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Billionaire Elon Musk speaks during an election rally for then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 5.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 9, 2025

Musk takes slash-and-burn style to Europe after bolstering Trump

The billionaire has honed in on Germany and the U.K., criticizing their governments, questioning their laws and casting doubt on their economic competence.
A helicopter drops water on the Palisades fire near the Sullivan Canyon area of Los Angeles on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 16, 2025

Los Angeles wildfires test how Democrats aim to counter Trump

California's governor has undertaken a media blitz, accusing Donald Trump of spreading disinformation and daring him to visit the state.
Institutional security officers stand during a ceremony to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the United States ceding control of the Panama Canal to the government of Panama in 1999, in Panama City on Dec. 31, 2024.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 1, 2025

Why the U.S. is claiming China’s presence violates the Panama neutrality treaty

U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to take back the waterway during his Jan. 20 inauguration speech, falsely claiming that China is operating it.
Palestinians and militants gather around Red Cross vehicles as Hamas prepares to hand over the bodies of deceased Israeli hostages, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Thursday.
WORLD
Feb 21, 2025

Israeli military says body released by Hamas is not of a hostage

Palestinian militants handed over four black coffins in a carefully orchestrated public display.
Lt. Gen. Dan Caine (right) with an Iraqi general in Mosul, Iraq, in 2018
WORLD / Politics
Feb 24, 2025

Trump’s frustration with generals resulted in an unconventional pick

Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, a retired three-star Air Force officer, quickly moved up the list of candidates to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer takes part in a television interview at the Capitol in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 15, 2025

Relief as U.S. Congress averts government shutdown

Lawmakers already reeling from President Donald Trump's radical federal spending cuts voted to keep the lights on through September.
On the eve of nuclear talks with the United States, Iranians wave the flags of Palestine and Hezbollah as they march in Tehran to denounce the U.S. and Israel on Friday. Iran and the U.S. were set to hold the first round of talks in Oman on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 12, 2025

Years of distrust hang over U.S. and Iran as negotiators head to Oman

The high-level talks on Tehran's advancing nuclear program are seen as a sign of its eagerness for sanctions relief and to avoid a crippling military attack.
People visit the Osaka Expo on the first day it opened to the public, in the city of Osaka on Sunday.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2025

Osaka Expo throws open its doors as mega-event kicks off

A steady rain failed to dampen the spirits of organizers and expo early-birds as 160 countries, regions and organizations showed off their best tech and culture.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attends a meeting of the Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias Task Force, at the Justice Department in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 23, 2025

Hegseth delivers what Trump wants but with unwanted controversy

Hegseth has done most everything so far that Trump hoped he would — and for now, that’s been enough to keep Trump on Hegseth’s side.
U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House in Washington on April 24.
WORLD / Politics
May 3, 2025

Now a trusted ally, 'Little Marco' gets Trump's big jobs

Marco Rubio's expanding resume underscores President Donald Trump's increasing trust in the former Florida senator, officials said.
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.
Requiring journalists to have escorts in much of the Pentagon building is the latest in a series of restrictions placed on the press by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration.
WORLD / Politics
May 24, 2025

Trump administration puts new limits on reporters at Pentagon

The move is the latest in a series of restrictions placed on the press by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration.
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani arrives for a news conference at Astoria Park in New York on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 26, 2025

Wealthy fear ‘hot commie summer’ after Democrat outsider wins mayoral primary

Voters across racially and economically diverse neighborhoods embraced Zohran Mamdani, shocking the Democratic establishment.
Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya explains his campaign promises in Tokyo on June 30 for the Upper House election.
COMMENTARY / Japan / From Party Leaders
Jul 4, 2025

Japan’s Do It Yourself Party: Who we are and where we are headed

Our core philosophy is “to protect Japan’s national interests and bring about harmony in the world.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Officials in New Delhi say they’re not overly alarmed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats for now.
BUSINESS
Jul 10, 2025

Trump’s BRICS warning to India adds new twist to trade deal

U.S. President Donald Trump said India could face an additional 10% tariff alongside other members of BRICS, which he has labeled "anti-American.”
Tomoko Tamura, chairperson of the Japanese Communist Party, attends a debate with other party leaders in Tokyo in October. Her party urges voters to end the LDP’s business-centered politics and U.S. dependence by supporting its social, economic and foreign-policy reforms.
COMMENTARY / Japan / From Party Leaders
Jul 16, 2025

JCP vows fairer taxes, stronger social safety net and a commitment to peaceful diplomacy

Tamura says LDP’s politics are now in a terminal and critical state with the party unable to respond to domestic and international issues or the wishes of the people.
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan President Yoshihiko Noda speaks during a debate with leaders of other political parties at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on July 2.
COMMENTARY / Japan / From Party Leaders
Jul 16, 2025

The Constitutional Democratic Party vows fight against inflation

The CDP will work to lower surging food costs and realize fair rice prices
Hirofumi Yoshimura, leader of Nippon Ishin no Kai, outlines his party’s policies during a news conference at the Diet building in Tokyo on June 30.
COMMENTARY / Japan / From Party Leaders
Jul 16, 2025

Nippon Ishin stakes its appeal on real results as Upper House vote nears

Neither the ruling coalition or other opposition parties have advanced political reform.
Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito takes part in a debate with the heads of other political parties at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on July 2.
COMMENTARY / Japan / From Party Leaders
Jul 17, 2025

Komeito hears those hit hardest by rising prices

“To stand forever with common citizens.” Our party has faithfully abided by that founding principle for over six decades
Protesters hold a “Stand Up for Science” march in Sacramento, California, on March 7. Faced with deep budget cuts and political threats, scientists in the U.S. and Japan are realizing they must step out of the lab to defend science’s place in society.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 21, 2025

Scientists can’t stay in their ivory tower

Now is the time for scientists to return to society — not just as experts, but as engaged members of the public.
People from the first group of white South Africans granted refugee status for being deemed victims of racial discrimination under U.S. President Trump's Refugee plan, listen to welcoming remarks during a meet and greet event, at Dulles International Airport in Virginia in May.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 26, 2025

U.S. diplomats asked if nonwhites qualify for Trump's South African refugee program

The State Department said U.S. policy is to consider both Afrikaners and other racial minorities for resettlement, echoing guidance posted on its website.
Commanders of the Royal Thai Army (left) and Royal Cambodian Army meet near the Thai-Cambodia border on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 29, 2025

Fighting on Thai-Cambodia border halts amid shaky truce

Following peace talks on Monday, both sides agreed to a ceasefire over a smattering of ancient temples in disputed zones along their border.
Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya speaks at a rally in Tokyo on July 21, a day after the Upper House election.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 29, 2025

A fringe party or political force: Will the real Sanseito stand up?

There were a few things that might raise eyebrows, but nothing especially scary. Sanseito's published policy platform is relatively benign.
Media tycoon Jimmy Lai, founder of Apple Daily
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Aug 14, 2025

Hong Kong court to hear closing arguments in mogul Jimmy Lai's trial

The 77-year-old founder of the Apple Daily newspaper is charged with foreign collusion under Hong Kong's national security law.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services, during a Senate Finance Committee hearing in Washington on Thursday
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 5, 2025

U.S. senators pit Kennedy against Trump on vaccine policy

Half a dozen heated exchanges during a combative three-hour Senate hearing focused on his decision to fire Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrives at Tiananmen Square for a military parade in Beijing on Sept. 3, accompanied by his Russian and North Korean counterparts, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, in a scene that fueled perfunctory claims of U.S. dominance coming to an end.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2025

International relations analysis needs to grow up

We need commentators who understand budgets as well as body language, who track institutional evolution alongside summit declarations.
Charlie Kirk, the right-wing influencer and founder of Turning Point USA, speaks in Phoenix, Arizona, in December 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 11, 2025

Right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, dead at 31, played key role in Trump's 2024 victory

He galvanized conservative youth and rose to prominence with often inflammatory rhetoric focused on issues such as race, gender and immigration.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’