US pressure may push Abe to revise Constitution
US President Donald Trump’s criticism of security arrangements with Japan may push Prime Minister Shinto Abe to revise the country’s pacifist stand.
Category: Features
Singapore’s schoolchildren feeling stressed out
Long hours at school, hours of homework and being forced by parents to have private tuition are taking a toll on students in Singapore.
Global warming to cause heat stress and job hours loss
Workers in Europe had to adapt to high temperatures in recent days. But the impact of heat stress on people and the global economy by the year 2030 will be severe, according to the UN. The world’s poorest will be worst affected.
Antarctica’s sea ice cover suddenly melting fast
After mysteriously expanding for decades, Antarctica’s sea ice cover melted by an area four times greater than France in just a few years and now stands at a record low, according to a study published Monday.
Beijing set to open eye-catching mega airport
Beijing is set to open an eye-catching multi-billion dollar airport resembling a massive shining starfish, to accommodate soaring air traffic in China and celebrate the Communist government’s 70th anniversary in power,
Japan restarts whale hunting after more than 30 years
Five small ships sailed out of harbor on Monday in Japan’s first commercial whale hunt in more than three decades, a move that has aroused global condemnation and fears for the fate of whales.
Japan faces flak over plastics wastes
G20 host Japan hopes world leaders will endorse a deal on marine plastic waste and find common ground on climate change, but its own environmental record is under increasing scrutiny.
Greenland to see severe melting this year
Scientific research shows that this year could see severe melting of the Greenland ice sheet which threatens to submerge the world’s coastal areas in the future.
Climate change putting peacekeeping at risk
The largest peacekeeping missions in the world are in countries most exposed to climate change, according to a Sweden-based research institute. Without new approaches, peace doesn’t stand a chance.
Tech drives centuries-old city’s growth
With the head sheaves whirling on top of the derrick, the century-old No.1 pit of the Kailuan colliery still lifts coal from deep underground. The icon of the old industrial city of Tangshan is also a tourist site.
Saudi public decency law stokes fears
Saudi Arabia has rendered toothless the once-feared religious police amid a liberalisation drive, but a planned “public decency” law is stoking controversy with some fearing a revival of morality policing.
‘Miracle rescue’ transforms Thai cave into tourist site
The dramatic rescue of 12 young footballers and their coach from a flooded cave in Thailand has been hailed as a miracle drawing thousands of tourists to the site located at a once serene mountainside in the country’s north.
Science in crossfire of US-China ‘war’
As the United States ramps up tensions with China, researchers from both countries are feeling the heat, unable to collaborate on valuable research.
‘Sand mafias’ wiping out Morocco’s dunes
Morocco’s breathtaking sand dunes are literally being reduced to rocks by ‘sand mafias’ who illegally dredge the resource to feed insatiable construction contractors.
Climate change set to empty a fifth of ocean life
By the end of this century, one-fifth of ocean life as we know it will vanish from the face of the earth all because of global warming.
Extinct turtle ‘resurrected’ at Indian temple pond
The black softshell turtle is officially extinct in the wild, but a centuries-old Indian temple and its nature-loving caretaker are helping the creature make a tentative comeback.
Laos pathway for Made-in-Myanmar meth
Landlocked, secretive and with ungovernable borders, Laos has become a sluice for transporting Made-In-Myanmar meth to the drug hungry markets of Southeast Asia and Australia, where billion-dollar seizures are now being made.
40-year-old mystery over devouring black holes solved
Scientists on Thursday unveiled the most detailed simulation of a black hole yet, solving a mystery dating back more than four decades over how the star-devouring monsters consume matter.
HK scientist bids to restore ‘Pearl of the Orient’s’ heydays
Former investment banker turned scientist Yan Wa-tat is on a mission to bring back Hong Kong’s heydays as the Pearl of the Orient.
Humans’ closest relatives driven into forest ghettos
Chimpanzees, mankind’s closest primate relative, are being driven into extinction by urban expansion and hunting.
India school demands plastic waste as fees
One school in northeast India has taken a novel approach to addressing the scourge of plastic waste by making its collection a condition of free attendance.
Looming crisis for Thai Muslim silk weavers
Thailand’s Muslim silk weavers fear they are a dying breed because the younger generation is not willing to learn or carry out the traditional craft.
Malaysia fights to save centuries-old creole
Malaysia’s Portuguese Eurasian community has a distinct and vibrant culture. But many older folk fear that their language Kristang, which UNESCO lists as “severely endangered”, is increasingly being discarded by the younger generation.
As taste for English wine grows, rush for vineyard land underway
Sparkling or sweet, demand for English wine is flourishing, say producers, with the search for suitable land to grow grapes and plant vineyards gathering momentum across England.
A prayer for trees: For Kenyan tribes, saving forests is a sacred duty
As Tume Racha made tea for her grandchildren in the family’s small wood-frame house woven from rags and camel hides, she talked about what her community holds most sacred: its trees.
Venezuelan defectors arm themselves to ‘liberate’ their homeland
Wearing camouflage shirts and combat boots, a Venezuelan militia group stands in formation in the Colombian city of Cucuta as their commander, a former Venezuelan army sergeant, outlines plans to seize towns across the border before heading to Caracas to help oust President Nicolas Maduro.
Behind the scenes at a euro note printing press
In secretive vaults in Rome, crisp 100 and 200 euro banknotes are rolling off the printing press.
Blood and thunder at sea: British veteran remembers D-Day
Seventy-five years ago, a young British sailor stood on the bridge of a warship, its gun barrels pointing out to the coast of France and watched the devastation being rained down on a country he wanted to liberate.
Philippines city ripe for terrorists’ pickings
Two years after the Philippine city of Marawi was overrun by jihadists it remains in ruins, with experts warning that stalled reconstruction efforts are bolstering the appeal of extremist groups in the volatile region.
Surprise gift puts billionaire in centre of 2020 US polls issue
The gesture touched on one of the 2020 US election’s key issues – the high cost of education.
