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Elsie, a 45 year-old aid worker, who uses a pseudonym to protect her anonymity, used to spend her days wandering the narrow streets of Msogwaba township, near the South African city of Mbombela, to visit hundreds of children living with HIV.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 20, 2025

U.S. aid cuts threaten South Africa's young HIV patients

Around 13% of South Africa's population live with HIV, and about 640,000 children were orphaned by the virus in 2023.
A Ukrainian coast guard serviceman on a patrol boat as a cargo ship passes by in the Black Sea on Feb. 7, 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 25, 2025

U.S. and Russia wrap up Saudi Arabia talks on proposed Black Sea ceasefire

Even as the talks were underway, a Russian missile strike damaged a school and a hospital in Ukraine wounding at least 88 people.
Now-U.S. President Donald Trump during a interview at his private club Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida, on March, 4, 2024. Trump’s first four years in the White House were filled with falsehoods, and now he and those around him are using false claims to justify their policy changes.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 25, 2025

In his second term, Trump fuels a ‘machinery’ of misinformation

The president and his advisers have ushered the United States into a new era of post-truth politics, where facts are contested and fictions used to pursue policy goals.
Gen. Timothy Haugh of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency; FBI Director Kash Patel; Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard; CIA Director John Ratcliffe; and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse depart after testifying at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats, at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday. The hearing came a day after news of a major security breach roiled the Trump administration.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 26, 2025

Trump team scrambles to handle fallout from Signal chat assailed as 'sloppy, careless'

The administration sought to contain the fallout after a journalist said he had inadvertently been added to a discussion on highly sensitive war plans.
Stocks slid Wednesday following an initial report that Trump planned to make an auto tariff announcement.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 27, 2025

Trump says he’ll hit auto imports with 25% tariff in trade fight

The move comes ahead of an even broader announcement of so-called reciprocal tariffs expected April 2.
U.S. President Donald Trump's deal-focused approach to diplomacy may prevent a hostile China-Russia-North Korea-Iran alliance, but weakens U.S. global leadership.
COMMENTARY
Mar 27, 2025

The art of the deal meets a four-power axis

Trump's deal-focused approach may prevent a hostile China-Russia-North Korea-Iran alliance but weakens U.S. global leadership.
Anxieties about inflation, debt and the U.S. dollar’s stability — combined with high gold prices — are fueling renewed skepticism, raising the possibility of a Fort Knox audit to confirm if America's gold is still there.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2025

What’s fueling America's gold bar conspiracy

The U.S. is right where it needs to be for Trump and Musk to tap into a decades-old fear about the country’s precious bullion stored in Fort Knox.
American autoworkers assemble Honda Accords at the Japanese company's Marysville Auto Plant in the state of Ohio in December 2017.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 1, 2025

Ford is as American as apple pie. Or is that Honda?

Trump's 25% auto tariffs will raise car prices, complicate manufacturing and prioritize outdated protectionism over industry trends like electrification and software.
President Donald Trump outside the White House in Washington on Thursday. The 22nd Amendment is clear: President Trump has to give up his office after his second term. But his refusal to accept that underscores how far he is willing to consider going to consolidate power.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 7, 2025

Trump's third term talk defies constitution and tests democracy

The fact that Trump has inserted the idea into the national conversation illustrates the uncertainty about the future of America’s constitutional system.
Japan is facing challenges with Donald Trump's new tariffs and is considering increased purchases of U.S. goods, negotiating tariff reductions and expanding auto production in the U.S. to reduce the trade deficit and avoid further economic tension.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 8, 2025

What is Japan's play on Trump's tariffs?

Japan had expected some consideration for being the largest source of foreign direct investment in the U.S. from 2019 to 2024, with total investment of around $860 billion.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a campaign rally in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 10, 2025

Canada’s Mark Carney treads a fine line on climate in a tight election

In a nation whose energy sector is still dominated by oil and gas, the question is how much the new prime minister may need to play down his green resume in order to win.
A sign outside the headquarters of JP Morgan Chase & Co in New York in 2013
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 14, 2025

JPMorgan analyst says he now tempers public comments on U.S. tariffs

Michael Cembalest, chair of market and investment strategy and a Wall Street veteran, said he had not been able to fully express his views.
The Bank of Japan will likely postpone raising interest rates due to uncertainties stemming from U.S. tariff measures that could deal a blow to Japan’s economy, a former executive director said.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 15, 2025

BOJ will likely put rate hike aside for now, ex-official says

"They will be in a wait-and-see mode for a while,” said Kenzo Yamamoto, a former executive at the Bank of Japan.
Workers iron items of clothing at a Thai Son S.P. Co. garment factory in Binh Thuan province, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on April 10.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 17, 2025

Vietnam’s factory-based growth model at risk in global trade war

For factory owners, what happens beyond a 90-day pause in tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump is a big question mark.
Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, during an Economic Club of Chicago event in Chicago on Wednesday
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2025

Trump mulls firing Fed chair Powell over rate policy dispute

Trump’s threat to oust Powell draws warnings from economists and aides about risks to markets and Fed credibility.
Rescue workers search the rubble of a building destroyed in the Palm Sunday missile attack in Sumy, Ukraine, on Monday.
WORLD
Apr 18, 2025

U.S. peace framework for Russia's war in Ukraine gets 'encouraging reception'

Talks in Paris were the first substantive, high-level and in-person talks on Trump's peace push that have included the Europeans.
A monitor displays stock market information on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 22, 2025

U.S. assets slump again as Trump sharpens attack on Fed chief

Trump called Jerome Powell a 'loser' for not cutting interest rates, underscoring questions about whether the U.S. President will try to fire Powell.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping. A high-level Japanese delegation will deliver a letter from Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to Xi this week.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 22, 2025

Ishiba pens letter to Xi as Japan aims to avoid trade crossfire

The gesture highlights Japan’s desire to balance managing its relationships with China, its largest trading partner, and with the U.S., its sole formal security ally.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a letter from Britain's King Charles as he meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House in Washington on Feb. 27.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 28, 2025

Trump's first 100 days: 'America First' president is overturning world order

Trump's second-term agenda has alienated friends and emboldened adversaries while raising questions about how far he is prepared to go.
U.S. President Donald Trump faces the enormous challenge of implementing the cavalcade of executive orders he has enacted.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2025

‘Welcome to the Thunderdome’: Inside the dizzying start of Trump 2.0

The administration's breakneck speed is both one of the administration’s most effective tools and most glaring vulnerabilities.
A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Monday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 29, 2025

After 100 days under Trump, investors reassess the allure of 'brand USA'

The market has seen significant rallies fueled in part by trade negotiation optimism, but investors remain concerned about the longevity and strength of any bounce-back.
U.S. President Donald Trump at his 100th day rally in Michigan on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Apr 30, 2025

Trump bashes Powell and touts tariffs at rally marking 100 days

The president’s denunciation came even though earlier this month he said he did not plan to fire the central bank chief.
Public transportation ridership across the U.S. hasn’t yet returned to its pre-COVID peak.
WORLD
Apr 30, 2025

A $6 billion shortfall has U.S. mass transit facing a death spiral

The Trump administration is drastically reining in federal spending, creating fear of job losses that could again decimate ridership.
The Bank of Japan has been signaling caution in the face of uncertainty.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 1, 2025

Bank of Japan holds rates as expected but surprises with growth forecast cut

The policy board made no adjustment to the short-term policy rate, currently 0.5%, at a two-day meeting that concluded Thursday.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth looks on as President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the White House in Washington on March 21.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2025

Hegseth's order to cancel Ukraine weapons caught White House off guard

The story of how the flights were canceled points to an at-times haphazard policymaking process within the Trump administration.
With the U.S. Capitol in the background, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to reporters after his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2025

Carney stresses Canada will never be for sale in first meeting with Trump

Overall, Carney termed the meeting as constructive, and said the two sides would start serious talks on a new relationship.
Wang Chuanfu (center left), chairman and chief executive officer at BYD, waves to a humanoid robot at the Chery Automobile booth at the Shanghai Auto Show on April 24. China’s EV sector is touting big gains, but much of the hype rests on inflated range claims, shaky infrastructure and growing state support.
COMMENTARY / World
May 14, 2025

Why China’s EV claims aren’t as revolutionary as they seem

Companies once treated with benign neglect by Beijing are becoming major recipients of government funding.
Morgan Stanley analysts estimate the top five makers of hearing aids hold roughly 99% of the global market, which they predict will be worth over $14 billion by next year rising from about $12 billion in 2023.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 15, 2025

Trump’s tariffs spare Europe-dominated hearing aid industry

An ecosystem developed over more than a century has given three Danish companies and a Swiss rival a quasi-monopoly on the market for devices that help people hear better.
A CATL recruitment advertisement in Germany
BUSINESS / Tech
May 21, 2025

CATL's $2 billion German plant boosts China’s invest-abroad bet

"I see ourselves as a blueprint for Chinese companies who are looking to expand in Europe,” said Matthias Zentgraf, the battery giant’s European president.
A Boeing 747 from Qatar at Palm Beach International Airport, following President Donald Trump’s tour of the plane, in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Feb. 15. The president and his family have profited from the White House more than any other occupant, normalizing activities that once would have provoked heavy blowback and official investigations.
WORLD / Politics
May 26, 2025

As Trump family monetizes presidency, profits outstrip protests

The scale and the scope of the presidential mercantilism has been breathtaking.

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