Author: admin
Facebook Tweet Email Link You can’t visit Tokyo without seeing them. These pale-yellow boxes of individually wrapped bite-size cakes are emblazoned with images of the capital’s most famous tourist attractions and, sometimes, with some of Japan’s most recognizable animated characters. Every year, hundreds of thousands of gold-ribbon-wrapped packages of Tokyo Banana are sold around the Japanese capital’s transportation hubs and tourist districts and branded as the city’s official snack. But what does Tokyo Banana actually have to do with Tokyo, a city that doesn’t have any banana trees? Unlike many Japanese treats, which are made with ingredients native to various…
Facebook Tweet Email Link Sloviansk, Ukraine — On the beaches of Sloviansk’s tiny salt lake, where the medicinal waters provide a moment of solace from the whirling violence of the eastern frontlines just a few miles away, talk of a Ukraine land deal at Friday’s Alaska summit seems dark and surreal. “I feel like I just float away from this reality,” said local journalist Mykhailo, in between dips into the water, from the lake’s sands overlooked by a large concrete bomb shelter. Shelling is regular near here, which Mykhailo jokingly calls “the Salt Lake City of Sloviansk.” But the Kremlin’s…
Facebook Tweet Email Link AP — An English tourist who hit and killed a man while riding an e-scooter in Australia pleaded guilty on Monday to a charge of dangerous driving causing death while under the influence of alcohol. Alicia Kemp, 25, admitted the charge during a hearing at the Western Australia Magistrate’s Court, officials told The Associated Press. Kemp was riding an e-scooter with a passenger on board in the city of Perth on May 31 when she hit a 51-year-old man, Australian news outlets reported. Thanh Phan hit his head on the pavement and later died in a…
Facebook Tweet Email Link The sportswear firm Adidas and Mexican-American designer Willy Chavarría have apologized after a Mexican state accused them of cultural appropriation over the design of a new shoe. The “Oaxaca Slip-On,” billed as a collaboration between Chavarría and Adidas Originals, featured a woven leather surface, open heel and thick rubber sole. Officials in the Mexican state of Oaxaca accused Adidas last week of copying the “huarache” handmade sandal from the Oaxacan community of Villa Hidalgo Yalálag. Adidas and Chavarría have since acknowledged that it was inspired by a design from that state and have issued formal apologies…
Facebook Tweet Email Link The death of Miguel Uribe, two months after the attack against him, marks a return to the worst period of political violence in Colombia. Weeks of limbo and hope for his recovery ended with the most unfortunate outcome: an assassination at a time when the country believed it had overcome the threat of death against presidential candidates, though the killing of social leaders has never been eradicated. The assassination not only leaves a profound impact on society, which had shown unity in rejecting the attack, but could also determine the course of the upcoming presidential elections.…
Facebook Tweet Email Link As a ceasefire in Gaza took hold in January, Anas Al-Sharif began removing his protective gear live on television, piece by piece, while a jubilant crowd cheered, hoping the day marked the end of the suffering of 2 million Palestinians in the enclave. Nearly seven months later, Israel killed the Al Jazeera journalist and four of his colleagues in a strike in Gaza City. One of the most well-known Palestinian journalists in Gaza – and one of dozens to be killed by Israel during the war – Al-Sharif’s death has ignited international condemnation and calls for…
Facebook Tweet Email Link Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defended his planned military takeover of Gaza City in the face of growing international condemnation and anger, with United Nations officials warning Sunday the move would lead to “another calamity” in the embattled, starving enclave. In a rare news conference with international media, Netanyahu said the controversial operation to take over what was once Gaza’s largest city, which faces tremendous internal and international opposition, is the fastest way to end the war. “Contrary to false claims, this is the best way to end the war and the best way to…
Facebook Tweet Email Link Reuters — A senior official from the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog will fly to Iran for talks on Monday, but no visit to nuclear sites is planned, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday. Since Israel launched its first military strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites during a 12-day war in June, inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been unable to access Iran’s facilities, despite IAEA chief Rafael Grossi stating that inspections remain his top priority. Iran has accused the agency of effectively paving the way for the bombings by issuing a damning…
Facebook Tweet Email Link Jerusalem — Families of Israeli hostages kept captive in Gaza are calling for a nationwide general strike next Sunday, in protest of the Israeli security cabinet’s recent decision to expand the war and take over Gaza City. “We are shutting down the country to save the soldiers and the hostages,” said the relatives of the hostages in Tel Aviv. They were joined by the October 7 Council, which represents bereaved families of soldiers who fell at the start of the war. Organizers said the initiative would start as a grassroots effort primarily through private companies and…
Facebook Tweet Email Link QUITO, Ecuador — He says he was 18 years old when he first joined a gang in Ecuador a decade ago. Now a senior commander with a wife and kids, the man almost casually acknowledges he’s contributing to the deadly drug trade plaguing the country. “Yes, I’m part of the problem,” he tells CNN’s David Culver, agreeing to talk, but only after dark, away from crowds and with his face disguised. “They gave me everything,” he says of the gang, insisting he joined them out of desperation. Ten years on, he says he won’t quit “because…