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New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaks at an event in Auckland on Sept. 20.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 13, 2025

New Zealand pitches itself as safe haven in ‘global storm’

Christopher Luxon’s center-right government wants more foreign direct investment to boost economic growth ahead of a 2026 election.
Just like in times of old, with unresolved territorial disputes, regional disunity and economic self-interest prevailing over solidarity, Southeast Asia faces growing instability as tensions escalate.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2025

Southeast Asia must learn to defend itself

Would any of the region’s governments lift a finger to maintain peace on behalf of a neighbor?
Artist Adrian Steckeweh 3-D prints otherworldly clothes and accessories for himself, in a way augmenting his reality with tangible objects.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 16, 2025

Augmented reality artist Omega C navigates a precarious scene for XR art

Just this year, XR art featured heavily in the digital art festival Dig Shibuya and is the focus of the ongoing “Machine Love” exhibition at Mori Art Museum.
K-Ballet Tokyo celebrates its 25th anniversary with an extended lineup including a revival of the vibrant pirate-story ballet "Le Corsaire."
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 15, 2025

K-Ballet Tokyo marks 25 years of passion and perseverance

The dance company celebrates a milestone anniversary with an extended lineup including a revival of the vibrant pirate-story ballet "Le Corsaire."
People in Japan appeared to have the smallest difference between the amount of sleep they get on weekdays and weekends, suggesting the lowest incidence of social jet lag.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 14, 2025

People in Japan get the least sleep, Pokemon study finds

Does that make Japan the land of the never-setting sun?
A worker keeps a tally of wages Wednesday in Tokyo at the head office of UA Zensen, Japan's largest industrial trade union that represents workers mostly at small and medium-sized firms.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 14, 2025

Japan’s unions win largest pay hike in more than three decades

Some 760 affiliated unions under the trade union federation Rengo have so far secured an average pay gain of 5.46% in ongoing annual wage negotiations.
Mark Carney, Canada's incoming prime minister (center), during a swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Friday. Carney has been sworn in as Canada's 24th prime minister, bringing the former central banker to power in the middle of an explosive trade war with the U.S.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 15, 2025

Canada has a new prime minister with a very hard first assignment

Mark Carney steps into his role as U.S. President Donald Trump sets his sights on Canada’s sovereignty and keeps threatening more tariffs.
Thames Water's Beddington Sewage Treatment Works near Croydon, south London, on Friday. Thames Water, and other British water companies privatized since 1989, are under fire for allowing the discharge of large quantities of sewage into rivers and the sea.
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 15, 2025

A stain on Britain: Sewage contaminates its waterways and seas

Failings with the most basic services in British society, such as water and sewage, have been harming the broader U.K. economy.
One year on from the Bank of Japan's historic rate hike, the biggest winners are the banks.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 17, 2025

Banks boom and shoppers scrimp a year after Japan’s rate pivot

Higher borrowing costs are also fueling a political battle over how the government can rein in its outlays.
This combination picture shows candidates for the presidency of the IOC (from top left) Sebastian Coe, Kirsty Coventry, Johan Eliasch, Prince Feisal al-Hussein of Jordan, David Lappartient, Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. and Morinari Watanabe speaking during a press conference following a presentation before fellow IOC members, in Lausanne on Jan. 30.
OLYMPICS
Mar 17, 2025

Heavyweight seven eye finish line in race to succeed Olympics chief

Surprises from the electorate of 100-plus IOC members cannot be ruled out in the battle to become the most powerful figure in sport governance.
Bleached and dead coral around Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef, located 270 kilometers north of the city of Cairns, Australia, on April 5, 2024
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science
Mar 17, 2025

From oil spills to new species: How tech reveals the ocean

New technologies are helping to reveal hidden oil spills, speed up the discovery of new species and uncover the impact of light pollution.
An aerial view of Thames Water's Beddington Sewage Treatment Works near Croydon, south London on Friday. Thames Water — and other British water companies privatized since 1989 — are under fire for allowing the discharge of large quantities of sewage into rivers and the sea.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 17, 2025

A stain on Britain: Sewage contaminates its waterways and seas

The pollution affects the seafood and tourism industries, while delaying construction projects and hampering the economy.
A migrant worker from Myanmar walks through a local market in Mae Sot, Thailand, on Feb. 21.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 17, 2025

War of words: Myanmar migrants face disinformation in Thailand

Analysts say some Thai authorities deliberately reinforce the nationalistic ideologies that drive xenophobia in the country — which was invaded by Burma in the 18th century.
A Russian soldier at an artillery position in the Kursk region of Russia on Dec. 2. Ukrainian forces have pulled almost entirely out of the Kursk region of Russia, ending an offensive that had stunned the Kremlin last summer with its speed and audacity.
WORLD
Mar 17, 2025

How Ukraine’s offensive in Russia’s Kursk region unraveled

At the height of the campaign, Ukrainian forces controlled some 1,300 square kilometers of Russian territory. Now they hold just a small sliver of land along the border.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference in January in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 19, 2025

Bank of Japan holds steady at 0.5% as trade war escalates and inflation rises

The move was widely expected, with economists unanimous in seeing back-to-back rate increases as unlikely from the central bank, which made one in January.
Supporters of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu gather near the city's police headquarters on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 20, 2025

Turkey's opposition dubs Istanbul mayor's detention a 'coup'

Popular two-term Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, the main rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is being held on charges of corruption and aiding a terrorist group.
Motoaki Tanigo, whom fans affectionately refer to as “Yagoo,” is the CEO and founder of tech company Cover Corporation, which runs Hololive, an industry-leading virtual YouTuber talent agency.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 21, 2025

Virtual idols, real fans: Hololive’s bet on the future of pop

Hololive CEO Motoaki Tanigo, whom fans affectionately refer to as “Yagoo,” has global ambitions for his virtual YouTuber sensations.
Tesla recalled the Cybertruck six times in the U.S. within a year of launching the pickup in November 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 21, 2025

Tesla recalls Cybertrucks after steel trim pieces come loose

The carmaker estimates that 1% of the 46,096 pickups it’s calling back have a defect.
Israeli soldiers work by military vehicles, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, near the border with Gaza, in Israel, on Feb. 15.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 21, 2025

In Israel, reservist burnout and little public appetite for more war in Gaza

A full-scale ground war against Hamas could prove more complicated amid waning public support, exhausted military reservists and political challenges.
Firefighters douse the flames of a fire that broke out at a substation supplying power to Heathrow Airport in Hayes, England, on Friday.
WORLD
Mar 21, 2025

Heathrow closed after huge fire at power station, disrupting global flights

Travel experts say the disruption would extend far beyond Heathrow, the world's fifth-busiest airport.
Protesters outside a Tesla showroom in West Bloomfield, Michigan, on March 20.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 22, 2025

Tesla vandalism sparked by fury against Musk draws GOP ire

Caught in the middle are millions of customers whose electric vehicles increasingly are viewed as political symbols.
Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu gives a speech after his team clinched a spot in the 2026 World Cup with a win over Bahrain on Thursday in Saitama.
SOCCER / World cup
Mar 23, 2025

Japan's quiet World Cup celebrations show it is hungry for much more

Samurai Blue celebrated its qualification for the World Cup with victory speeches and a water shower for coach Hajime Moriyasu. But this squad has much bigger aims.
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney gestures as he boards an aircraft, after calling for an election, in Ottawa on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 24, 2025

Carney calls snap election, saying Trump wants to break Canada

In calling the election now, Carney is hoping to capitalize on a remarkable recovery by his Liberal Party in the polls since January.
Lindsey Vonn celebrates on the podium after finishing second in a women's super-G event in Sun Valley, Idaho.
MORE SPORTS / Alpine skiing
Mar 24, 2025

Lindsey Vonn gets confidence boost from first podium finish since comeback

Vonn had not managed a World Cup podium since 2018.
Emma Raducanu serves against Amanda Anisimova on Day 7 of the Miami Open in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Monday.
TENNIS
Mar 25, 2025

Raducanu happy to have found her spark again during Miami run

The Briton has struggled with form and fitness issues since her only Grand Slam triumph as a teenager.
A shopkeeper displays women's wigs at his shop in Kabul on March 13. Until the Taliban took power, Afghan women could freely sell their hair to be made into wigs, bringing in crucial cash. But last year Taliban authorities imposed vice and virtue laws regulating everyday life for men and women, including banning sales of "any part of the human body" such as hair.
WORLD / Society
Mar 25, 2025

Afghan women risk Taliban wrath over hair trade

A ban imposed last year has forced women to brave punishment by covertly trading hair for crucial cash.
Hamdan Ballal (center right) with colleagues after winning the Oscar for best documentary feature for "No Other Land" on March 2
WORLD
Mar 26, 2025

Oscar-winning Palestinian director injured in attack by Israeli settlers released after arrest

Hamdan Ballal, co-director of the award-winning "No Other Land," was released from detention on Tuesday.
Cherry blossoms along a road in Tokyo on Tuesday. The 2025 cherry blossom season is expected to have an economic impact of around ¥1.39 trillion on Japan.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2025

Hanami season to have record ¥1.39 trillion economic impact on Japan

The estimate is 22.2% higher than last year's ¥1.14 trillion, according to an annual report compiled by Kansai University economist Katsuhiro Miyamoto.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a meeting of the Upper House Budget Committee on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 27, 2025

Ishiba’s remarks on inflation relief measures draw ire as budget deadline looms

Confusing messages about an economic package to counter rising prices came as negotiations were heating up on when to hold a vote on the budget.
According to the internal affairs ministry on Friday, consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.4% in March from a year earlier as inflation in processed food accelerated.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 28, 2025

Tokyo inflation exceeds forecasts, keeping BOJ on rate hike path

The leading indicator for nationwide inflation is likely to keep BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda mulling over the right timing for further rate hikes.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.