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Supporters of the Alternative for Germany party (AfD) wave flags as they take part in an AfD campaign rally in Hohenschoenhausen, Berlin, in February.
WORLD / Politics
May 9, 2025

German spy agency pauses 'extremist' classification for AfD party

The extremist classification allows the Cologne-based spy agency to step up monitoring of the AfD.
Kotoba Slam Japan runs regional competitions to select a representative for the annual World Poetry Slam Championship, which will take place in Mexico at the end of the month.
CULTURE / Stage
May 9, 2025

Japan’s slam poetry scene is all about raw vulnerability

Slam poetry is a rarity in Japan, but the scene is full of energy and potential that the poets have been bringing to the world slam poetry stage for 10 years now.
Clockwise from top left: Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi, former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi
JAPAN / Politics
May 9, 2025

Who could become Japan's next prime minister?

Regardless of the outcome of July's Upper House election, the bar will be high for anyone seeking to unseat incumbent Shigeru Ishiba.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba meets with Vietnamese President Luong Cuong in Hanoi on April 28. Ishiba’s visit to Vietnam and the Philippines highlighted Japan’s enduring Indo-Pacific strategy amid rising regional uncertainty.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 8, 2025

Japan’s durable 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific' strategy brings stability

So while Ishiba’s visit to Southeast Asia may have just seemed like another round of trips during a holiday week, they were emblematic of something much more than that.
American faithful celebrate after Pope Leo XIV appeared at the central balcony of the Vatican's St. Peter’s Basilica following his election on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 9, 2025

The new American pope can take Catholics in three directions

Americans (and Donald Trump) may want to stake their claims on him, but he now belongs to a much bigger organization.
People wait to vote as election officials (foreground) work at a polling station during midterm elections in Manila on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 12, 2025

Philippines midterm vote begins as Marcos-Duterte feud and China row flare

The spotlight is on the Senate race, where the 12 winners will be jurors in Duterte’s impeachment trial, set for July when the new Congress convenes.
White South Africans rally outside the U.S. embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, on Feb. 15. Dozens of Afrikaners who claim discrimination in their home country left Johannesburg on Sunday. Their departure for the U.S. comes as the Trump administration has halted virtually all refugee admissions.
WORLD / Politics
May 12, 2025

First white South Africans board plane for U.S. under Trump refugee plan

South African authorities say the Trump administration has waded into a domestic political issue it does not understand.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House earlier this year. Ishiba said Monday that farmers won't be sacrificed for automakers in Japan's tariff negotiations with the U.S.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
May 12, 2025

Japan might be playing long game in U.S. tariff talks

Tokyo is resisting making any major concessions, possibly in the hope that mounting domestic pressure will force U.S. President Donald Trump to give it a better deal.
A protester waves a flag bearing a portrait of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) jailed in Turkey since 1999, during a demonstration calling for his release in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria on Feb. 15.
WORLD
May 12, 2025

Kurdish PKK disbands and ends 40-year Turkey insurgency

The group's decision could boost NATO member Turkey's political and economic stability and encourage moves to ease tensions in neighboring Iraq and Syria.
A policeman stands guard near a polling station during national mid-term elections in Buadiposo town, Lanao del Sur province, on the southern island of Mindanao on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 13, 2025

Dutertes outperform in Philippine midterms in blow for Marcos

Ex-President Rodrigo Duterte looks set to become mayor of Davao City despite his detention by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a news conference with Cabinet members after a swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 14, 2025

Carney unveils new Cabinet, aiming to redefine U.S.-Canada relationship

The new prime minister says Canada must shift the economy's focus away from the United States, end barriers to internal trade and cut public spending.
George Simion gestures while attending a presidential debate in Bucharest on May 8.
WORLD / Politics
May 15, 2025

MAGA goes east: Romania's presidential frontrunner rides hard-right wave

George Simion, a nationalist who campaigns to "Make Romania Great Again," opposes military aid to Ukraine and is critical of the EU's leadership.
With Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's ruling coalition in crisis, the opposition divided and the Democratic Party for the People gaining momentum, Japan’s upcoming Upper House election could trigger a major political realignment.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 15, 2025

Elections are fast approaching, and none of the big parties are ready

With Ishiba in place, the fear that the LDP could next lose its current majority in the Upper House in July is pervasive.
Civic Coalition presidential candidate Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski speaks during an election rally in Krakow, Poland, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 16, 2025

In Poland, a presidential election with European stakes

The country's presidential elections come at a fraught moment for Europe, analysts said ahead of the first round of voting on Sunday.
A new U.S. citizen holds a U.S. flag after a naturalization ceremony in Boston on March 11.
COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2025

U.S. citizenship could soon look very different

Trump's vision tilts heavily toward the wealthy and well-to-do, with special shortcuts for them and barriers to entry for the rest.
As Japan heads into summer elections, debate over the consumption tax has intensified, with opposition parties demanding cuts to ease pressure on households and the government defending the levy as essential amid rising debt and economic uncertainty.
EDITORIALS
May 16, 2025

Don’t overreact to the consumption tax debate

Economic uncertainty in combination with rising prices are squeezing the budgets of households, businesses and the government.
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures with a clenched fist as he prepares to board Air Force One in Abu Dhabi at the end of his Middle East tour on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
May 17, 2025

Trump reshapes U.S. Mideast policy. Can deals work instead?

The president proclaimed a decisive break with decades of U.S. interventionism, promising a new foreign policy based instead on the art of the deal.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te (center) and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (right) take part in a flag-raising ceremony at the Presidential Office in Taipei, on Jan. 1.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 19, 2025

Taiwan's Lai Ching-te tied up by political chaos after year in office

Analysts say the current dysfunction is distracting lawmakers and eroding public confidence — to the benefit of Beijing.
Teru Hasegawa, Esperanto name Verda Majo, wrote leftist political essays during WWII.
CULTURE / Books
May 20, 2025

A window into the mind of Esperantist and political activist Teru Hasegawa

During WWII, a young Japanese woman resisted her country's descent into fascism by writing leftist essays, now collected and translated in "Whispers of a Storm."
Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate for South Korea's Democratic Party, gestures during an election campaign rally in Seoul on Monday. Officials in Tokyo are closely watching Lee’s remarks for hints of how bilateral relations could shift if he is elected.
JAPAN / Politics
May 21, 2025

South Korean presidential front-runner says he's not hostile toward Japan

Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung has in recent months sought to highlight a more centrist agenda ahead of the presidential election.
Elon Musk boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on March 21
BUSINESS / Tech
May 21, 2025

Musk commits to Tesla CEO role and plans political pullback

"If I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it,” Musk said. "I do not currently see a reason.”
Britain's King Charles inspects a guard of honor in Edinburgh, Scotland, last July. The rising cost of the British monarchy, marked by increased taxpayer funding and limited transparency, is prompting questions about whether the public is getting fair value for supporting the royals.
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2025

A king’s ransom: The eye-watering cost of Charles III

Brits should be told how much their royals’ extravagant lifestyles are costing them.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. waves during a campaign rally ahead of midterm elections, in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, on May 9.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 22, 2025

Philippines' Marcos asks Cabinet secretaries to resign in government reset

The sweeping directive comes just over a week after a disappointing midterm election for the administration, widely seen as a referendum on Marcos' leadership.
Thai film "A Useful Ghost" won top prize in the Critics' Week sidebar section of the Cannes film festival.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 22, 2025

LGBTQ Thai ghost story wins prize in Cannes

Film director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke says he hoped his LGBTQ story could touch more on politics.
Pakistan's army chief Gen. Asim Munir salutes after laying wreath on the martyrs' monument during a guard of honor ceremony at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 22, 2025

Support for Pakistan army chief surges after India conflict

A survey conducted after the conflict by a local pollster found that 93% of respondents felt their opinion of the military had improved.
Not only is the drawing of each frame an important part of the manga-making process, translation has increasingly demanded more attention as the art form gains popularity overseas.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 23, 2025

Manga translators walk a fine line between meaning and mayhem

Manga translators face linguistic puzzles, cultural minefields and online backlash — all for the love of a perfectly written speech bubble.
A supporter of ousted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol holds a placard during a gathering near the Seoul Central District Court in the capital, where Yoon had appeared earlier in the day for another hearing in his criminal trial, as he defends himself against insurrection charges over his declaration of martial law.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
May 24, 2025

Meet the 'Yoonies': ex-president's shadow looms over South Korean poll

Experts say the ousted leader's influence continues to loom over the election, as he drew extreme religious figures and right-wing YouTubers into mainstream politics.
Donald Trump's attempt to bar international students from enrolling at Harvard, along with other actions, undercut America’s image as a land of opportunity, alienating future Asian leaders and diminishing U.S. influence in Asia.
COMMENTARY / World
May 25, 2025

America’s 'wolf warriors' are getting it all wrong in Asia

Trump's actions erode goodwill among future Asian leaders and weaken America's standing in a region once deeply aligned with it.
Rafal Trzaskowski, Mayor of Warsaw and candidate for president of Poland, speaks from the stage to his supporters as he begins the Great Patriots' March at Bankowy Square in Warsaw on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
May 26, 2025

Polish presidential hopefuls rally supporters ahead of election

The election will decide whether one of the European Union’s fastest-growing economies can resist the surge of populism sweeping the bloc.
Britain's King Charles III reacts as he visits the Rideau Hall residence during a two-day visit in Ottawa on Monday.
WORLD
May 27, 2025

King Charles visits Canada to help send a message to Trump about its sovereignty

U.S. President Donald Trump has made repeated calls for Canada to become the 51st U.S. state.

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An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo