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[1/3] A man with a mobile phone takes a picture of rising waves before the arrival of the cyclonic storm Biparjoy over the Arabian Sea, in Karachi, Pakistan, June 14, 2023. The cyclone is likely to cross Saurashtra, Kutch, and neighboring Pakistan coasts on Thursday noon with winds of 125-135 kmph gusting to 150 kmph. "As of now, our forecast is it will cross as a very severe cyclonic storm. After crossing, its intensity will fall and become a cyclonic storm and depression." In neighbouring Pakistan 62,000 people were evacuated from high risk areas, according to the country's National Disaster Management Authority.

Persons: Akhtar Soomro, gusting, Sherry Rehman, Manorama Mohanty, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Mohapatra, Alok Kumar Pandey, Sumit Khanna, Rajendra Jadhav, Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam, Sudipto Ganguly, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, India Meteorological Department, IMD, Gujarat's, Disaster Management Authority, Ships, Rajendra, Thomson Locations: Karachi, Pakistan, Akhtar Soomro AHMEDABAD, MUMBAI, Jakhau Port, Indian, Gujarat, Pakistan's, Saurashtra, Kutch, Mandvi, Jakhau, India, Ahmedabad, Mumbai

[1/2] A lifeguard patrols Juhu beach, during a red flag alert due to rough seas caused by cyclone Biparjoy, in Mumbai, India, June 12, 2023. Eight districts in coastal Gujarat are expected to be affected, the state government said. Gujarat is home to many offshore oil installations and major ports in the country and most have been forced to suspend operations. Two of India's largest ports - Kandla and Mundra - located in Gujarat, have suspended operations, the state government said. Other ports including Bedi, Navlakhi, Porbandar, Okha, Pipavav and Bhavnagar have also closed due to the cyclone, according to shipping sources.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Kamal Dayani, Bedi, Navlakhi, Jamnagar, Sumit Khanna, Rajendra Jadhav, Mohi Narayan, Sudipto Ganguly, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: REUTERS, India Meteorological Department, Force, Reliance Industries, Adani, Indian Coast Guard, Key Singapore, Oil, Gas, Vedanta Ltd, National Disaster Management Authority, Rajendra, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, Francis Mascarenhas AHMEDABAD, MUMBAI, Gujarat, Pakistan, Mandvi, India's Gujarat, Karachi, Kutch, Rajkot, Pipavav, Bhavnagar, Mundra, Tuna, Kandla, Key, Dubai, Ahmedabad

☆ The world’s largest city is a futuristic paradise. But some things stay stuck in the past
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Richard Quest | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Tokyo CNN —It’s the biggest city in the world, a vast metropolitan area that’s home to more than 37 million people. Onigiri – savory rice balls wrapped in nori or seaweed – have been a comfort food staple for thousands of years. Known as “The Monk In Heels,” Nishimura juggles his life as a monk with his work as a makeup artist. Origami, too, remains a powerful, soothing way to use such skills and step away from the fast-paced world of the modern city. He is the face of a timeless, sedate Tokyo, an antidote to the hectic way things often feel here.

Persons: Tokyo CNN —, Ukon, Onigiri Bongo, ”, Salmon, It’s, Yumiko, CNN's Richard Quest, Takefumi Hamada, chef, Hamada, you’re, ‘, Kodo Nishimura, ” Nishimura juggles, Nishimura, “, ’, Kazuo Kobayashi Organizations: Tokyo CNN, Michelin, CNN, Netflix, Disney Locations: Tokyo, Akihabara, Japan, Tokyoites, CNN Tokyo, Shibuya, Shinjuku

☆ ‘A Long Shot, for Sure’: Sizing Up Burgum, and Most of the G.O.P. Field
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Jonathan Weisman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Doug Burgum’s money and his family’s vision, Fargo, N.D., has undoubtedly changed in recent decades. Broadway, its main drag, is packed with restaurants, cafes, retailers and offices lovingly converted from old factories. A warehouse saved from the wrecking ball now houses North Dakota State University’s architecture and arts program. “He’s a long shot, for sure,” said Brad Moen, 69, of Jamestown, N.D., who has known Mr. Burgum for 60 years and traveled 100 miles for his presidential introduction on Wednesday. “California, New York, Ohio, Florida — they’re the big dogs, not North Dakota.”

Persons: Doug Burgum’s, Burgum, “, ”, Brad Moen Organizations: N.D, Broadway, North Dakota State, Fargo Locations: North Dakota, North, Winnipeg, Canada, Minneapolis, Arthur, Jamestown, N.D, “ California, New York , Ohio, Florida

☆ India train crash: Devastating scenes of despair after one of the worst train crashes the country has ever seen
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Ivan Watson Kunal Sehgal Deepak Rao Rhea Mogul | Ivan Watson | Kunal Sehgal | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Some of the coaches rolled to the other side,” the 32-year-old restaurant worker told CNN from a hospital in India’s eastern Odisha state. Their story is just one of hundreds unfolding across the country as India deals with one of the worst train crashes it has ever seen. Doctors confer as they attend to survivors of a train accident in a hospital in Balasore, India, on June 4, 2023. A drone view shows derailed coaches after two passenger trains collided in Balasore district in the eastern state of Odisha, India, June 3, 2023. In 2011, scores were killed when a train jumped tracks in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

Persons: CNN — Manto Kumar, “, ’, Punit Paranjpe, “ I’ve, I’ve, Laluti Devi, ”, Abhishek Chinnappa, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Laxminaranyan, Stringer, Reuters Anushuman Purohi, ” Vaishnaw, Rafiq Maqbool, Narendra Modi, Modi’s, Vaishnaw, Kumar Organizations: CNN, Express, Getty, Mojo, India’s, Government Medical College, Howrah, Reuters, Sunday, Indian, Crime Records, AP Railways, Central Bureau of Investigation, Authorities Locations: India’s, Odisha, India, Balasore, AFP, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Kolkata, Bahanaga Bazar, Bangalore, Tamil Nadu, Balasore district, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh

☆ In Tokyo, Skipping the Hot and New for Enduring Haunts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Tom Downey | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Continuing my quest, I visited Fukube, another “Q Guide” favorite, located in a bustling neighborhood a couple blocks east of Tokyo Station. The main room, with just a handful of seats in front of a narrow bar counter, was full of suited salarymen. Before, I had savored the feeling each time I entered that Fukube was just as it had been since 1938. The usual images of Tokyo oscillate between two extremes: gilded metropolis of the future and repository of the aristocratic past. The “Q Guide” evokes a different, real, thoroughly proletarian and much more intriguing city, most faithfully depicted in works of art and literature that I love.

☆ German economy enters recession as first-quarter GDP data is revised lower
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The German economy entered a technical recession in the first quarter of this year, as households tightened spending. Data from the German statistics office on Thursday showed a downward revision to GDP (gross domestic product) from zero to -0.3% for the first three months of the year. The European Central Bank is expected to raise rates again at its next meeting on June 15. German Central Bank Governor Joachim Nagel said earlier this week that the ECB has "several" more rate increases ahead. He is one of the most hawkish members of the central bank.

☆ Quito: Ecuador’s underrated capital city was the first to become a UNESCO site
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Sandra Macgregor | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —It’s hard not to feel a little sorry for the Ecuadorian capital of Quito. Singular churchesInside the Spanish colonial church of San Francisco in the city center of Quito. The museum even puts on a variety of shows, including a karaoke night of traditional Ecuadorian song. It’s especially busy at lunchtime when it fills to capacity with locals looking to indulge in affordable traditional Ecuadorian cuisine. Guided toursMetropolitan Touring’s “Live Quito Like a Local” walking tour is great for visitors with only a day or two to explore Quito.

☆ Japanese city of Hiroshima rose from the ashes and now it welcomes millions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Emiko Jozuka | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Within the bomb’s hypocenter, only the half-exploded Genbaku Dome – formerly the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall – was left standing as the bombing razed Hiroshima city to the ground. A man relaxes alongside the river on a bench overlooking the Genbaku Dome. ET), Hiroshima city lost roughly 40% of its population, which numbered around 300,000 people at the time. Full-scale reconstruction only began in August 1949 after the Hiroshima Peace Memorial City Construction Law was promulgated, allowing the national government to extend special financial support to Hiroshima. “It’s impressive how Japanese people rebuilt the city from scratch again – building a beautiful city full of green spaces.

☆ Women, children trek miles in summer heat to get water near Mumbai
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Francis Mascarenhas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"All the water is sent to Mumbai, we are left with nothing," said Ashok Shinde, whose village is home to about 700 people rearing poultry and livestock. The Vaitarna dam, which supplies water to Mumbai, is just 50 km (31 miles) from Telamwadi, but is not linked to it. [1/5] Women walk back home balancing pots of water on their head as other women walk towards a well to fill their pots in Telamwadi, near Mumbai, India, May 17, 2023. "Until the permanent solution is in place, we are providing water tankers to ensure residents do not face issues," state water supply officials told Reuters. One of the women usually makes the precarious journey, relying on numerous cracks in the walls to provide support.

☆ China, birthplace of COVID, lays tracks for a new global health crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

Bat viruses have been the source of multiple health crises besides those related to coronaviruses, including recent outbreaks of Ebola, Nipah, and Marburg. Partners in risk The total area at high risk for bat viruses to infect humans more than doubled in size in Laos between 2002 and 2020. The animals, known to be susceptible to bat viruses, included raccoon dogs, bamboo rats and porcupines. As China boomed in recent decades, global demand for rubber also skyrocketed, leading to further development and deforestation here. Already, scientists have found local bats bearing viruses closely related to those responsible for the 2003 SARS and COVID-19 pandemics.

☆ Read Your Way Through Los Angeles
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Héctor Tobar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Read Your Way Around the World is a series exploring the globe through books. Outsiders often think of Los Angeles as an anti-intellectual place, all Hollywood glitz and no substance, but writers have always been drawn to my hometown. In David L. Ulin’s “Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology,” I read about Simone de Beauvoir’s 1947 journey to L.A.’s Eastside, where she learned about the city’s anti-Mexican prejudice and admired Dia de los Muertos skulls. It’s no accident that two very different, canonical works of L.A. literature climax with riots, even though they were written more than a half century apart: Nathanael West’s 1939 novel “The Day of the Locust,” and Anna Deavere Smith’s play “Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992.”Is there a book, or a writer, who captures the essence of Los Angeles? With her iconic 1960s and ‘70s essays about Los Angeles and the West, in collections such as “Slouching Towards Bethlehem,” Didion helped invent New Journalism.

☆ Burning Man Becomes Latest Adversary in Geothermal Feud
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Arielle Paul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

One of the darkest towns in America lies roughly 100 miles north of Reno, where the lights are few and rarely lit until one week each summer when pyrotechnics and LEDs set the sky and mountains aglow. In tiny Gerlach, just outside the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, residents have watched the Burning Man festival grow over the last 30 years to a spectacle of nearly 80,000 countercultural hippies and tech billionaires, offering an economic lifeline for the unincorporated town. Now, Burning Man and Gerlach are more tightly aligned, joining conservationists and a Native American tribe in an alliance against a powerful adversary: Ormat Technology, the largest geothermal power company in the country. Both Burning Man and Ormat share a vision for a greener future, yet neither can agree on the road to get there. The festival promotes self-reliance and leaving no trace of its ephemeral metropolis, yet it contributes an enormous carbon footprint; the power company is vested in the future by battling climate change, but its clean energy facilities pose a threat to local habitats while reaping a sizable profit.

☆ American jailed for spying by China rubbed shoulders with senior Chinese officials, CNN reporting shows, CNN reporting shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“He’s a very famous person, known by many overseas Chinese in the southern US,” Tang said. Reports published by Chinese-language media in Texas and China’s state media show Leung’s long-running access to senior Chinese officials. In 2014, he met with the director of Jiangsu Provincial Overseas Chinese Affairs Office during a visit to Nanjing, the provincial capital. This photo shows John Leung with Wang Hua, the former director of Jiangsu Provincial Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. It also comes as American and Chinese officials are resuming high-level engagements since a dispute over a suspected Chinese spy balloon shattered efforts to mend ties earlier this year.

☆ What’s a President to Do When a Nation’s Capital Is Sinking? Move It.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Hannah Beech | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +38 min

A new capital city for a place with such disparities and diversity presents both a challenge and a chance for reinvention. Moving the Seat of Power From Java to Borneo Detail area Malaysia Nusantara Borneo Java Sea Indonesia Jakarta Java Indian Ocean Detail area Malaysia Nusantara Borneo Java Sea Indonesia Jakarta Java Indian Ocean Indonesia’s new capital, Nusantara, will be about 800 miles from the current capital, Jakarta. It cannot be overnight, it’s not like Aladdin comes with his genie,” said Bambang Susantono, the head of the Nusantara Capital City Authority. We have to prove that this will be a self-propelling city.” — Bambang Susantono, head of the Nusantara Capital City AuthorityCritics of I.K.N. Indonesia’s capital city faces sinking land and rising seas.

At least 13 Palestinians were killed in targeted Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, according to officials. The airstrikes are the latest round of violence in one of the deadliest periods in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in years. Photo: Yasser Qudih/Zuma PressGAZA CITY—Palestinian militants fired rockets from Gaza toward central Israel on Wednesday following a series of Israeli airstrikes in the Palestinian enclave, as violence between the two sides continued to escalate. Most exchanges of fire between Israel and Gazan militants have been confined to areas near the enclave. Firing rockets at central Israel represents a more serious escalation.

☆ Things to do in Nagoya, Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( John Walton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

In the years since, the city has proven the opposite is true, according to Nagoya residents Lena Yamaguchi and Elisabeth Lloris. Ruben Earth/Getty ImagesIf you’ve traveled by Shinkansen bullet train between Tokyo and Osaka, you’ve passed through Nagoya, and might even remember the skyscraper district around its central railway station. Just 45 minutes from Nagoya Station on the private (non-JR) Meitetsu railway, the area between Inuyama station and its castle has been sympathetically restored in recent years. Back in Nagoya, a few kilometers east of Nagoya Castle you’ll find the Tokugawa Art Museum, one of Japan’s finest private museums, which holds several National Treasures of Japan thanks to its connection with the Tokugawa clan dynasty. If cars are your thing, then the Toyota Automobile Museum, about 45 minutes east of Nagoya Station, features some 140 historical vehicles.

☆ Consumers in China are dining at nicer restaurants — even if it costs $500 a person
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, a brand called Lu Style opened four new restaurants in the last three years in Beijing and Shanghai. Since Lu Style launched in 2016, more people no longer focus on just being able to eat, said Tian Junfeng, director of operations. Tian said Lu Style will be focused on improving customer service in the coming months. The 2023 rankings selected 304 restaurants — most of which were in China, including Lu Style. Two Lu Style locations have one Michelin star each, and the France-based guide includes more than 400 restaurants in mainland China.

☆ Best rice dishes: 20 delicious specialties from around the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Terry Ward | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

And while famous rice dishes such as sushi, fried rice and paella are among the most prominent in the global spotlight, there are so many more rice recipes out there to put on your radar – and seek out on your travels. Wali wa kukaanga, KenyaWali wa kukaanga is Kenya’s answer to fried rice, and translates to just that in Swahili. So it’s no surprise that the Polynesian island country’s most popular rice dish, alaisa fa’apopo, has ties to the coconut, too. Thai fried rice (Khao Pad), ThailandThai fried rice uses the layering of flavors that's characteristic of the country's cuisine. ArenaCreative/Adobe StockWhen it comes to fried rice, the Chinese version tends to steal the spotlight.

☆ ‘That’s Just Crazy’: The Metropolis Where Rents Rise 60%, 75%, Even 100%
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Feliz Solomon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Soaring residential rents are weighing on Singapore’s bid to overtake Hong Kong as Asia’s premier financial hub. Photo: how hwee young/ShutterstockSINGAPORE—In February, five months before the lease was up on her Singapore condo, Sally Shoult asked her real-estate agent to delicately sound out the landlord about renewing. Then she braced for impact. “I’d been hearing horror stories,” says Mrs. Shoult, a 39-year-old freelance copywriter from the U.K. “I was of two minds about whether I should even ask.”

☆ The Metropolis Where Rents Rise 60%, 75%, Even 100%
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Feliz Solomon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Solis, 64, lives on the banks of Mexico's Villa Victoria reservoir, which supplies water to the bustling capital hours away but does not reach her own faucets. Villa Victoria is part of the Cutzamala System, the source of water for about six million people in Mexico City and the surrounding state of Mexico. Climate change, chaotic urban growth and inefficient infrastructure have strained Mexico's water supplies, pushing the Cutzamala System's stores to their lowest level in 27 years. Mexico City is also tapping alternative sources of water outside the Cutzamala System, including by replacing wells in the Zumpango area in the state of Mexico. But for people like Israel, who lives just a few minutes' drive from the Cutzamala System's water treatment plant and asked not to use his last name, the constitution's promise is increasingly distant.

☆ Luxury hotel opens atop Vietnam’s tallest building
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The new Vinpearl Landmark 81 has just opened inside the country’s tallest building, Landmark 81, in Ho Chi Minh City. It clocks in at 461 meters (1,512 feet) high and overlooks the Saigon River in the eastern stretch of Vietnam’s biggest city. The rest of Landmark 81 is a mix of private residences and public attractions. Vinpearl Landmark 81 is located about 11 km (7 miles) from Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Vietnam’s biggest and busiest airport. Vinpearl Landmark 81, 720A Đ. Điện Biên Phủ, Phường 22, Bình Thạnh, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh 700000, Vietnam; +84 28 3971 8888

☆ Rival factions defy ceasefire to bombard Sudan's capital, Japan plans evacuation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Smoke rises from the tarmac of Khartoum International Airport as a fire burns, in Khartoum, Sudan April 17, 2023 in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. Air strikes and explosions hammered Sudan's capital on Wednesday after the failure of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between the army and paramilitary forces, forcing residents to stay hunkered down and prompting Japan to prepare to evacuate its citizens. At least 270 people have been killed and 2,600 injured in the fighting, the World Health Organization said, citing Sudan's health ministry. Khartoum residents were asked to limit their electricity usage, as the state's distribution authority said the servers that manage online purchases of power were out of service. The fighting, which pits Sudan's military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against RSF chief General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, followed rising tensions over a plan for the RSF's integration into the regular military.

☆ Bavaria asks for nuclear power comeback under own responsibility after fresh exit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, April 16 (Reuters) - The German state of Bavaria wants to continue operating nuclear power plants under state own responsibility, State Premier Markus Soeder was quoted as saying, bringing a possible comeback for the power energy Germany finished phasing out on Saturday. The state, home to many of Germany's most successful exporting manufacturers, wants the federal government to change the nuclear exit law to allow operating such nuclear power stations under the state's own responsibility, Soeder said. "Bavaria is ready to take on this responsibility," he said, adding that Bavaria also wants to be a pioneer in nuclear fusion research and to construct of its own research reactor. Germany pulled the plug on its last three nuclear power stations on Saturday, including Bavaria's Isar II, ending a six-decade programme as Berlin enacts its plan for fully-renewable electricity generation by 2035. Isar II, run by German utility E.ON (EONGn.DE), is a 1,400 megawatt (MW) plant, able to power the equivalent of a metropolis.

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