Search - about-us

 
 
A container is loaded onto a cargo ship at Hai Phong port in Vietnam. A trade deal secured by Vietnam with the U.S. sets a high bar for Japan's tariff talks.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 3, 2025

Vietnam steals a march and leaves Japan in a tough spot on U.S. tariffs

The deal sets a high bar for Japan and other countries still negotiating with the United States.
A container ship is anchored at the Tan Vu port in Hai Phong, Vietnam. Much of Vietnam's exports to the U.S. are made up of items such as AirPods, phones or other products assembled with Chinese components and then shipped on.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 4, 2025

U.S. trade deal leaves Vietnam with questions and one big challenge

Companies operating in the Southeast Asian hub are on notice to move up the value chain.
Taiwanese soldiers fire an ML154 Mine Clearance Launcher during the annual Han Guang anti-landing drill at Bali beach, New Taipei City, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 29, 2023

U.S. to give Taiwan $345 million in arms aid over China’s protest

The U.S. will supply Taiwan with $345 million in defense equipment, services and training, using the fast-track authority that it has relied on to speed arms to Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and South Korean leader Yoon Suk-yeol greet each other ahead of a trilateral meeting during the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima on May 21.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 29, 2023

U.S. announces trilateral summit with Japan and South Korea

The leaders of the three countries will use the summit at the Camp David presidential retreat to expand trilateral cooperation “across the Indo-Pacific and beyond.”
Up until the 1980s, Mexico was a country in which drug cartels and a corrupt state could cut deals that took much of the bloodshed out of the business. The government's crackdown on the drug traders, at the behest of the U.S., changed that.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 2, 2023

Mexico and the U.S. are divided by guns and fentanyl

The two neighbors see the toll taken on their citizens by violence and drugs in different ways and can’t agree on which poses the most pressing threat.
Demonstrators hold a rally in Washington on Thursday, the day former U.S. President Donald Trump, who is facing federal charges related to attempts to overturn his 2020 election, appeared in a U.S. district court in the nation's capital.
EDITORIALS
Aug 4, 2023

The United States of America vs. Donald J. Trump

The outcome of the trial against former U.S. President Donald Trump will test the rule of law and U.S. democracy.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other leaders of the Group of Seven, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meet during their summit in Hiroshima on May 21. 
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 7, 2023

The G7 leaders’ vision on nuclear disarmament

Geopolitical rivalries and the failure to address the complicity of G7 members in perpetuating a nuclearized world are stymieing nonproliferation efforts.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Windham, New Hampshire, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 11, 2023

U.S. prosecutors propose January start for Trump election trial

The suggested date falls just two weeks before the first votes are cast in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.
Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, leaves a U.S. district courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware, in July.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 12, 2023

Hunter Biden gets special counsel, setting up election issue

The developments reinforce that legal issues, including those of Donald Trump, will figure prominently in the U.S. presidential election.
U.S. President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol meet during the Group of Seven Summit in Hiroshima on May 21.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 13, 2023

U.S. and Japan set to announce pact on missile interceptors, report says

The U.S. and Japan earlier this year said they plan to strengthen defense cooperation on growing concern about the challenges posed by China and Russia.
A United Nations Command soldier conducts a media tour of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas as a South Korean soldier and other UNC soldiers stand guard at the Joint Security Area in the truce village of Panmunjom last October.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 16, 2023

North Korea claims U.S. soldier seeking refuge from mistreatment

Pyongyang said U.S. Army Pfc. Travis King had “admitted that he illegally intruded” into North Korea last month.
Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, in Atlanta in 2022. For Donald Trump, the possibility of a second criminal indictment in Georgia underscores the blizzard of legal challenges he is facing.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 16, 2023

In Trump case, Georgia prosecutor aims to ‘tell the whole story’

Another potential pitfall for a big RICO case is that it may become too complex for jurors to follow the actions of 19 defendants.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel arrives for a photo opp on the day of a trilateral engagement at the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima on May 21.
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2023

As U.S. envoy to Japan, Rahm Emanuel puts China in cross-hairs

The U.S. ambassador also heaped praise on Tokyo’s new muscular approach to defense.
U.S. President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean leader Yoon Suk-yeol meet during the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima in May.
EDITORIALS
Aug 18, 2023

A trilateral summit to reshape Northeast Asia

The summit follows years of hard work to overcome bitter historical legacies, most stemming from Japan’s colonization of the Korean Peninsula.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 20, 2023

Japan, South Korea and U.S. hail ties, but staying power questioned

While the three nations agreed to bolster ties in an array of areas, inevitable political change could prove to be a stumbling block for trilateral ties.
The Chinese Ministry of State Security said Monday it is investigating a 39-year-old ministry official identified by his surname Hao for providing information to the CIA in exchange for money.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 21, 2023

China deepens espionage crackdown targeting spies for the CIA

China said it found another case of an individual informing the CIA, adding to a series of espionage accusations between the two nations.
Three MV-22B tilt-rotor Ospreys fly in formation above the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Sydney in June 2017. A U.S. Marine Osprey crashed on a remote island north of Australia's mainland while taking part in military exercises on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 28, 2023

Three U.S. Marines die in Osprey crash during Australia drills

Australian personnel were not involved in the crash that occurred during Exercise Predator's Run 2023.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, right, speaks during a meeting with her Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao in Beijing on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 29, 2023

U.S. commerce secretary says trade can stabilize U.S.-China ties

The trip to China this week is a key test of efforts by Washington to ease tensions while holding firm on what it considers national security interests.
A Taiwanese flag is displayed at the Ministry of National Defense of Taiwan in Taipei in 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 31, 2023

Biden approves military aid to Taiwan

The Foreign Military Financing program is normally used to assist sovereign states.
The U.S. is expanding import restrictions for Nvidia AI chips to include some countries in the Middle East, the firm has said.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 31, 2023

U.S. curbs AI chip exports from Nvidia to parts of Middle East

A similar move announced last year signaled an escalation of the U.S. crackdown on China's technological capabilities.
Ons Jabeur defeated Marie Bouzkova to reach the fourth round of the U.S. Open in New York on Saturday.
TENNIS
Sep 3, 2023

Ons Jabeur beats Marie Bouzkova to reach fourth round at U.S. Open

Jabeur said she was feeling like a "zombie" due to illness but came back from the dead to overcome Bouzkova.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is mired in four criminal cases that could take him off the campaign trail starting in late January or February.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 4, 2023

The surrogates: Trump’s strategy for campaigning from court

While the candidate himself was a no-show at prominent events, including the first Republican primary debate, he left loyalists to fill the void.
Leaders and officials from Southeast Asia pose for a family photo during the ASEAN Summit in Jakarta on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 2023

Why Biden's decision to skip the ASEAN summit is a mistake

Though in Asia, Biden won't attend ASEAN this week. The move may be part of Washington's China containment strategy, but it risks alienating key partners.
The All Blacks perform the haka in front of Scotland before their match in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Nov. 13, 2022.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Sep 7, 2023

All Blacks prepared to unleash haka at Rugby World Cup

The haka is a fierce war dance that was originally used to prepare Maori warriors for battle and has since been adopted by the All Blacks.
A joint study by consultant McKinsey and data firm NielsenIQ earlier this year found that 78% of U.S. consumers say a sustainable lifestyle is important to them.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Sep 8, 2023

Shoppers say they want sustainable goods, but won't pay more

When push comes to shove, manufacturers sometimes find consumers aren't buying their sustainable products.
U.S. President Joe Biden raises a toast in Hanoi on Monday. While the U.S. may have successfully bolstered strategic ties with India and Vietnam to counter China, rights advocates were disappointed, given Biden's vow to prioritize the issue when taking office in 2021.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 12, 2023

Biden accused of sidelining rights issues in Vietnam and India

For rights advocates, Biden's travels were a disappointment, given his administration's vow to prioritize the issue when taking office in 2021.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks at a news conference during the trilateral summit at Camp David, Maryland, on Aug. 18.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 13, 2023

South Korea’s political bifurcation will stifle any trilateral agreement

The South Korean left, which is currently out of power, has a foreign policy agenda that is incompatible with the Camp David Principles.
To the chagrin of many U.S. voters, the 2024 presidential election is likely to be a rematch between President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 13, 2023

America faces a critical moment in its history

To the chagrin of most voters, the 2024 U.S. presidential election is likely to be a rematch between Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un receives a send-off as he departs by train from Pyongyang for a visit to Russia on Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Sep 15, 2023

North Korea’s newfound confidence is a dangerous and challenging thing

It is increasingly clear that Pyongyang has been emboldened by the formation of a new anti-U.S. bloc, prompting it to reach out to Beijing and Moscow.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Family Research Council and FRC Action annual Pray Vote Stand Summit in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 17, 2023

Sinner, savior or both? Trump woos evangelicals and women

Despite the legal, moral and sexual escapades of the Republican front-runner, support among his devotees remains strong.

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