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A self-driving Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle in San Francisco in 2017
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 17, 2023

With self-driving cars, it's the ethics we have to navigate

Do accidents involving self-driving cars today save lives tomorrow? When it comes to self-driving cars, the challenges aren't just technical, but ethical.
A document from archives on Pope Pius XII, who reigned from 1939-1958, containing the names of people who were executed during the Ardeatine massacre in Italy in March 1944
WORLD
Sep 17, 2023

Letter shows Pope Pius XII probably knew about Holocaust early on

A letter found in the Vatican archives on the church's knowledge of the Holocaust conflicts with the Holy See's official longtime position.
While India’s gross domestic product is still smaller than China’s, the country is currently the world’s fastest-growing major economy and is projected to account for 12.9% of global growth over the next five years.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 18, 2023

India’s quiet rise as Asia's other demographic giant

While India appears stable and resurgent under Modi, its future will depend on its ability to maintain political stability and rapid economic growth.
On average, women spend more time on housework than men.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 18, 2023

It’s time for women to quit housework (again)

Women of the world unite in dedicating more time to yourselves and less to housework. Men might learn something along the way, too.
China with its government subsidies has become a dominant player in the EV market, causing concern in Europe and the United States.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 19, 2023

EV leadership means more than just sales figures

EV dominance matters because electric vehicles are the future.
When Russia invaded Ukraine, Kyiv turned to the world’s richest human, Elon Musk, as he was likely the only person on the planet capable of providing the communications it needed.
COMMENTARY
Sep 21, 2023

Elon Musk has power in Ukraine. Does he know how to use it?

When Russia invaded, Ukraine turned to Elon Musk because he was probably the only person on the planet capable of providing the communications it needed.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 21, 2023

Hokkaido University admits misconduct by chemistry research team

Unnatural gaps and signs of data manipulation were found in research related to artificial catalysts used to facilitate chemical reactions.
The Biden administration has issued final rules that would prohibit chip companies vying for a new infusion of federal cash from carrying out certain business expansions, partnerships and research in China, in what it described as an effort to protect United States national security.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 23, 2023

U.S. finalizes rules to keep chip funds out of China

The rules, which aim to prevent chip makers from using new U.S. subsidies to benefit China, take into account the industry’s perspective.
The World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai in 2020
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 21, 2023

Human success means evolving with AI, not shunning it

Most future jobs will be hybrid, powered by human and artificial intelligence. The challenge lies in striking the right balance.
A Caribbean box jellyfish
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 24, 2023

No brain, no problem: Tiny jellyfish can learn from experience

Such a feat is comparable to far more advanced animals such as fruit flies or mice, and may reveal insight into the fundamental property of nerve systems.
Women with portable electric fans in the Yurakucho district of Tokyo on Sept. 12. In Japan, Cool Biz became especially popular with women, who tended to wear lighter clothes and often complained about the cold temperatures needed to make business suits comfortable for their male colleagues.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 24, 2023

Where did all the dark-suited Japanese businessmen go?

Under Cool Biz, salarymen and government workers don short-sleeved shirts in the summer as offices are kept above 28 degrees Celsius to save energy.
Migrants from Venezuela, seeking asylum in the United States, sit before crossing the Rio Bravo river with the intention of turning themselves in to the U.S. Border Patrol agents, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on Thursday.
WORLD / Society
Sep 24, 2023

AI's 'insane' translation mistakes endanger U.S. asylum cases

Machine translation has made huge leaps but is still nowhere near good enough for complex, high-stakes situations like the asylum process.
A boat piloted by a Philippine fisherman is intercepted by Chinese coast guard boats as they tried to enter the Scarborough Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 25, 2023

With bullhorns and water cannons, Chinese ships wall off the sea

The world’s most brazen maritime militarization is gaining muscle in the South China Sea, waters through which one-third of global ocean trade passes.
People take part in a protest against the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's redevelopment project for the Meiji Jingu Gaien district in Tokyo in February.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 25, 2023

Petitioners try to halt razing of thousands of trees in historic Tokyo park

Tokyo's percentage of public green space is far lower than other major cities such as New York, Seoul and London.
Rupert Murdoch in his office in New York in 2007. Murdoch's decision to step down from the boards of News Corp. and Fox Corp. marks the end of a decadeslong media career.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 25, 2023

Rupert Murdoch, the last of the press barons

No living person has influenced the media landscape like Rupert Murdoch. Should we view his career in a favorable light, or is his legacy one of darkness?
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) banner outside the party's state office in Kolkata, India.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 26, 2023

Modi's ruling BJP plots election drive of epic scale

Growing anti-incumbency sentiment is conspiring with a newly formed national alliance to pose what BJP officials say will be Modi's toughest test by far.
Prominent Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed on the grounds of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple in British Columbia, Canada, in June.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2023

India-Canada clash should be a wake-up call on diaspora extremism

Western countries are failing to keep the radicalization of certain migrant communities in check. They have much to lose.
China's COSCO Shipping Ports is the world’s largest shipping company and port terminal operator.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2023

China’s port investments and risks to national security

The gray area between domestic and foreign jurisdictions and private and state-owned enterprises should be cause for concern.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. leaves a meeting in Jakarta on Sept. 7.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 28, 2023

Marcos' challenge of China pressures U.S.

There are questions about how far Manila is willing to go and whether the U.S. would really have its back if the situation escalates.
The higher interest rates that many countries are now experiencing are raising the costs of renewable electricity, the prices of which are dependent on the upfront expenditures needed to build new facilities.
COMMENTARY
Sep 28, 2023

What happens when renewable energy isn’t so cheap?

Renewable prices are determined by the upfront cost of building facilities whereas fossil-fuel energy prices are a mix, including fuel costs.
One of the works that will be performed at Kyoto Experiment is “The Window of Spaceship ‘In-Between’” by the Chelfitsch theater company. The play questions what the Japanese language is today from a plurality of perspectives.
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 29, 2023

Kyoto Experiment explores fluidity of culture with performance works

The lineup for the international performing arts festival features 11 works from countries such as Brazil, Australia, Thailand and Hong Kong.
Many art critics rank Pablo Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d’Avignon," which hangs in New York’s Museum of Modern Art, as one of his greatest. But other critics describe the masterpiece as racist or exploitative.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2023

What should be done with art that is seen as racist?

So what exactly should we do when people consider extant art racist?
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.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the crowd as he arrives at a Bhartiya Janta Party gathering in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
WORLD
Sep 30, 2023

Murder claim in Canada is only helping India's Modi at home

India has gone on the offensive since Canadian leader Justin Trudeau accused Modi’s government of orchestrating the murder of a Sikh priest.
The Mikomotojima Lighthouse in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture, was designed by Richard Henry Brunton, a Scotsman who was employed by the Meiji government to build lighthouses across Japan in the 19th century. In "The Japan Lights," author Iain Maloney connects his personal travels and experiences in Japan to Brunton's pursuits.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 1, 2023

'The Japan Lights' traces a journey of self-discovery in the wake of 3/11

Iain Maloney's wise book connects his travels in Japan to the pursuits of Richard Henry Brunton, a Scotsman who built lighthouses across the country.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi address a joint meeting of Congress at the Capitol in Washington in June.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 1, 2023

Modi’s Hindu nationalism stokes tension in Indian diaspora

Canadian and U.S. universities have become battlegrounds for critics and defenders of Hindu nationalism, punctuated by threats of violence and even death.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East on Sept. 13.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 1, 2023

Russia and North Korea's cartoon summit

Whether Russia is actually offering a deep and multifaceted relationship with North Korea implied by the summit remains far from clear.
Striking writers and actors stage a solidarity march through Hollywood on Sept. 13.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 1, 2023

The Writers Guild had a PR strategy like no other

So how did the Writers Guild union do it? First and foremost, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of social media in the equation.
Fort Myers Beach during a high tide in Florida
ENVIRONMENT
Oct 2, 2023

A hidden climate danger threatens coastal communities

Rising sea levels could push contaminated groundwater to the surface, releasing toxic chemicals from contaminated areas nearby.
Gamers play during the first day of Europe's leading digital games fair, Gamescom, in Cologne, Germany, in August 2019
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2023

Video game competitions should be in the Olympics

Esports is already among the world’s most popular competitive activities. Last year, the global audience totaled more than 500 million people.

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