‘Jelliness is my life motto’: jackpot theatre prize winner Jaha Koo on kimchi, K-pop and his robotic eel
Feted for cooking up shows that can be mouthwatering as well as thought-provoking, the artist discusses his fusion of South Korean and European cultureWhen I meet Jaha Koo in Oslo, where he has just been honoured with the prestigious International Ibsen…
Running out of royals: why calls are growing to let Japan’s princess Aiko take the throne
More people in Japan are asking why the nation’s favourite royal, 24-year-old princess Aiko, will never be empress, with a recent poll saying 72% favour a woman emperorHer face is splashed across magazine covers. Fans flock to online stores to snap up…
Japan beer giants raided over suspicions they colluded to set the price of beverages
Investigators probe Asahi, Kirin, Suntory and Sapporo breweries – which together control more than 90% of Japan’s beer marketJapanese authorities have raided the country’s four biggest breweries over suspicions they colluded to set the price of beer and…
China’s succession crisis: a generation of entrepreneurs is retiring, but are their children ready to take over?
Family run private businesses helped power China’s economic miracle, but the next generation is finding it difficult to carry on the work of their parentsGrowing up, Ayu would watch his parents put together hand made leather shoes on the ground floor of…
Satellite images show attack jets at Chinese military facility in Laos
New ‘support and training centre’ prompts concern in region but China says it is ‘not directed at any third party’ Satellite images show attack jets stationed at a new Chinese military facility in Laos, which opened last week and gives Beijing’s air…
Bangkok at breaking point as floods turn streets into stagnant lakes
With 40 dead and a disaster declared across all 50 city districts, experts warn extreme flooding will only worsen across south-east AsiaBangkok is used to absorbing the sudden afternoon downpours that inundate the city during the rainy season. Even…
‘We want action’: Fijian climate activist sends message ahead of UN talks in Pacific
Lavenia Naivalu has seen the impact of the climate crisis first-hand and is determined to amplify Pacific voices at this year’s pre-Cop summit in FijiFrom her wooden veranda in Fiji’s remote Yasawa islands, climate activist Lavenia Naivalu remembers when…
Daredevil Jaan Roose completes slackline walk high above central Seoul
Estonian completed first of two attempts to navigate narrow ribbon, 160 metres long and 120 metres high, near the city’s famous Gyeongbokgung palace on ThursdayEstonian aerial athlete Jaan Roose has completed his first crossing of a 160-metre long…
‘The toll is huge’: El Niño-driven wildfires overwhelm Indonesia’s orangutan population
The global climate phenomenon has triggered devastating infernos in the ape’s Indonesian heartlands, with long-term effects on the animals still unknownThe mother’s hands were peeling from walking on the torched ground. Her eight-month-old baby, which…
Why am I obsessed with China’s ancient golden age? I took my daughter on a trip to find out
I felt a duty to write about the Tang dynasty and its incredible social and cultural sophistication – but also to connect my Chinese past with my childDuring the Tang dynasty, which lasted from the seventh to the early 10th century, Vikings were raiding…