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Brexit architect Nigel Farage said he'll stand as a candidate for Reform U.K. in Britain’s general election on July 4, an about-turn that threatens to destabilize the campaign for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s governing Conservatives.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 4, 2024

Nigel Farage barrels into U.K. campaign in gut punch to Conservatives

With trademark chutzpah, Farage convened what he called an "emergency” press conference to tell reporters that he would, in fact, be standing as a candidate.
Nadezhda Sokolova competes against Elizaveta Smirnova in the 50kg women's final at the Russian Pre-Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Championship at the Live Arena venue outside Moscow on May 1.
OLYMPICS
Jun 4, 2024

Russian wrestlers set on competing in Paris Olympics

The Games have been racked by Ukraine-related controversy in the buildup to their July 26 start.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (left) listens as Cambodia's former Prime Minister Hun Sen speaks during a meeting in Phnom Penh on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 4, 2024

U.S. defense chief visits Cambodia to boost ties with China ally

Washington is concerned that a Cambodian naval base that is being upgraded by Beijing might be used to boost the Asian giant's influence in the Gulf of Thailand.
Sebastien Delogu, deputy for La France Insoumise (LFI) party speaks at a pro-Palestinian protest in central Paris on May 29.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 4, 2024

Gaza war rattles European politics from the left

The rise of radical positions on both the left and right will have widespread affects on the political landscape, observers say.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel (left) meet aboard the USS Ronald Reagan super carrier on the sideline of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force’s International Fleet Review near Tokyo in November 2022. Under a new agreement, U.S. warships will be able to undergo repairs in Japanese commercial shipyard.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 4, 2024

Ambassador Emanuel can deepen Japan-U.S. defense cooperation

Infrastructure, logistics and sustainment should certainly be atop the list of DICAS initiatives.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives to greet supporters at the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters after the results of the general elections in New Delhi on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 5, 2024

Narendra Modi vows to retain power in India even as BJP loses majority

Prime Minister Modi needs to secure the support of two members of his broader National Democratic Alliance who have some 30 seats — enough to flip the balance of power.
A screen displaying news of markets update inside the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai in 2019
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 5, 2024

Mexico, South Africa and India deliver political punch to markets

Many countries have held important elections this year but Mexico, South Africa and India have triggered the most dramatic market reactions so far.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi flashes victory signs as he arrives at the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters in New Delhi late Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 5, 2024

India’s Modi gets Pyrrhic poll victory as challenges loom for BJP

A better-than-expected performance by the opposition denied the ruling party a majority, forcing it to rely on its coalition partners to stay in power.
Dunkirk has revamped its seafront to create a modern promenade, new hotels have gone up and public transportation has been made free.
WORLD
Jun 5, 2024

Macron’s charms falter in Le Pen’s industrial heartland

The area around Dunkirk has suffered from the demise of industries such as steel and mining.
President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Tuesday, en route to Paris for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in France.
WORLD
Jun 5, 2024

Traveling to Europe, Biden will find both solidarity and isolation

Critics of Biden said he has no one to blame for his diplomatic challenges in Europe but himself for an inconsistent approach to international crises.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin leaves a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Friday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 4, 2024

China is winning the communications competition

It's a mistake for the U.S. to take for granted that the world sees it as “the good guy” in its competition with China.
Despite the Sino-American trade war, China's export competitiveness has strengthened, with its share of global exports increasing in 2023 and its trade surplus reaching $823 billion.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2024

Why the U.S. can’t win the trade war with China — and shouldn’t try

There is no evidence that China is actively targeting the exchange rate, and even the U.S. does not label China as a currency manipulator.
China’s defense minister, Dong Jun, addresses the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Sunday. Beijing says it has a long commitment to regional peace and stability. The problem is its actions speak louder than words.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2024

Great powers talk past each other in Singapore gathering

Beijing says it has a long commitment to regional and global peace and stability. The problem is that China's actions speak louder than words.
Then Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada speaks at a news conference at the State Department in Washington in January 2023.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2024

Japan lawmakers create group to investigate UFO security 'threat'

The nonpartisan group, which counts former defense ministers among its 80-plus members, will urge Japan to ramp up abilities to detect and analyze UFOs.
Amid low approval ratings since the Liberal Democratic Party slush funds scandal came to light, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is making the political funding bill's passage his No. 1 priority for the current session of parliament.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 6, 2024

LDP's political funding bill clears Lower House

The bill's passage marks a watershed moment in a monthslong debate sparked by a slush funds scandal that engulfed the ruling party.
Voters show their index fingers marked with indelible ink after casting their ballots at a polling station in Amritsar, India, on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2024

India keeps its glorious, messy tradition alive

"People were fed up with the BJP,” a local business leader said. "People will not always fall for the caste or temple-mosque politics."
The policies of just-reelected Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reflect India's desire for independence in international affairs, emphasizing friendship without dependence.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 7, 2024

A resurgent India to play a bigger role on the world stage

With a busy foreign-policy agenda awaiting him, Modi is expected to hit the ground running right after he is sworn in.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, attend a British-organized ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day on Thursday in Ver-sur-Mer, France.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 7, 2024

U.K.'s Sunak apologizes for skipping main D-Day event

Political opponents accused Sunak of "a total dereliction of duty" by skipping a major international ceremony.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks to journalists following an election campaign event at Melksham Town F.C. on Friday. Sunak apologized after skipping events to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day in France to return early to the U.K.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 8, 2024

The moment the Tories have long dreaded is finally upon them

With Labour so far ahead in the polls, few Tories expect to stay in power after the election.
Emmanuel Macron, France's president, during U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to the Elysee Palace in Paris on Saturday
WORLD / Politics
Jun 10, 2024

Macron’s high-risk vote attempts to halt Le Pen’s French advance

French President Emmanuel Macron called a snap legislative ballot in a desperate bid to stop the rise of his far-right rival, Marine Le Pen.
Traffic at the Dubai International Financial Centre. Last year, it opened the DIFC Family Wealth Center, a registry for family offices that also offers advisory services, workshops, mentoring, dispute resolution and certification based on how "structured” their governance is.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 10, 2024

Dubai takes on Abu Dhabi in race for supremacy in family offices

Last year, the number of registered foundations in Dubai rose by 53%. In rival Abu Dhabi, the number jumped by 35%.
Alternative for Germany party co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla react to results after the polls closed in the European Parliament elections, in Berlin on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 10, 2024

In EU elections, the center holds, but far right still wreaks havoc

Balloting indicates that the prevailing winds have grown chill for some of Europe’s political establishment.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike speaks to reporters Wednesday before declaring her candidacy for the gubernatorial election in the afternoon.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 12, 2024

It’s official: Koike will seek reelection as Tokyo governor in July

The incumbent governor finally declared her candidacy on the last day of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly session.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during an Upper House committee session on Monday.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jun 13, 2024

LDP allies concerned effort to improve funding transparency may be weakened

The House of Councilors began substantive deliberations on the legislation on Monday.
Despite the conservative center maintaining control of European Union institutions, a surge in far-right support in parliamentary elections is setting off alarm bells.
EDITORIALS
Jun 14, 2024

The center holds as Europe’s far right surges

A populist wave sweeps through the European parliamentary elections amid a strong showing by far right parties.
Environmental activists from the group Extinction Rebellion demonstrate outside the media center set up for the Group of Seven leaders' summit, in Bari, Italy, on Friday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 15, 2024

Experts and activists slam 'pointless' G7 on climate

The Group of Seven rich democracies was assailed for having failed to deliver significant new progress on climate during a summit in Italy.
Russian warships take part in a rehearsal for the Navy Day parade in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol, Crimea, in July 2019. Without a decisive victory in Ukraine, Russia's influence in the Black Sea, Mediterranean and Middle East will likely decline.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 16, 2024

The Ukraine war threatens Russia’s regional influence

The war in Ukraine has undermined Russia’s capacity to project power and looks set to redefine its role in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
After just 1.3 degrees Celsius of warming above preindustrial levels, the countries with the most refugees, asylum-seekers, and displaced people are already among those hardest hit by climate change.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 16, 2024

It’s far cheaper to help migrants before they leave home

As global temperatures rise, so will the frequency of heat waves, droughts, floods, pandemics, natural disasters, food and water shortages and conflicts over resources.
The US economic engine has pulled in an increasing share of global capital.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 17, 2024

How the U.S. mopped up a third of global capital flows since COVID-19

The U.S. also pulled in a fresh wave of foreign direct investment thanks to billions of dollars worth of incentives.
Marine Le Pen speaks during a European election campaign rally in Paris on June 2.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 17, 2024

France's Le Pen says she will work with Macron to appeal to moderates

Marine Le Pen is reaching out to mainstream voters as she aims to cement a majority in the next parliament.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years