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An undated file photo shows Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos archipelago and site of a major United States military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean, leased from Britain in 1966.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 14, 2023

Indian Ocean could become China's Achilles' heel in war on Taiwan

A struggle to protect energy lifelines even as demands increase could make a protracted war over Taiwan difficult for Beijing to sustain.
Israeli soldiers during tank drills in northern Israel in October. Washington wants Israel to end its large-scale ground campaign in the Gaza Strip around the end of the year and transition to a more targeted phase in its war against Hamas.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 15, 2023

Washington urges Israel to scale down its war in Gaza

U.S. officials say Biden wants Israel to switch to more precise tactics in about three weeks.
Israeli tanks near the border with the Gaza Strip on Friday
WORLD
Dec 16, 2023

Israel mistakenly kills three hostages in Gaza Strip fighting

During fighting in the Shejaiya neighborhood, Israeli forces identified the three as a threat and fired at them.
Smoke rises from damaged buildings in the Gaza Strip on Friday. Washington has appealed to Jordan, Egypt and Gulf states to persuade Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to pursue institutional reforms with urgency to prepare for post-war Gaza.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 18, 2023

U.S. wants overhauled Palestinian Authority to run Gaza after Hamas

Washington considers the Mahmoud Abbas-led administration as the the only realistic post-war solution despite its unpopularity.
People take shelter in a subway station in Kyiv amid a Russian missile attack on Friday.
WORLD
Dec 30, 2023

Russia pounds Ukrainian cities in one of largest air attacks of war

Russia targeted Ukrainian cities with more than 150 missiles and drones Friday morning, in what Ukrainian officials said was one of the largest air assaults of the war.
U.S. President Joe Biden is greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he arrives in the country amid the Israel-Hamas war, on Oct. 18. No other episode in the past half-century has tested the relationship between the United States and Israel in such an intense and consequential way as the Israel-Hamas war of 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 1, 2024

The U.S. and Israel: An embrace shows signs of strain after Oct. 7

No other episode in the past half-century has tested the relationship in such an intense and consequential way as the Israel-Hamas war of 2023.
Claudine Gay, former president of Harvard University
WORLD / Politics
Jan 4, 2024

Harvard chief’s abrupt exit exposes decade-spanning rifts

The school’s first Black leader resigned after just six months due to plagiarism allegations and anger over her handling of antisemitism on campus.
Donald Trump’s wealth and foreign ties are under scrutiny after a new report from Democrats on the House Oversight Committee sheds light on financial conflicts during his presidency. 
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 12, 2024

Trump took $7.8 million in foreign cash while in office. He’d do it again.

National security is at stake if a president puts his or her wallet before the public interest.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli war Cabinet, as he visits Israel amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv on Oct. 18.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 20, 2024

Biden speaks with Netanyahu on Gaza attacks and Palestinian state

Biden's call with Netanyahu was the first in nearly a month, the White House said, noting the discussions focused on Israel's ongoing strikes in Gaza.
An Israeli tank near the Israel-Gaza border on Saturday
WORLD / Politics
Jan 28, 2024

Negotiators close to hostage deal halting Gaza fighting for weeks

Negotiators have a draft agreement that merges Israel and Hamas proposals into a basic framework for talks in Paris on Sunday.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerbeg. In October, more than 30 states sued Meta, alleging its social media apps were feeding harmful content to youth.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 31, 2024

Social media CEOs brace for child safety scrutiny: Here's what to expect

Evidence suggests that excessive use of social media and harmful content may damage mental health.
A bottle of Bayer AG Roundup brand weedkiller concentrate
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 31, 2024

Bayer faces billions in Roundup claims as legal strategy falls short

In the firm's biggest courtroom loss so far, a jury awarded $2.25 billion to a former user who blamed his cancer diagnosis on exposure to the herbicide.
At the heart of European Union thinking about economic security is fear that economic dependencies will be weaponized.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 30, 2024

EU’s dilemma: balancing national and economic security

At the heart of EU thinking about economic security is fear that economic dependencies will be weaponized.
The most relevant measure to gauge plastic bag use isn’t how many carriers get used, but how much material is consumed and how much pollution is produced in their making.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 25, 2024

Plastic bag bans have failed in every way except one

Reusable plastic bags need to be used 52 times before its environmental impact drops below that of a disposable one, according to a 2018 Danish study.
The title monster in “Godzilla Minus One” is a threat, of course, but the real story is about finding community in the wake of destruction.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 3, 2024

‘Godzilla Minus One’ stomps into ‘Oppenheimer’ territory

Those movies, along with “The Boy and the Heron,” are essentially in conversation about the moral weight of American and Japanese actions in World War II.
A man walks through panels at a solar power plant under construction in Aksu, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, in 2012.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 6, 2024

Banned Chinese solar goods worth billions find route to U.S. via India

Amid a solar boom, India’s largest panel-maker has sent millions of panels to the U.S. made with parts from a Chinese firm denied entry to the U.S. market.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (right) fist bumps U.S. President Joe Biden upon his arrival at Al Salman Palace, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on July 15, 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 8, 2024

Saudi Arabia pushes for U.S. defense pact ahead of presidential election

Such a major regional deal would face numerous political and diplomatic obstacles, not least the uncertainty over how the Gaza conflict will unfold.
U.S. President Joe Biden answers questions from reporters at the White House in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 11, 2024

Biden’s gaffe-heavy week shows dilemma over 2024 media strategy

The president's aides ponder whether it’s better to confront or ignore concerns about his age and acuity.
The war in Ukraine has pitted the United States and its allies against Russian President Vladimir Putin (center).
WORLD / Politics
Feb 15, 2024

Russia’s advances on space-based nuclear weapon alarm the U.S.

A satellite-killing weapon, if deployed, could destroy civilian communications, surveillance from space and military command-and-control operations.
Ukrainian police officers and rescue workers clear away the rubble of a destroyed house after a Russian rocket attack in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 19, 2024

Ukraine’s allies are gaming out a world where the U.S. retreats

NATO members are beginning to doubt the U.S. will maintain its traditional role of protecting Europe as part of the alliance.
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 29, 2024

Politicians betting the earth on climate backlash in election year

Moves to roll back green policies and downplay climate change within the world's top climate polluters follow the hottest year on record.
There is a global trend toward economic bifurcation with the U.S. and China leading the charge — and multinational solutions are needed to address the new challenges.
COMMENTARY
Feb 28, 2024

The inexorable movement toward a divided global economy

Efforts to protect national economies from threats require multinational solutions. Chains are only as strong as their weakest link.
A utility crew works to restore power in a neighborhood burned by wildfires in Fritch, Texas, on Thursday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 1, 2024

Homes destroyed and land scorched as Texas battles its largest wildfire ever

While Texas is in midst of its natural fire season — running from January through May — the sheer size of the Smokehouse Creek blaze makes it an outlier.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 11, 2024

Daiso banks on ‘brand Japan’ for U.S. expansion

The discount store chain plans to open 65 stores in the U.S. in 2024, and over 100 next year.
Pickleball courts in New York's famed Central Park
MORE SPORTS
Mar 15, 2024

Amid boom overseas, when will pickleball land in Japan?

Over the past few years, pickleball has emerged as the fastest-growing sport in the U.S., but it has yet to take off in Japan.
BASEBALL / MLB / EXPLAINER
Mar 25, 2024

Ohtani’s former interpreter’s gambling scandal: What we know so far

Here is a breakdown of events leading to the interpreter’s firing ahead of the baseball superstar's plan to speak to the media about the scandal.
At least 139 people were killed when gunmen in camouflage stormed Crocus City Hall. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the mass shooting.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 27, 2024

Russia's security chief accuses Ukraine, U.S. and U.K. of being behind Moscow shooting

Hardliners in Moscow could use the claim to justify an escalation of the Ukraine war and to explain how security services failed to prevent the attack.
The Dali cargo vessel that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse in Baltimore, Maryland, on Tuesday
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2024

Baltimore’s freak bridge collapse reverberates from cars to coal

The aftermath of the bridge’s collapse throws another spotlight on the fragile nature of global supply chains.
Tesla Model 3 assembly line at Tesla's factory in Fremont, California, in 2018. Before the Shanghai plant opened, Fremont was Tesla’s principal factory.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 27, 2024

A pivot to China saved Elon Musk. It also binds him to Beijing.

Musk is now treading a fine line, sounding the alarm about Chinese rivals, even as he remains reliant on the Chinese market.
A lone Tesla charges in the basement of a commercial property in Tokyo. One of Japan’s biggest obstacles to electric vehicles is subpar charging infrastructure.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 8, 2024

How three high-tech countries became laggards in electric vehicles

Japan's slow adoption traces back to a decade-old bet on hydrogen fuel-cell technology, while U.S. and South Korea have hit bottlenecks.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes