AI, Consumer, Technology, Climate & environment, Crime & justice
518 storiesUS Marine arrested in Naha hotel killing; Japan protests, Okinawa governor speaks out
A 20-year-old US Marine was arrested on suspicion of robbery-murder after a 39-year-old woman was found dead at a hotel in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, and Japanese officials protested to the US side. Foreign Ministry Senior Deputy Minister Ta…
Pianist Kyohei Sorita indicted; prosecutors seek 3 months over 144 km/h speeding
Pianist Kyohei Sorita, 32, has been indicted on-home for driving at 144 km/h on the Shuto Expressway in Tokyo on 20 December last year, 84 km/h over the speed limit. A first hearing was held at the Tokyo District Court on 6 October, where p…
Christa Pike conscious and speaking after failed Tennessee execution, lawyers say
Christa Pike, 50, is conscious and speaking and receiving critical medical care nearly a week after Tennessee's attempt to execute her with the drug pentobarbital failed, her attorneys said Tuesday. They said her prognosis remains unclear, …
Okinawa US forces order 48-hour pause and overnight curfew after Marine arrest
The top US commander in Okinawa, Lt. Gen. Watson, issued an emergency statement ordering a 48-hour “training period” for US military-related personnel in the prefecture from noon on 7 October to noon on 9 October, with off-base outings and …
Retrial opens in 2018 Toyama police box attack; defendant stays silent
The retrial of Keita Shimazu, 30, a former Self-Defense Forces member accused of killing a police officer and a security guard in a 2018 attack on a Toyama police box, opened on Oct. 5 at the Toyama District Court. Shimazu answered none of …
Okinawa governor protests to US commander over Marine held in Naha killing
Okinawa Governor Koja Genta summoned the top US commander in Okinawa, Lt. Gen. Benjamin T. Watson, and other US and Japanese officials to the prefectural office on Oct. 5 and protested over the killing of a woman at a Naha hotel for which a…
Cornell Rape-Allegation Lawsuit Prompts Push for Campus Assault Protections
A lawsuit alleging rape at Cornell University has led women on campus and beyond to share their own experiences of sexual violence, The New York Times and NPR reported. The Hill reported that a former Cornell University student accused seve…
Abu Dhabi's AI Everything opens with 400 exhibitors alongside Global Food Week
AI Everything 2026 opened on 6 October at the ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi and runs to 7 October, with WAM reporting 400 exhibitors and 180 speakers, and Economy Middle East reporting more than 400 companies, 200-plus investors managing about $10…
Okinawa police send US Marine to prosecutors over Naha hotel robbery-murder
Okinawa prefectural police arrested US Marine lance corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, of Futenma base, on suspicion of robbing and killing a 39-year-old woman at a hotel in Naha, and sent him to the Naha district prosecutors’ office on Oct …
Police: bar owner held over girlfriend’s body in Miyagi; staged messages suspected
Police in Tokyo have arrested a 36-year-old bar owner on suspicion of abandoning the body of his 25-year-old girlfriend in mountains in Kurihara, Miyagi Prefecture, on 28 September. Investigators believe he used her smartphone to send messa…
Boston Dynamics names former Amazon AI executive Rohit Prasad as CEO
Boston Dynamics, described by Korean outlets as Hyundai Motor Group's robot affiliate, said it has appointed Rohit Prasad, a former Amazon executive who led work on the Alexa voice assistant, as its new chief executive. The company said the…
US military in Okinawa orders 30-day curfew after soldier's arrest
The top US commander in Okinawa, Okinawa area coordinator Watson, ordered a 30-day off-base restriction for all US personnel in the prefecture from October 9, with no outings between midnight and 5am, after a US Marine was arrested over the…
Ex-CIA official found with gold bars pleads guilty to $194 million fraud
David J. Rush, a former senior CIA official, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, to one count of wire fraud in a scheme prosecutors say cost the federal government about $194 million. Prosecutors said Rush fabri…
Ibaraki man arrested over stabbing; second woman found dead nearby
A 30-year-old man was arrested in Oarai, Ibaraki Prefecture, on suspicion of injuring a 41-year-old acquaintance by stabbing her in the left abdomen with gardening shears near a restaurant entrance late on Oct 4. Police said her injuries ar…
Seoul appeals court to rule in ex-President Yoon's free opinion poll case
A Seoul appeals court is due to deliver its verdict on Oct 7 in the political funds case against former President Yoon Suk Yeol, accused of receiving 58 free opinion polls from political broker Myung Tae-kyun. The first trial sentenced Yoon…
Trump approves firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan
The Pentagon said President Donald Trump approved execution by U.S. Army firing squad for Nidal Hasan, who was convicted in the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, that killed 13 people and wounded 32. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell…
Amazon's October Prime Day runs October 6-7 as outlets round up deals
Amazon's October Prime Day sale, also called Prime Big Deal Days, is running from October 6 through October 7, 2026. NBC News, The Verge and CNN published roundups of discounted products at price points under $50, under $25 and on seasonal …
Trump announces “Super Intelligence Force” AI task force led by Jay Clayton
President Donald Trump announced Sunday the creation of a “Super Intelligence Force,” a federal task force he said will coordinate government efforts to keep the United States leading in artificial intelligence, which he has directed the fe…
Osaka police re-arrest ex-Takenaka official over Expo Grand Ring billing
Osaka prefectural police on Oct 7 re-arrested Kawai Tatsumi, 61, a former general construction office manager at Takenaka Corporation, on suspicion of breach of trust over inflated billing on Expo 2025 Osaka-Kansai work, this time on the Gr…
Prosecutors seek 12 years for man accused of slashing NHK party leader Tachibana
Tokyo prosecutors asked the Tokyo District Court on Oct. 7 to sentence 宮西詩音, 32, to 12 years for the attempted murder of NHKから国民を守る党 leader 立花孝志, who was slashed with a nata in Kasumigaseki in March last year. The defense argued for five ye…