CATEGORIES

Bullet from the blue: Six decades of Japan's wonder train

At 6am on 1 October 1964, two trains set off in opposite directions in a daring experiment that would turn them into symbols of Japan's transformation from militarist pariah to global economic powerhouse.

Employees hit back over long-hours corporate culture

For the average Indian, the working week is now longer than ever - totalling almost 47 hours.

Lucky numbers? The secrets of serendipity

Luck is often framed in terms of things that happen in our livesbut perhaps we should feel most fortunate for the fact we're here at all

Defensive bastion of Vuhledar falls to Russia

Ukraine has said that its forces have withdrawn from the eastern city of Vuhledar, a defensive bastion that had resisted repeated attacks since Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion.

Divided opposition rocked by Navalny ally attack claim

When Leonid Volkov, a longtime associate of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was brutally attacked with a hammer outside his home in Lithuania in March, it initially seemed yet another case of the Kremlin hunting down its enemies abroad.

White House blasts false claims about deadly storm

The White House moved last weekend to quash claims that government officials control the weather, including a far-fetched rumour circulating on social media that Hurricane Helene was an engineered storm to allow corporations to mine lithium deposits.

Residents pick up the pieces after hurricane devastation

After keeping vigil all night, Fesperman, 32, Jason decided it was finally safe to sleep. By 6am on Friday 27 September, he figured the worst of the rain from Hurricane Helene had passed. Jonathan Creek, the normally ankle-deep stream that runs through his backyard in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, had stayed within its banks.

Short-term gains: Lack of vision in multi-fronted war may be fatally exposed

As Israelis approached the holy days of Rosh Hashanah last week, the news began to circulate. IDF units fighting on the border with Lebanon had taken casualties.

I'm bracing for the worst'?

Beirut's youth adjust to an emptied city

Grief and pain amid the echoes of Israel's 'war of resurrection'

Crowds gathered at the site of the Nova festival and across Israel to mourn victims of the 7 October Hamas attack, even as new fears grew of a spiralling regional conflict

The war will not end until Israel sees the cost of its destruction

AT THE START OF ISRAEL'S WAR on Gaza, when the intensive bombing of civilians began, the thought in my mind was: how will we Palestinians live with the Israelis after this? A year later, the question has only become more pertinent.

Israel-Gaza One year on: A chasm between viewpoints

YOU'LL BE AHEAD OF ME ON THIS ONE. By the time you read this, it's possible that Israel will have hit back in response to the ballistic missiles that Iran fired on Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities last Tuesday. As I write, the world is bracing itself for that expected Israeli retaliation and what threatens to be an all-out regional war, pitting the Middle East's dominant powers against each other.

Secular elite question their place in Israel's future

Conflict accelerates a brain drain of liberals uneasy over the rise of religious influence

'I fear I will lose one of my children or more of my family'

Gazan families mourn their dead and remember their lives before the war

Weathering the storm

Despite deep unpopularity outside his rightwing base, Benjamin Netanyahu continues to use war and political divisions to his advantage

'It felt like death was chasing us everywhere we went' One family's journey across Gaza

The artist Maisara Baroud and his family have been displaced 12 times since the start of the Israel-Gaza war. He describes their journey and the impact of the fighting

Israel isolated by year of war

For many Israelis, the shedding of support since 7 October attack has revived a belief they cannot rely on others

DNA sheds new light on victim of doomed Arctic trip

For more than a century, the bones of sailors who joined polar explorer Sir John Franklin's ill-fated Northwest Passage expedition lay scattered on the rocky shores of an Arctic island.

Singer's case highlights rising crisis in online gambling

In less than 24 hours, Gusttavo Lima, one of the most famous Brazilian country singers, sang at a rodeo in rural São Paulo state, watched Akon perform at the Rock in Rio festival, jetted to Miami - and became the target of an arrest warrant on suspicion of money laundering.

Repeated risk Targeting of Hezbollah leaders has yet to deal group a fatal blow

In 1992, Israeli media celebrated an assassination.

Be a batch maker: cook-ahead ideas for effortless meals and treats

Cook-once, eat-all-week recipes are a godsend, just so long as they're versatile. \"I would roast a load of tomatoes to make sauce,\" says Jess Elliott Dennison, author of Midweek Recipes. \"You get that fresh flavour.\"

Where reality meets Nintendo

Anew museum in Kyoto takes fans of the Japanese gaming giant’ products on anenchanting trip down virtualmemory lane if only youcan get a ticket...

Silk Roads spin a tale of collective treasures

Amesmerising show at the British Museum follows China’ epic ancient trade routes through fabulous oases, desert palaces and burial mounds

'More people say they've seen an alien than a trans person'

Harper Steele came out as a trans woman in 2022 at the age of 61. Her friend Will Ferrell had questions. So why not take a road trip and make a documentary about it?

Trump v Harris has opened up a gulf between the sexes

I hesitate to give JD Vance any ideas, but if American women were denied the vote, Donald Trump would be restored to the White House in a landslide.

Seeing double

What does it feel like to discover, in adulthood, that you are a twin? Here, five sets of brothers and sisters tell their stories of meeting for the first time and what happened next

The shapeshifter

Giorgia Meloni been called a neo-fascist and a danger to Italy. But she worked hard to achieve a degree of respectability and has won over many heads of Europe, including the new UK prime minister. Should we be worried?

Swing time The county that could decide the election

A local law says that residents of Saginaw Township in Michigan cannot publicly display political signs in support of a presidential candidate until 30 days before the US election, even on their own front lawns.

Football-mad nation hopes for World Cup final in its own ark

The rendering is dramatic, a vast white stadium inspired by the Maghrebi communal tent, known as a moussem.

Balkans become a path to freedom

Asmall but growing number of people fleeing China are travelling to the region with the hope of getting into the EU