More than 2,500 people gathered on Dec. 22 to protest against a spate of sexual assaults by U.S. servicemen stationed in Okinawa Prefecture .

Participants deemed the Japanese government as primarily responsible for ensuring that such incidents are not repeated.

The Okinawa Prefectural Government found out from media reports in June that two cases had been filed against two servicemen.

Chinese workers found in 'slavery-like conditions' in Brazil taken to hotels as probe gets underway.

Local prosecutors alleged that the laborers are victims of human trafficking.

It's unclear if the Chinese workers were in Brazil without proper papers and working permits.

Chinese automaker BYD is one of the world’s largest producers of electric cars.

Sierra Leone's brutal civil war from 1991-2002 created about 28,000 amputees.

U.N. estimates there are about 500,000 disabled people in the West African country.

Many still face discrimination, often regarded as a shameful reminder of the civil war.

The Farming on Crutches initiative offers a rare refuge to restore confidence and independence.

Sierra Leone’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended that amputees receive pensions, access to healthcare, accommodation and education.

Only 1,300 out of 32,000 have received a full reparations package due to lack of resources, according to the U.N. International Organization for Migration .

Farming on Crutches trainees, Amara and Moustapha Jalloh , aged 19 and 21 , recently harvested rice and cassava.

South African artist Esther Mahlangu is internationally known for her colorful work in traditional Ndebele painting.

The BMW , commissioned by the German manufacturer in 1991 , is among her most well-known works.

She is respected for persevering with art at a time when Black artists, especially women, were hardly acknowledged.

The exhibition will run until April 17 before it embarks on an international tour starting in 2026 .

PEN America, Columbia University's Knight First Amendment Institute , and Free Press urge the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the federal TikTok law to ban it or force its sale.

TikTok and its owner ByteDance are fighting to keep the popular app online in the United States .

The Justice Department has said as a Chinese company, TikTok poses "a national-security threat of immense depth and scale".

Study shows 11- to-12-year-olds use smartphones mainly to talk to family and friends.

Girls watch videos more than anything else on their mobile devices, while boys play video games.

Parents need to take this into account when deciding when to give children a smartphone.

The LOY-002 pill is designed to slow and reverse metabolic changes associated with aging.

It reduces frailty by suppressing aging-driven increases in insulin, thus reducing the risk of disease, extending health and decreasing the rate of aging.

At the Dog Aging Project lab, researchers are testing rapamycin as another canine longevity drug.

They believe this work could eventually translate into human longevity benefits as well.

Most Americans blame insurance profits and denials alongside the killer in UHC CEO death, poll finds.

About 8 in 10 U.S. adults said the person who committed the killing has “a great deal” of responsibility.

Younger Americans are particularly likely to see the murder as a confluence of forces rather than just one person's action.

—- The poll of 1,001 adults was conducted Dec. 12-16, 2024 , using a sample drawn from NORC ’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel , which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points. ___ Associated Press writer Tom Murphy reported from Indianapolis ..

A spate of mass attacks in China has led to questions about what is driving people to murder strangers en masse to "take revenge on society" From 2019 to 2023 , police recorded three to five cases each year, where perpetrators attacked pedestrians or strangers.

The perpetrators have largely targeted "random people" to show their "displeasure with society", Prof Schak says.

China 's counselling services are vastly inadequate, leaving no outlet for those who feel isolated, alone and depressed in modern Chinese society.

Experts say that China needs to increase its mental health services, especially for at-risk groups who have experienced trauma or those with mental illness.

The lid is tightening on Chinese society, creating a pressure cooker-like situation.

In states that ban abortion, social safety net programs often fail families.

Tennessee has a nearly total abortion ban and a porous safety net for mothers and young children.

Women, infants and children are less likely to be enrolled in a government nutrition program.

GOP state leaders in Tennessee and other states that banned abortion argue that they are bolstering services for families.

More than 3% of the 83,000 babies born in Tennessee in 2023 had mothers who didn’t receive prenatal care.

After birth, doctor shortages impede ongoing care.

Moms describe several aid programs as frustrating to navigate.

Republicans could seek significant changes to federal assistance programs they’ve long criticized, like Medicaid and food stamps.