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Heavy Snow Hits Northern Japan, Disrupting Daily Life 

Heavy machinery (C) is used to clear a road as snow falls across northern Japan, in the city of Obihiro, Hokkaido prefecture on February 4, 2025. (Photo by JIJI Press / AFP)
Heavy machinery (C) is used to clear a road as snow falls across northern Japan, in the city of Obihiro, Hokkaido prefecture on February 4, 2025. (Photo by JIJI Press / AFP)
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Heavy Snow Hits Northern Japan, Disrupting Daily Life 

Heavy machinery (C) is used to clear a road as snow falls across northern Japan, in the city of Obihiro, Hokkaido prefecture on February 4, 2025. (Photo by JIJI Press / AFP)
Heavy machinery (C) is used to clear a road as snow falls across northern Japan, in the city of Obihiro, Hokkaido prefecture on February 4, 2025. (Photo by JIJI Press / AFP)

Record-breaking snowfall fell on Japan 's northern main island of Hokkaido, disrupting traffic, causing airport closures and delaying deliveries on Tuesday.

The Hokkaido prefectural government said record-breaking snowfall has been observed especially in the eastern regions of the island, including Obihiro and Kushiro, whose city offices received dozens of calls for help from drivers whose vehicles had stalled in the snow.

The heavy snow and traffic disruptions came just as a popular snow festival began in Sapporo in southern Hokkaido, although the city did not face major disruptions.

Television footage showed residents shoveling snow and passengers pushing vehicles that got stuck. So far, no injuries or major damage have been reported.

In Obihiro, record-breaking snowfall of 129 centimeters (4 feet) was detected earlier Tuesday.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said two powerful low pressure systems are moving on both sides of the Japanese archipelago, sending cold air into the region.

The agency predicted up to 100 centimeters (3.2 feet) of snowfall in northwestern Japan and 50 centimeters (1.6 feet) more snowfall in Hokkaido over the next 24 hours through Wednesday evening.

The prefecture said parts of highways and main roads were closed, and train services in the affected areas were suspended. Runways were closed due to snow at Obihiro and Kushiro airports, while dozens of flights in and out of Hokkaido were cancelled, affecting thousands of people.

About 370 schools canceled classes Tuesday across Hokkaido, according to the prefecture.

The snow also caused closures of post offices and other distribution services, delaying deliveries within Hokkaido and to destinations across Japan.

Hokkaido officials called on the residents and visitors to carry shovels and warm clothes in their vehicles in case they stall in the snow.

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Typhoon Exposes Centuries-old Shipwreck Off Vietnam Port

People stand next to a centuries-old shipwreck uncovered in the aftermath of Typhoon Kalmaegi on a beach off the Hoi An coast in central Vietnam, on November 10, 2025. (Photo by Tam Xuan / AFP)
People stand next to a centuries-old shipwreck uncovered in the aftermath of Typhoon Kalmaegi on a beach off the Hoi An coast in central Vietnam, on November 10, 2025. (Photo by Tam Xuan / AFP)
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Typhoon Exposes Centuries-old Shipwreck Off Vietnam Port

People stand next to a centuries-old shipwreck uncovered in the aftermath of Typhoon Kalmaegi on a beach off the Hoi An coast in central Vietnam, on November 10, 2025. (Photo by Tam Xuan / AFP)
People stand next to a centuries-old shipwreck uncovered in the aftermath of Typhoon Kalmaegi on a beach off the Hoi An coast in central Vietnam, on November 10, 2025. (Photo by Tam Xuan / AFP)

Severe coastal erosion caused by Typhoon Kalmaegi exposed a centuries-old shipwreck in Vietnam, providing a narrow window to salvage what experts say could be a historically significant find.

Initially discovered in 2023 off the coast of Hoi An, the at least 17.4-metre (57-foot) vessel -- whose heavy wood-ribbed hull survived hundreds of years of rough seas almost perfectly intact -- was resubmerged before authorities could reclaim it.

Experts have not yet dated the wreck, but preliminary findings suggest it was built between the 14th and 16th centuries -- when UNESCO-listed Hoi An was at the center of a thriving regional trade in silk, ceramics and spices.

"We are currently preparing to apply for an emergency excavation (permit)," Pham Phu Ngoc, director of the Hoi An Center for the Preservation of World Cultural Heritage, told AFP on Monday after the wreck resurfaced following the passage of Typhoon Kalmaegi last week.

"The discovery of this ancient ship is clear evidence of Hoi An's significant historical role in regional trade," he said, adding more of the ship had been exposed this time "which could provide us with more information.”

A team of experts from the Hoi An preservation center, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Ho Chi Minh City and a local museum surveyed the wreck last year.

In addition to the rough age estimate, they found it had been made from "durable and high-strength timber" and reinforced with waterproofing materials to seal its joints.

"The ship's structure suggests that it was capable of long-distance voyages, likely used for maritime trade or naval operations," the Hoi An center said in an earlier statement.

The relic is at risk of "serious deterioration without immediate conservation actions" given the severe coastal erosion and the ship's frequent exposure to harsh weather conditions, it said.

The wreck was still clearly visible on Monday, with crowds gathered on the beach to view its striking skeletal frame.

Varieties

German Bread Could be More Famous Than the French Baguette

According to the bread register of the German Institute for Bread, there are now more than 3,200 officially recognized types of bread in the country
According to the bread register of the German Institute for Bread, there are now more than 3,200 officially recognized types of bread in the country
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German Bread Could be More Famous Than the French Baguette

According to the bread register of the German Institute for Bread, there are now more than 3,200 officially recognized types of bread in the country
According to the bread register of the German Institute for Bread, there are now more than 3,200 officially recognized types of bread in the country

You’ve seen the French sauntering around with slender baguettes under their arms or sporting jaunty berets as they pedal bicycles laden with crusty bread.

Those cinematic scenes are nice, but when you really get down to business — as my countrymen are inclined to do — it’s obvious that the world’s best bread comes from Germany, according to CNN news.

It said Germans have more varieties of bread than most other countries.

According to the bread register of the German Institute for Bread, there are now more than 3,200 officially recognized types of bread in the country. German bread culture was officially added by UNESCO to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2015.

A key German term rests upon those hearty loaves: one of the words for work is Broterwerb, literally “gaining one’s bread.”

Bread is a staple for most meals in Germany: at breakfast, break-time (sometimes called Pausenbrot, or “break bread”) and dinner or Abendbrot, literally the “bread of the evening.”

“It sells like sliced bread” is a German proverb describing fast-selling items.

Bread even stars on TV: a talking loaf named Bernd has become a popular character among German children. The comedy series “Bernd das Brot.” hosted by the titular character, began airing on the children’s channel KI.KA since 2000.

One of the reasons for this immense variety in bread products is the fragmented history of Germany up until the 19th century.

Until then, what is known as Germany now was a cluster of hundreds of small duchies or kingdoms, all with their own distinct culture and dialect, and with their own bread.

So, bread has evolved in Germany from a staple food to a strong symbol of cultural and historical identity, and a source of national pride no less valuable than any of its famous landmarks.

Varieties

British University Calls Charles Dickens a Racist

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) 
Charles Dickens (1812-1870) 
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British University Calls Charles Dickens a Racist

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) 
Charles Dickens (1812-1870) 

In a move that sparked widespread debate in academic and cultural circles, the University of Manchester accused Britain's greatest novelist, Charles Dickens, of expressing “racist views” because he wrote an essay in 1851 criticizing the Chinese society.

The University, which has around 9,000 students from mainland China, said Dickens “expresses racist views, particularly against Chinese people.”

It wrote that any undergraduates “concerned” about reading the article are invited to discuss it with the course tutor at the university.

Critics branded the warning “historically illiterate” and accused the university of prioritizing its commercial links with the communist state.

The controversy comes days after it emerged Sheffield Hallam University had stopped one of its academics from investigating human rights abuses in China under pressure from the Chinese authorities, according to the Daily Mail.

The British newspaper said staff from China's National Security Agency are reported to have threatened the university's employees in China in an effort to get Professor Laura Murphy's research stopped.

They also blocked access to the university's websites from China meaning it could no longer recruit students, who pay several times what UK based undergraduates do.

The University of Manchester's warning, details of which have been obtained by this newspaper under Freedom of Information laws, has been issued to students studying an English Literature module called Victorian Rights: Victorian Wrongs.

It applies to an 1851 magazine article entitled The Great Exhibition and the Little One which Dickens co–authored with poet and critic Richard Horne.

The article praised England for maintaining commercial contacts with the whole world and criticized China for “coming to a dead stop.”

To illustrate their point, the authors compared the scientific and technological wonders on display in the Great Exhibition of 1851 with an exhibition of traditional Chinese arts and crafts running concurrently at Hyde Park Place in London.