Showing 1 - 10 of 533
Sumo diplomacy: Japan's heavyweight 'soft power' ambassadors
AFP, Published on 30/01/2026
» TOKYO - Two giants stare each other down before colliding with a dull thud. After years on the sidelines, sumo is back centrestage as part of Japan's soft power arsenal overseas.
Why China was so keen to get to alleged cybercrime boss Chen Zhi first
South China Morning Post, Published on 27/01/2026
» When a film about an investigation into a phone scam in Cambodia debuted at the Busan International Film Festival in 2018, it was not the cast or the plot that drew attention in China.
Canada's Marineland gets 'conditional approval' to sell whales to US
AFP, Published on 27/01/2026
» TORONTO (CANADA) - Canada's federal government on Monday gave Marineland conditional approval to sell its 30 imperilled beluga whales to parks in the United States, after rejecting an export request to China.
Demonstrations in US in support of Iranian anti-government protesters
AFP, Published on 19/01/2026
» LOS ANGELES - Thousands of people staged large demonstrations in the United States Sunday denouncing the Iranian government's deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters in the Islamic Republic.
French museum fare hikes for non-European tourists spark outcry
AFP, Published on 13/01/2026
» PARIS — Should foreign tourists pay more for state-funded galleries than locals, or should art be accessible to all, without discrimination? France is hiking prices for non-Europeans at the Louvre this week, provoking debate about so-called "dual pricing".
Rare gorilla twins born in conflict-hit DR Congo nature park
AFP, Published on 09/01/2026
» KINSHASA - An endangered mountain gorilla has given birth to twins in the Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, whose remarkable biodiversity has long been threatened by the region's litany of conflicts.
Japan to go panda-less as Ueno zoo pair set for China return in January
Kyodo News, Published on 16/12/2025
» Popular twin pandas at a Japanese zoo will be returned to China in late January, a move that will leave Japan without any pandas for the first time in around half a century and disappoint much of the public, the Tokyo metropolitan government said on Monday.
Europe’s first dolphin sanctuary to open in Italy
AFP, Published on 05/12/2025
» ROME - The Mediterranean’s first sanctuary for dolphins that have lived in captivity will open off Italy next year, as demand for re-homing rises with the closure of marine parks across Europe.
Japan's low-crime image cracking as car thefts, home intrusions rise
Kyodo News, Published on 28/11/2025
» Japan has often prided itself on its orderly, low-crime society, but cracks in that image are widening amid rising car thefts and home intrusions fueled by export markets and public complacency.
‘Very worried’: Hong Kong fire survivors hunt for the missing
AFP, Published on 27/11/2025
» HONG KONG - The morning after saving her elderly neighbour from Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades, retiree Kwok was trawling through social media groups looking for signs other missing residents were safe on Thursday.