited discussion on who might succeed him.
Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te at the presidential office in Taipei on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 14, 2024

Is it fifth time's the charm for Shigeru Ishiba?

Ahead of the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential race, a short trip to Taiwan is allowing the former defense minister to burnish his foreign policy chops.
Medical professionals and activists hold posters and candles as they take part in a midnight protest on Wednesday to condemn the rape and murder of a young medic in Kolkata. Indian doctors in government hospitals across several states halted elective services "indefinitely" on Monday in protest.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Aug 15, 2024

Doctors' protests spread across India after rape and murder of medic

The gruesome attack on a trainee doctor last week has prompted thousands of women to march across Indian cities overnight as well as protests by fellow medics.
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi announces his candidacy in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 19, 2024

Rising star Takayuki Kobayashi launches bid for LDP president

The former economic security czar has touted his candidacy as a symbol of radical change in a party embattled by scandals.
Bangladesh's instability adds to the existing regional tensions in South Asia, which is already grappling with violence in Myanmar, terrorism in the Pakistan-Afghanistan area and political turmoil in the Maldives and Nepal.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2024

South Asia’s deepening political turmoil

The ouster of Bangladeshi's government is the latest example of political volatility in South Asia — a region struggling to achieve stability, let alone democratization.
Yukio Edano, a former leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, speaks to reporters on Aug. 9 to express his intention to run in the party's leadership race.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 20, 2024

CDP faced with division as it heads into leadership race

The next CDP leader will be expected to unify the different groups within the party and cooperate with other opposition parties to increase its seats during polls.
Solar cell panels over the water surface of Sirindhorn Dam in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand. Four countries in Southeast Asia including Thailand account for more than 40% of solar module production capacity outside of China.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 21, 2024

Southeast Asia’s solar boom threatened by U.S.-China trade tension

Chinese firms that set up shop in the region over the last decade are being accused of skirting U.S. import levies on their home market.
China's Sun Yang swims to win the men's 1500m freestyle final during the World Swimming Championships at the Sant Jordi arena in Barcelona in August 2013.
MORE SPORTS / Swimming
Aug 21, 2024

China's Sun set to return to the pool after long doping ban

The swimmer will represent Zhejiang province at the National Summer Swimming Championships, which start on Sunday in Hefei.
Medical professionals and students participate in a silent march as they condemn the rape and murder of a doctor, in Kolkata on Aug. 15.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Aug 21, 2024

'Abuse every day': Female medics in India speak out after brutal murder

The rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata cast a spotlight on the chronic issue of violence against women and the failure to provide safe working conditions for them.
The ability of Xi Jinping's government to control China's  industrial overcapacity crisis is limited, and stimulating domestic demand is difficult amid geopolitical tensions.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2024

Xi’s supply-side panacea has lost its magic

China’s excess capacity problem will have to fester until even its industry leaders call it quits. That may be some years away.
A Rapidus factory construction site in Chitose, Hokkaido, on July 24. The plan to ramp up renewable energy usage in the region to 60% by 2030 is part of a larger concept known as “Hokkaido Valley.”
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Aug 26, 2024

Hokkaido more plugged in to renewable energy than rest of Japan

The local government aims to raise its share of renewable energy to 60% from the current 40%, but Hokkaido's grid needs to be upgraded first.
University students in Varanasi, India, protest against a recent rape and murder of a doctor in West Bengal. Despite some improvements in legislation following high-profile cases, such as the 2012 gang rape, violence against women has worsened, with recorded rapes increasing.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2024

Protests won’t change India's attitude toward rape

Despite some improvements in legislation following high-profile cases, such as the 2012 gang rape, violence against women has worsened, with recorded rapes increasing.
Eiffel Tower Stadium, which was used for beach volleyball during the Olympics, will host blind football during the 2024 Paralympics.
PARALYMPICS
Aug 23, 2024

Paralympians prepare to take center stage in Paris

Eighteen of the 35 Olympic venues will be used for the Paralympics.
A Ferrari seized by the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau which will be put up for auction
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2024

Tokyo’s tax agency will auction off $390,000 Ferrari it seized

Other high-end items up for auction include luxury real estate and a rare bottle of Suntory Holdings' cult-favorite whisky Hibiki 30.
Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to reporters in Yokohama on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 23, 2024

Shinjiro Koizumi is public's favorite for next LDP leader, poll shows

Former LDP Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba also received a strong degree of support.
Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to Liberal Democratic Party members during a leadership election at its headquarters in Tokyo in September 2020.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 24, 2024

Ex-defense chief Shigeru Ishiba announces fifth bid for LDP presidency

The party heavyweight underscored a commitment to clean politics, pledging to work to restore trust in the LDP after a wide-ranging slush fund scandal.
This screen shot from the Philippine Coast Guard video taken on Monday shows a Chinese air force fighter jet deploying flares near a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources plane that was flying near the Chinese-controlled, Philippine-claimed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 24, 2024

Philippines says China fired flares at its South China Sea plane

The unprovoked Chinese "harassment" included "deploying flares multiple times at a dangerously close distance of approximately 15 meters, Manila said.

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake