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The Firefly Aerospace mission operations center in Leander, Texas
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 18, 2025

Firefly Aerospace eyes Japan rocket launches for Asia market

The plan could make Japan the first launch site in Asia for Firefly, the Texas-based rival to Elon Musk's SpaceX.
Political activist Tony Chung attends a demonstration outside the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office in London to protest the introduction of Hong Kong's Article 23 national security law on March 23, 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 19, 2025

U.K. grants asylum to Hong Kong democracy activist Chung

Tony Chung, who became the youngest person to be jailed under the city's security law in 2021 at the age of 20, vows to never give up.
The BTP port terminal at Port of Santos in Santos, Brazil, in 2021. Brasilia stressed the U.S. has consistently run a trade surplus with Brazil and that American firms already enjoy broad access to its market.
BUSINESS
Aug 19, 2025

Brazil pushes back against U.S. probe into its trade practices

The investigation is seen as an attempt to justify the 50% tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on all Brazilian exports to the U.S., excluding some 700 items.
A Palestinian child in need of medical treatment is evacuated through the King Hussein Bridge crossing in Jordan on March 4.
WORLD
Aug 19, 2025

U.S. charity says halt in visitor visas for Gazans will harm wounded kids

The U.S. State Department said it was stopping all visitor visas for Gazans while it conducted "a full and thorough" review.
Carlos Alcaraz poses for a photo with the Rookwood Cup after his match against Jannik Sinner (ITA) during the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on Monday.
TENNIS
Aug 19, 2025

Alcaraz and Swiatek clinch Cincinnati Open titles

World No.1 Jannik Sinner retired due to illness in the first set of the men's final.
Authorities on Tuesday inspect two buildings that were burnt in a fire in the city of Osaka the previous day.
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2025

Two firefighters killed in Osaka fire may have been trapped

The city's fire department said it will establish an investigative panel to look into the incident.
A child collects chunks of coal near the Duvha coal-based power station in Emalahleni, in Mpumalanga province, South Africa, in 2021.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 19, 2025

South Africa artisanal miners want stake in critical minerals boom

As the nation moves away from the planet-heating coal industries toward renewables, miners — both formal and informal — fear mass unemployment.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with European leaders in Washington on Monday amid signs of U.S. and its NATO partners drifting further apart. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 19, 2025

All is not quiet on the Western front

The Trump-Putin Alaska summit is further evidence that the U.S. and its NATO partners are drifting further apart with each passing month.
Just 42% of respondents in a recent survey approved of U.S. President Donald Trump's performance on crime.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 19, 2025

Trump approval holds at 40%, lowest level of his term, poll finds

The latest poll showed Hispanics, a group that swung toward Trump in last year's election, have also soured on the president.
Israeli women take part in a protest demanding the end of the war in the Gaza Strip near Kibbutz Nahal Oz, close to the Israeli border with Gaza, on Aug. 10.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 20, 2025

As Netanyahu expands Gaza war, some reservists grow more disillusioned

They accuse the government — the most far-right administration in Israel's history — of perpetuating the war for political reasons.
National Guard troops keep watch outside Washington's Union Station on Tuesday. U.S. President Donald Trump has deployed the National Guard and ordered an increased federal law enforcement presence in the capital, which he has characterized as overrun with violence and homelessness.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 20, 2025

More Republican governors send National Guard to Washington, backing Trump

The U.S. president has characterized Washington as overrun with violence and homelessness, accusing the city of using fake data to "create a false illusion of safety."
John Hume, the South African who bred the world’s biggest rhino herd, has for years campaigned unsuccessfully for the legalization of international trade in the animals’ horns.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Aug 20, 2025

Man who bred world’s biggest rhino herd charged with horn smuggling

John Hume, 83, has for years campaigned unsuccessfully for the legalization of international trade in the animals’ horns.
Eighth dan go player Kazuko Sugiuchi during a match in Tokyo in January last year
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2025

Time to go: Japan pro board game player retires at 98

Kazuko Sugiuchi turned professional in 1948, and she is set to be promoted to the rank of ninth dan after retiring, becoming the first woman to reach that level.
Fluminense's Fabio during training at the Club World Cup at Sports Illustrated Stadium in New Jersey on July 7
SOCCER
Aug 20, 2025

Brazilian goalkeeper Fabio claims world record for most games

The 44-year-old equaled the landmark held by former England stopper Peter Shilton on Saturday and has now gone one better.
A worker displays a handful of shredded hard drive pieces for e-waste processing at a facility in Festac, Nigeria, in 2020.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 21, 2025

Urban mining eases the critical minerals crunch 

Governments are waking up to the potential of e-waste recycling, and Japan is leading the way.
Acting Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jim Kilby visits BlackSea Technology facilities to view a drone test in Baltimore, Maryland, in June.
WORLD
Aug 21, 2025

The U.S. Navy is building a drone fleet to take on China. It's not going well.

A recent naval test designed to showcase the Pentagon’s top autonomous drone boats ended in failure due to software glitches and human error.
U.S. President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska on Aug. 15. Trump says Putin has agreed to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 21, 2025

Trump touts his diplomatic record, but the results are mixed

Although the U.S. president has sought to broker peace in conflicts around the world, he's struggled to secure firm settlements.
Novak Djokovic in action with Olga Danilovic during their round of 16 mixed doubles match against Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev at the U.S. Open on Tuesday
TENNIS
Aug 21, 2025

Aging Djokovic out to turn back time in push for U.S. Open glory

Djokovic has placed all his chips on New York in what many see as his last realistic shot at Grand Slam glory.
A damaged car in the Liuli River in the Huairou district of Beijing on Aug. 13. Flooding exposed weaknesses in the rural emergency response infrastructure for Beijing, whose urban core is surrounded by several rural districts like Huairou.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 21, 2025

Is historically arid Beijing ready for a wetter future?

Recent floods revealed how historically dry Beijing, home to 22 million people, remains insufficiently prepared for what experts say will be an increasingly wet future.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shakes hands with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on the sidelines of the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Kananaskis in Alberta, Canada, on June 17.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 21, 2025

Can Ishiba and South Korea’s Lee keep the hatchet buried?

The South Korean leader's unprecedented visit Saturday will highlight to what extent he has put his hard-line Japan views in the rearview mirror.
Sho Tsuboi said the opportunity to drive a Formula One car at Fuji Speedway was a dream come true.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Aug 21, 2025

Sho Tsuboi realizes ‘dream’ with Haas F1 test at Fuji Speedway

An impressive performance, which also coincides with Toyota’s modest return to F1, could signal the start of something more substantial.
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif attends the ChangeNOW 2025 summit at the Grand Palais in Paris, France on April 25, 2025.
OLYMPICS / Boxing
Aug 21, 2025

Olympic champion Khelif denies 'malicious' claims of retirement

Khelif has not competed since winning Olympic gold in Paris.
An illustration of a colony of the Bordetella pertussis bacterium that causes pertussis, or whooping cough. As of Aug. 10, there were 64,467 cases reported this year, according to the latest data from the Japan Institute for Health Security.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 21, 2025

Infectious diseases to watch for in Japan this summer amid surge of cases

Experts believe a recent surge in infections is due to relaxed hygiene measures, drug-resistant bacteria and lowered immunity levels amid extreme heat.
Summer Sonic’s 2025 lineup demonstrated its strength, showcasing the latest in J-pop, including “new kawaii” act Fruits Zipper.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 22, 2025

Alicia Keys closed Summer Sonic, but J-pop owned it

Summer Sonic 2025 showcased Japan’s pop power: Mrs. Green Apple, Hikaru Utada and rising stars outshone the festival’s headliners.
Chatbots are pivoting to the ad model and optimizing for eyeballs, just like social media did. And AI knows more about us than Google or Facebook ever did.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2025

Ads ruined social media. Now they’re coming to AI.

Imagine a person telling their AI they’re feeling depressed, and the system recommending some affordable holiday destinations or medication to address the problem.
Cindy McCain, the executive director of the U.N. World Food Programme, speaks during an interview in Yokohama on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2025

WFP chief wants world to pay attention to Africa

The continent, whose countries suffer from famine, refugee and other humanitarian crises, is sometimes forgotten, Cindy McCain, the executive director of the U.N. body, says.
Workers carry solar panels to install them at a solar farm in the desert in Lingwu, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, in April.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2025

The world’s biggest polluter is cleaning up its act

Coal output is still climbing, but China’s clean power surge means much of it now sits in stockpiles rather than fueling growth.
Consumer prices in Japan rose 3.1% from a year earlier in July, slowing from a 3.3% gain in the previous month but still suggesting that inflation remains relatively sticky.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 22, 2025

Japan’s inflation hovers well above BOJ’s goal even as it slows

Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 3.1% from a year earlier in July, slowing from a 3.3% gain a month earlier.
Displaced Palestinian women fleeing the northern Gaza Strip ride with their belongings as they head south, in Gaza City, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 22, 2025

Netanyahu says Israel to resume Gaza negotiations to end war and free hostages

The statement is the Israeli prime minister's first response to a temporary ceasefire proposal put forward by Egypt and Qatar that Hamas has accepted.
Jannik Sinner (left) celebrates with the trophy after winning the men's final against Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon in London, England on July 13.
TENNIS
Aug 22, 2025

Blockbuster 'Sincaraz' rivalry ready to light up U.S. Open

Sinner will likely need to win in New York to ensure he remains world No. 1, while Alcaraz can reclaim top spot if he advances one round further than Sinner.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past