Traditional ‘Bunraku’ puppets for children help Japanese master endure coronavirus shutdown
OSAKA, Japan — Stuck at home for weeks while Japan was under a state of emergency due to the coronavirus, renowned Japanese Bunraku puppet master Kanjuro Kiritake, all his performances canceled for months, was stricken with deep anxiety.
Myanmar’s upcycling monk leads push to cut plastic waste
YANGON — When a prominent Buddhist monk in Myanmar noticed a surge in plastic waste generated by residents in his Yangon neighborhood during the...
More than 1B people face displacement by 2050
LONDON — Rapid population growth, lack of access to food and water and increased exposure to natural disasters mean more than 1 billion people face being displaced by 2050, according to a new analysis of global ecological threats.
Singapore’s poorest stay in lockdown while others move freely
With restaurants and malls bustling, pre-pandemic life is slowly returning for people in Singapore—except for the more than 300,000 migrant workers who make up much of the city’s low-wage workforce.
Singapore airport chairman faces backlash over maid theft case
The chairman of Singapore’s award-winning Changi Airport, Liew Mun Leong, is facing growing criticism on social media after a court overturned a conviction against...
AstraZeneca puts leading COVID-19 vaccine trial on hold over safety concern
AstraZeneca Plc on Tuesday said it has paused a late-stage trial of one of the leading COVID-19 vaccine candidates after an unexplained illness in...
Australian media’s last reporters in China flee
TWO Australian journalists based in China have fled the country as diplomatic relations between the trading partners worsen.
Hong Kong eases some coronavirus curbs
HONG KONG — Hong Kong will expand the size of public gatherings to four people and re-open more sports venues from Friday as the Asian financial hub relaxes strict curbs against a third wave of the coronavirus.
Beef is proving more profitable than chicken in the pandemic
Inexpensive chicken was supposed to be the pick of the proteins in the pandemic. But suppliers with a greater focus on beef are outperforming those that rely more on poultry.
Skyrocketing Indian virus cases could eclipse US outbreak
The novel coronavirus seemed like a distant problem in Boisar, a small factory town about two hours from Mumbai, until Daniel Tribhuvan died.
Dirty eyesore or economic lifeblood? Paris conflicted over concrete plant
When Maryse Fourcade takes a stroll near her home in Paris, she can see the Eiffel Tower, the Mirabeau bridge immortalized in poetry and...
Australia warns of more economic pain
AUSTRALIA’S GOVERNMENT warned of mounting hardship as Victoria state announced only a gradual easing of one of the world’s most stringent lockdowns, with key sectors of the economy under controls until at least the end of October.