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July 06, 2025
 

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Simon Marks
A draft executive order circulating among U.S. diplomats proposes a radical reduction to and restructuring of the U.S. State Department, which, if implemented, would be one of the biggest reorganizations of the department since its founding.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 21, 2025
Trump draft proposes radical reshaping of U.S. State Department
The order would eliminate dozens of positions and departments, including those dealing with climate, refugees, democracy and Africa.
Pieces of gum arabic, a natural emulsifier, displayed in a warehouse of an exporting company, in Port Sudan, Sudan.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 22, 2025
A genocidal militia in Sudan controls a key ingredient in Coke and Pepsi
Gum arabic acts as an organic emulsifier in consumer goods around the world — in candy, medicine, soda and cosmetics.
Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary soldiers in Sudan. The International Criminal Court has begun investigating the events of an eight-month period in 2023 when soldiers from the RSF targeted unarmed civilians.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 12, 2024
Top war crimes court appeals for evidence of atrocities in Sudan
The move comes days after a U.N. official warned of a strong chance genocide had been committed in Darfur — a worrying echo of events two decades ago.
Despite the United Arab Emirates taking "significant steps to address" gold smuggling, Bern-based NGO SwissAid says billions of dollars worth of the precious metal arrive in the country from Africa every year.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 30, 2024
Billions in African gold smuggled to UAE every year, SwissAid says
The nongovernmental organization estimates that the illicit trade amounts to between $23.7 billion and $35 billion annually, based on current market prices.
A big selling point for Starlink is its ease of setting up and use.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 26, 2024
Elon Musk’s Starlink terminals are falling into the wrong hands
A thriving black market results in kits being smuggled into territories where the service has no agreement to operate and their use by repressive regimes.
Elon Musk and Benjamin Netanyahu visit Kibbutz Kfar Aza in Israel on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 28, 2023
Amid antisemitism uproar, Elon Musk pitches Starlink in Israel
Musk's satellite internet provider is at the heart of the billionnaire's political clout.
Israeli soldiers walk during a raid at the Balata camp for Palestinian refugees, east of Nablus in the occupied West Bank on Nov. 19.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 27, 2023
The West Bank is being reshaped along with Gaza post-Oct. 7
Hamas' attack has aggravated the long-standing conflict over the land between Israel and the Jordan River that forms the other Palestinian territory.
Palestinians amongst the rubble of destroyed residential buildings following Israeli airstrikes in the Shejaiya district east of Gaza City, Gaza, on Nov. 9.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 17, 2023
U.S. and EU back U.N. force in postwar Gaza
U.S. and European officials concede big questions remain about such an operation and recognize that Israel remains highly skeptical of such a plan.
Wagner mercenaries guard the president and other high-ranking attendees at an event in Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic, in May 2019.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 25, 2023
Wagner’s empire in Africa will live on after Prigozhin
Prigozhin built a business empire on the continent over the past five years, becoming an iconoclastic celebrity in places like Mali.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 15, 2023
Women and girls share stories of abuse in Sudan as conflict rages
Both the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Army have been accused of abuses, including sexual violence against women and girls.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 12, 2023
Race is on to protect Sudan’s pyramids and tombs as war rages
Airstrikes have been recorded around Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri — areas home to many temples and monuments, and the cradle of the Kerma civilization, which flourished around 2500 B.C.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 10, 2022
Horror of a hotter world on stark display in parched eastern Africa
The grim reality confronting east Africa is a frightening portent of what could come elsewhere due to climate change.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 1, 2022
How a sanctioned Russian company gained access to Sudan’s gold
The Wagner Group's secretive and expanding business dealings in Africa show the limitations of Western nations' attempts to censure it and other Russian firms.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 6, 2022
Rights groups accuse Ethiopian forces of war crimes in Tigray
Abuses inflicted on the Tigrayans included murder, torture, rape and sexual slavery, said two rights groups in a 240-page report released Wednesday.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 25, 2022
Ethiopia declares unilateral truce in war-ravaged Tigray
The rebels ignored a previous government offer of a cease-fire, but this time the group said it is committed to implementing the truce 'effective immediately.”
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 31, 2021
Dubai can’t shake off the stain of smuggled African gold
The U.N. has found a discrepancy of at least $4 billion between the United Arab Emirates' declared gold imports from Africa and what African countries say they exported to the UAE.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
U.S. military apologizes over Okinawa sexual assault case
Col. Neil Owens (right), chief of staff for the 3rd Marine Division, bows in apology at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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