Tag: Japan

US Solar Panel Makers Try to Catch China With a Big Leap in Technology

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Producers of solar panels in the United States say they are on the cusp of a technological breakthrough that could upend the industry and even threaten China’s grip on it. The manufacturers are racing to develop new kinds of panels that can generate 25 percent more energy than most such devices available today. If they are successful, the advance will allow the world to meet the rapidly rising demand for electricity with less land and roof area. The new technology, known as tandem solar, involves adding second and third layers…

Is American Culture Simply Bad Now?

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Has America lost its monopoly on cool? The Opinion culture editor Nadja Spiegelman joins the American expats and authors W. David Marx and Euny Hong to discuss how the world views U.S. culture and whether its cultural exports still have the lasting impact they used to. This episode is part of “The New World Disorder,” a series exploring the disintegration of the postwar international system and how countries are adjusting as America steps aside. Below is a transcript of an episode of “The Opinions.” We recommend listening to it in…

France gave the Statue of Liberty. China sends pandas. What do diplomatic gifts mean – and how do you choose one?

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It was one of the most potent political gifts of modern times: the Statue of Liberty, a colossal neoclassical sculpture made in France and offered to the American people in the late 19th century.The size and symbolism of Liberty Enlightening the World (the statue’s original name) was intended as a mark of friendship to commemorate the centenary of the 1776 US declaration of independence. Delivered a decade late, it was also a reminder – perhaps a pointed one – of France’s critical role in helping the US break free from…

Thirteen-year-old swim sensation sets women’s 200m butterfly record at Asian Games

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The 13-year-old Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi set an Asian Games record as she scorched to gold on Sunday’s first full day of competition. The schoolgirl, who turns 14 next month, took the women’s 200m butterfly crown in a Games-record 2min 05.08sec. It was the first major title of her young career, less than two years out from the Los Angeles Olympics. “It was only so-so,” a smiling Yu said after receiving her medal. Yu Zidi competes in the women’s 200-metre individual medley heats at the Asian Games in Tokyo, Japan.…

‘Forcing a reckoning’: How Asia is preparing for a ‘supersized’ El Niño

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Asian governments are rushing preparations for the most severe El Niño weather event on record, with hundreds of millions of people bracing for multiple crises at once as extreme heat, heavy rain and food shortages hit the region. Fuelled by exceptionally warm ocean conditions across the tropical Pacific – and developing alongside the human-driven climate crisis – El Niño is virtually guaranteed to grow to a very strong intensity towards the end of this year and into 2027. The World Food Programme has warned that about 50 million people will…

Book Review: ‘A Shadow Over the World,’ by William I. Hitchcock

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A SHADOW OVER THE WORLD: Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Rise of Fascism, and the Making of America’s World War II, by William I. Hitchcock In “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” Ernest Hemingway’s classic novel of the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, the protagonist, Robert Jordan, proclaims his uncompromising worldview early in the story. Beside a campfire in a cave amid the pine-covered hills, Jordan is asked whether he is a communist. “No,” he replies. “I am an antifascist.” “For a long time?” “Since I have understood fascism.” Nearly a…

Which countries have citizens killed or missing after Nepal-Tibet flash flood?

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Hundreds of foreigners were in area to work, take guided treks or make pilgrimages when disaster struck Nepal-Tibet flash flood – latest updates Flash floods at the Nepal-Tibet border have killed at least 543 people and more than 1,500 are missing. Hundreds were foreigners in the area to work, take guided treks or make pilgrimages. Thousands have been rescued, with some of the injured taken to hospitals in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu. The number of missing may vary because of progress in the ongoing rescue efforts and differences in how data…

Typhoon Narra: record flood waters submerge homes and force mass evacuations in China

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Widespread flooding triggered by Typhoon Narra has submerged homes and forced mass evacuations in southern China, as another storm system tracked towards Japan and Taiwan. Authorities in Chongzuo, in China’s Guangxi region – famous for its giant waterfalls and karst limestone mountains – on Tuesday evacuated more than 15,000 people after water ⁠levels surpassed a record high set in 2008. Rising flood waters have prompted China to relocate a total of 54,000 people in Guangxi, state television said. Narra made landfall as a tropical storm on Tuesday evening ⁠in China’s…

Weather tracker: Europe breaks more heat records as temperatures soar

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High pressure has dominated central and eastern Europe in early August, breaking temperature records across the region. Austria recorded a high of 41.2C (106.2F), while Slovakia reached 42.2C. Hungary hit a peak of 41.8C, surpassing a record set in 1905, while overnight temperatures remained above 28C in some areas, marking it as a tropical night. The extreme temperatures have been driven by a heat dome beneath the high-pressure system, which traps warm air close to the surface. The prolonged heat has dried out soil and vegetation, creating conditions conducive to…