Tag - east

 
 

EAST

Magnetic paper train tickets have been in use in Japan since the late 1960s.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 30, 2024
Eastern Japan rail operators to introduce QR code tickets by March 2027
JR East and seven other railway operators will replace their decades-old magnetic ticketing system to improve efficiency and sustainability.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (right) meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Riyadh on Dec. 8, 2022.
WORLD / Politics
May 30, 2024
Xi lays out vision for greater cooperation with Arab states
China has been stepping up its diplomatic efforts in the Middle East in recent years to win new allies in its global contest for influence with the U.S.
Palestinians search for food among burnt debris in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on an area designated for displaced people, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
May 30, 2024
Israel sees seven more months of fighting to defeat Hamas
The comments will do little to raise the spirits of mediators like the U.S. and Qatar, who want Israel and Hamas to hammer out a cease-fire deal.
Displaced Palestinians wait to receive United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) aid in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 7.
WORLD
May 30, 2024
Gaza aid deliveries dropped by two-thirds since Israel's move into Rafah
A daily average of 58 trucks reached Gaza from May 7 to Tuesday, compared with a daily average of 176 aid trucks from April 1 to May 6, the United Nations said.
Israeli armored personnel carriers (APCs) near Israel's border with Gaza in southern Israel on Wednesday
WORLD
May 30, 2024
Israel seizes Gaza's border with Egypt and continues raids into Rafah
The border with Egypt along the southern edge was the Gaza Strip's only land border that Israel had not directly controlled.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during the National Memorial Day Wreath-Laying and Observance Ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
May 29, 2024
Biden's blurred red lines under scrutiny after Rafah carnage
Despite global outrage over a recent deadly attack in Rafah, the White House has insisted that it did not believe Israel had launched the major operation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping at the first China-Arab States forum in Riyadh in 2022
WORLD / Politics
May 29, 2024
Xi hosts Arab leaders as China-Mideast ties widen beyond trade
As the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden backs Israel in its war in Gaza, China sees eye-to-eye with Arab nations.
A man looks on as Palestinians inspect a tent camp damaged in an Israeli strike during an Israeli military operation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 29, 2024
U.S. says latest Rafah deaths won't change its Israel policy
Recent deaths in Rafah have tested U.S. President Joe Biden's promise to withhold weapons from Israel if it put displaced persons there at risk.
Palestinians search for food among burnt debris in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on an area designated for displaced people, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on Monday.
WORLD
May 28, 2024
Israel's continued attacks on Rafah prompt global outcry
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the latest strike had not been intended to cause civilian casualties, though at least 45 people died.
Japan Coast Guard patrol ships try to block the way of a China Coast Guard ship (center) near Uotsurijima in the Senkaku Islands chain on April 27.
JAPAN
May 27, 2024
Japan spots Chinese ships near Senkaku Islands for record 158 days
The territorial dispute over the Tokyo-controlled islets, known as the Diaoyu by China, is a long-running sore point between Japan and China.
Fire rages following an Israeli strike on an area designated for displaced Palestinians, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, in this still picture taken from a video on Sunday.
WORLD
May 27, 2024
Scores killed as Israel strikes tent city in assault on Rafah
The Israeli military said it carried out the strike based on "precise intelligence” and that it killed two "senior” Hamas officials.
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan attends a meeting with Venezuela's National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez (not pictured) at the Federal Legislative Palace, in Caracas, Venezuela April 22, 2024.
WORLD / Politics
May 23, 2024
Why a prosecutor went public with arrest warrant requests for Hamas and Israeli leaders
ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan accused Netanyahu and his defense minister of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
An Israeli officer directing traffic at the Qalandia checkpoint between Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and Jerusalem on Dec. 3, 2023. Spain, Norway and Ireland said on Wednesday that they would recognize an independent Palestinian state, a rebuke to Israel over its war in Gaza and its decades of occupation of Palestinian territories.
WORLD / Politics
May 23, 2024
Can European recognition bring Palestinian statehood any closer?
The recognition comes as the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor requests arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defense minister for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
People hold antiwar placards in Madrid during a protest to call for a cease-fire in Gaza on Jan. 20.
WORLD / Politics
May 23, 2024
Israel's isolation deepens as European countries recognize Palestinian state
The move follows warnings by Washington over withholding arms, sanctions against violent settlers and accusations of genocide in international courts.
Palestinian kids stand in a house an Israeli strike destroyed, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday.
WORLD
May 23, 2024
Israeli forces move deeper into Rafah in night of heavy fighting
Israel's assault on the city has set hundreds of thousands of people fleeing in what had been a refuge for half of the enclave's 2.3 million people.
An International Criminal Court prosecutor's request for an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has created a diplomatic quandary for some of Israel's key allies.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
May 22, 2024
Israel's allies grapple with bid for ICC warrant against Netanyahu
The move has some of the ICC's vocal backers questioning the extent of their loyalty.
View of the apparent remains of a ballistic missile, as it lies in the desert near the Dead Sea, following a massive missile and drone attack by Iran on Israel, in southern Israel on April 21.
WORLD / Politics
May 22, 2024
After Israel defense, U.S. seeks to entice Gulf allies on missile shield
It's unclear whether Gulf allies have the same confidence the U.S. would rush to their defense, say experts.
People attend a demonstration in support of Gaza and Palestinians outside the building of the Norwegian parliament in Oslo, Norway, on Nov. 4, 2023.
WORLD
May 22, 2024
Norway, along with Ireland and Spain, to recognize Palestinian state
Before the announcement, some 143 out of 193 member-states of the United Nations recognized a Palestinian state.
An Israeli tank near the Israel-Gaza border on Tuesday
WORLD
May 22, 2024
Israeli forces raze parts of Gaza's Jabalia and hit Rafah with airstrikes
Simultaneous Israeli assaults on the northern and southern edges of the Gaza Strip have sharply restricted the flow of aid, raising the risk of famine.
Displaced Palestinian children wait to collect free food at a street kitchen in a camp in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on May 17.
WORLD
May 22, 2024
Crowds intercept almost all aid sent over U.S.-built pier in Gaza
While 10 aid trucks were able to take goods from a pier to a storage area on Friday, only five of 16 trucks that departed the dock on Saturday made it to the warehouse.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals