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A satellite image shows an overview of new rare-earth mines in Myanmar's Shan state on May 6.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 8, 2025

China risks global heavy rare-earth supply to stop Myanmar rebel victory

China has threatened to halt buying the minerals mined in KIA-controlled territory unless the Kachin Independence Army stops trying to seize full control of a key town.
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends the EU-Japan summit in Brussels in July 2023. Economic cooperation between the EU, Japan and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership is showing promise but faces political and structural hurdles that could limit progress.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 8, 2025

EU-CPTPP talks highlight shared goals and stubborn obstacles

EU economic cooperation with Japan and the CPTPP shows promise but could face political and structural hurdles that limit progress.
Search and rescue teams work along the shoreline as another passes by on a boat in the Guadalupe River in Center Point, Texas, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Jul 9, 2025

More than 160 people still missing days after deadly Texas floods

The death toll includes at least 27 girls and counselors from a nearby youth summer camp, with more still missing.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (left) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi embrace at the G20 Leaders' Summit In Rio De Janeiro in 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 9, 2025

Brazil’s Lula hosts Modi in bid to turn India into a major trade partner

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is desperate to finally crack the code on a relationship that has never fully taken off thanks to a litany of incompatibilities.
The U.S. Supreme Court said the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump was "likely to succeed" in its argument that his directives were legally within his power.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 9, 2025

Supreme Court clears the way for Trump to pursue mass federal layoffs

The decision is the latest win for U.S. President Donald Trump's broader efforts to consolidate power in the executive branch.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as Attorney General Pam Bondi (left) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (center) look on during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 9, 2025

Trump signals continuing trade-defense link as tariff talks drag on

The U.S. leader has again alleged that Seoul is taking advantage of Washington on defense spending and burden-sharing — a worrying sign that may also have implications for Tokyo.
The European Parliament's censure vote against Commission President Ursula von der Leyen highlights backlash over her rightward shift and, if passed, could force a choice between centrists and nationalists.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 9, 2025

Ursula Von der Leyen faces a moment of truth

Von der Leyen’s ongoing political ambiguity has become a strategic liability at a time when Europe’s allies need clarity.
The Liberia-flagged bulk carrier Eternity C sinks after it was attacked by the Houthis.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 10, 2025

Two cargo ships sink after deadly Houthi attacks in Red Sea

If attacks worsen, the violence could boost oil prices, freight rates and insurance costs as it snarls supply chains.
A high school senior (Taisuke Niihara, center), his girlfriend (Yuki Araho, left) and their alcoholic teacher (Yuka Kouri, right) find themselves in a lopsided love triangle in Toshiya Kominami’s “Young & Fine.”
CULTURE / Film
Jul 11, 2025

‘Young & Fine’: Teenage horndog tale balances heart and hormones

The oddball sensibility of Toshiya Kominami’s coming-of-age film, paired with Yuka Kouri’s winning performance, elevates a questionable setup into something surprisingly human.
The ruling is far from the last word in the legal battle over U.S. President Donald Trump's order, which he signed in January on his first day back in office.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jul 11, 2025

Judge blocks Trump's birthright citizenship order after Supreme Court ruling

The judge made use of an exception to overcome the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that restricted the ability of judges to block policies nationwide.
Chinese Finance Minister Lan Fo'an speaks at the China Development Forum 2024 in Beijing in March 2024.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jul 11, 2025

Can China become a defender of free trade?

The trillion-dollar question is: Does Beijing’s rhetoric match reality and how sincere is China when it claims to be a “defender” of free trade?
A firefighter stands next to a crashed Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft in Ahmedabad, India, on June 13.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 12, 2025

Fuel to Air India jet engines cut off moments before crash, probe finds

A preliminary report found the plane's engine fuel cutoff switches almost simultaneously flipped, starving the engines of fuel in the crash that left 260 dead.
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Yosuke Tsuruho speaks during a news conference at the Wakayama Prefectural Government office in the city of Wakayama on Wednesday
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2025

LDP lawmaker to quit as parliamentary committee chief over Noto quake gaffe

According to a senior official of the ruling LDP, Yosuke Tsuruho is poised to step down as chairman of the Budget Committee in the House of Councillors.
Evgeniya Mayboroda sits in the defendant's dock during the announcement of the verdict in her case at the municipal court of Shakhty, Rostov Oblast, Russia, on Jan. 29, 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 8, 2025

The strange case of Evgeniya Mayboroda, Russia's rebel retiree

The 72-year-old's transformation from fan to critic says much about the state of today's Russia under Vladimir Putin.
Debris at the crash site of Air India flight AI 171 in Ahmedabad, India, on June 12
WORLD
Jul 13, 2025

Air India crash points to cockpit confusion as fuel flow cut out

Investigators hope to answer one central question: Why and by whom were two fuel switches in the cockpit moved to a cut-off position.
The correct answer rate for the Japanese language section on a national test dropped to 67.0% from 67.8% the previous year among elementary school sixth-graders.
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2025

Students in Japan struggle with Japanese language and math sections on national exam

The correct answer rate for the Japanese language section for junior high school third-graders fell to its lowest since the current question format was introduced in fiscal 2019.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on April 7. Trump’s unexpected strike on Iran shows how Israel’s influence overcame his reluctance for foreign wars.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2025

Trump’s Iran attack shows what it takes to win his military support

How did Israel convince Trump? Put simply, why did Trump, unlike previous presidents who considered it but held back, launch a direct strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities?
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son (left) with OpenAI chief Sam Altman via video link
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 16, 2025

Masayoshi Son and Sam Altman see no end to AI demand and scaling

The two business partners argued that advancing AI would lead to new jobs that are not yet imagined, and the advancement of robotics will help kickstart a "self-improvement” loop.
Soldiers stand during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to a military training area to find out about the training of Ukrainian soldiers on the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system, in Germany in June last year.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 16, 2025

Ukraine celebrates Trump's weapons reversal, but the 'devil's in the details'

U.S. President Donald Trump has finally found a way to like arming Ukraine: ask European allies to donate their weapons, and sell them American replacements.
Seven & I has sought to make a case for remaining independent and has enacted changes such as appointing a new CEO.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 17, 2025

Couche-Tard abandons $46 billion bid to acquire 7-Eleven operator

Seven & I stock, up more than 25% since Couche-Tard’s interest became public 11 months ago, will likely decline due to the withdrawn proposal.
The crash site of Air India flight AI171 in Ahmedabad, India, on June 12
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jul 17, 2025

Air India junior pilot asked why captain turned off fuel switches, sources say

While fuel supply to the engines was restored about 10 seconds later, it was too late to avert the June 12 crash that killed 260 people.
One out of every 5,000 births is affected by mitochondrial diseases, which cannot be treated, and include symptoms such as impaired vision, diabetes and muscle wasting.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 17, 2025

World-first IVF trial reduces risk of babies inheriting diseases

The results raise hopes that women with mutations in their mitochondrial DNA could one day have children without passing debilitating or deadly diseases on to the children.
Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, in Beijing on Thursday
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 18, 2025

Trump’s U-turn on Nvidia spurs talk of grand bargain with China

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the administration wanted Chinese developers "addicted” to American technology.
Just 17% of Americans approve of U.S. President Donald Trump's handling of the Jeffery Epstein case, a weaker rating than the president received on any other issue in the poll.
WORLD
Jul 18, 2025

Trump faces backlash as 69% believe Epstein details concealed, poll finds

Close to two-thirds of Republicans surveyed think the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is hiding details on Jeffrey Epstein's business.
One of Leonard Foujita’s biggest muses was himself. He painted self-portraits, often with a cat on his side, looking back at the viewer. He posed for photographers throughout his life, the displayed photos showing he retained his signature bowl cut and round glasses.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 18, 2025

The self as a muse: Leonard Foujita's world in paintings and photos

“Foujita: Painting and Photography” at Tokyo Station Gallery is being billed as the first exploration of the artist as a photographer and has been a decade in the making.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on June 26. The Donald Trump-ordered strikes on Iran, said to be an example of the “Trump Doctrine,” ignore decades of failed U.S. attempts to force adversaries to back down through short bursts of military power. 
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2025

The 'Trump Doctrine' is wishful thinking

The Donald Trump-ordered strikes on Iran, claimed to prove a unique “Trump Doctrine,” ignore decades of failed U.S. attempts to force adversaries to back down.
Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd gives a speech during the 2017 Asia Game Changer Awards and Gala Dinner in Manhattan, New York, in November 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 19, 2025

Australia confident issues raised in U.S. AUKUS review will be resolved

Australian Ambassador to the U.S. Kevin Rudd said his country is working with the Pentagon on the U.S. Defense Department's review of the AUKUS submarine project.
WNBA All-Stars Caitlin Clark (right) and Kelsey Plum prior to the All-Star Game in Indianapolis on Saturday.
BASKETBALL
Jul 20, 2025

Clark urges more pay for WNBA players as labor talks intensify

Commissioner Cathy Engelbert struck a positive tone with reporters, saying she felt a recent meeting with players had been productive.
In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jul 21, 2025

The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan

AI chatbots are becoming stand-ins for pets and partners — offering comfort, connection and raising new concerns.
Scottie Scheffler poses with the Claret Jug after winning the British Open in Portrush, Northern Ireland, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Jul 21, 2025

Scottie Scheffler cruises to first British Open crown

Scheffler resembled a towering giant among men all week on the glorious Causeway Coast.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight