Showing 1 - 10 of 325
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.
Polar bears bulk up despite melting Norwegian Arctic: study
AFP, Published on 30/01/2026
» PARIS (FRANCE) - Their icy hunting grounds are rapidly shrinking, but polar bears in Norway's remote Svalbard archipelago have defied the odds by bulking up instead of wasting away, a study said on Thursday.
Greenland proud of elite dogsled patrol units
AFP, Published on 28/01/2026
» COPENHAGEN - Donald Trump has ridiculed Denmark’s defence of Greenland as amounting to “two dogsleds”, but the Sirius Dogsled Patrol is no joke: the elite navy unit works in extreme conditions where only the toughest survive.
Japan's beloved last pandas leave for China as ties fray
AFP, Published on 27/01/2026
» TOKYO — Two popular pandas are set to leave Tokyo for China Tuesday, leaving Japan without any of the beloved bears for the first time in 50 years as ties between the Asian neighbours fray.
Tokyo pandas head for China, leaving Japan bereft of beloved bears
AFP, Published on 27/01/2026
» TOKYO - Two hugely popular pandas are set to depart from a Tokyo zoo for China on Tuesday, leaving Japan without any of the beloved bears for the first time in more than 50 years.
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.
Venezuela acknowledges death of detained opposition figure
AFP, Published on 08/12/2025
» CARACAS - Venezuela acknowledged Sunday an opposition figure died while in custody, as the Trump administration slammed Caracas as "vile" and the South American country's army swore in thousands of new soldiers amid mounting US military pressure.
Faberge's rare Winter Egg fetches record pound sterling22.9 mn at auction
AFP, Published on 03/12/2025
» LONDON - Faberge's The Winter Egg, considered one of his most beautiful creations, sold for nearly pound sterling23 million ($30 million) at auction Tuesday in London, smashing the sales record for the legendary jeweller of Imperial Russia.
Bear enters Aeon shopping mall in Japan, killed over 2 hours later
Kyodo News, Published on 17/11/2025
» A bear entered a shopping mall of retail giant Aeon in Akita prefecture on Sunday, prompting staff to barricade the animal before authorities arrived to kill it.
UN rights council orders probe of Sudan atrocities
AFP, Published on 14/11/2025
» GENEVA - The UN Human Rights Council on Friday ordered investigators to probe alleged atrocities in El-Fasher in Sudan and to seek to identify perpetrators so they can be brought to justice.