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UNESCO's executive board on Thursday added Buddhist scriptures kept at Tokyo's Zojoji Temple to its Memory of the World register.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2025

Zojoji Buddhist scriptures added to UNESCO Memory of the World

The scriptures were collected by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan's Edo era, and donated to the temple.
Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, speaks at the IMF headquarters in Washington on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 18, 2025

World economy likely to avoid recession despite tariffs, IMF chief says

Donald Trump's stop-start tariff have fueled levels of market volatility unseen since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tiangong Ultra, a humanoid robot, runs across the finish line while securing the first position during the E-Town Humanoid Robot Half Marathon, in Beijing on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Apr 19, 2025

In China, humanoid robots stride into the future with world's first half-marathon

The 21-kilometer event is billed as a groundbreaking effort to test the limits of bipedal robots.
Tariffs, and the risk they pose to both the economy and inflation, have been the focus of global attention.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 20, 2025

First shock waves of Trump’s tariffs are about to hit the world economy

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is set to lower its outlook for economic growth in new projections released on Tuesday.
Pope Francis addresses the crowd from the main balcony of St. Peter's basilica during the Urbi et Orbi message as part of Easter celebrations on Sunday.
WORLD
Apr 20, 2025

Pope wishes 'Happy Easter' to faithful in appearance at St Peter's Square

The Pope's address, read out, condemned "worrisome" anti-Semitism, and the "deplorable" situation in Gaza.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha
WORLD / Politics
Apr 21, 2025

Trump’s global trade war hangs over Vance’s India visit

Vance’s visit comes as hopes are running high in India that the country can secure a quick deal and a reprieve from weightier levies.
A draft executive order circulating among U.S. diplomats proposes a radical reduction to and restructuring of the U.S. State Department, which, if implemented, would be one of the biggest reorganizations of the department since its founding.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 21, 2025

Trump draft proposes radical reshaping of U.S. State Department

The order would eliminate dozens of positions and departments, including those dealing with climate, refugees, democracy and Africa.
Gymnast Simone Biles poses with her Sportswoman of the Year Award during the 26th Laureus World Sports Awards gala in Madrid on Monday.
OLYMPICS
Apr 22, 2025

Biles 'not so sure' about competing at Los Angeles Olympics

"I'm really enjoying my time off before I decide if I want to go back to the gym and compete," the gymnast said.
Candles and flowers are placed next to images of the late Pope Francis at the entrance of the Buenos Aires Cathedral on Monday.
WORLD / Society
Apr 22, 2025

What happens after the pope dies?

The Catholic Church will first enter a period known as "Sede Vacante," during which a senior cardinal takes over day-to-day affairs.
Pope Francis waves to the crowd during his trip to Nagasaki Prefecture in November 2019.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 22, 2025

Japan joins world in mourning death of Pope Francis

Leaders commended the pontiff’s lifelong efforts in delivering the message of peace, which included a trip to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Keen to end its reliance on rice imports, Indonesia wants to plant vast tracts of the crop, along with sugar cane for biofuel, in the restive eastern region of Papua. But environmentalists warn it could become the world's largest deforestation project, threatening endangered species and Jakarta's climate commitments.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Apr 22, 2025

Indonesia food plan risks 'world's largest' deforestation

Deforestation linked to the plan is already underway.
Hungarian Nikoletta Bogadi speaks during an interview in Budapest on April 2. Bogadi's life was turned upside down when one of her four children came out as gay and another one as transgender.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 22, 2025

Trump helps inflame anti-LGBTQ+ feeling from Hungary to Romania

The U.S. president's anti-LGBTQ+ push is emboldening similar efforts in Europe.
Pope Francis' body is carried in a coffin to Saint Peter's Basilica, on the day of its translation, at the Vatican, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Apr 24, 2025

Thousands honor Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica

Mourners flood the Vatican to bid farewell to the late Pope Francis, whose funeral will be held Saturday, with world leaders set to attend.
A Sudanese soldier prays in front of a burned-out armored vehicle in Khartoum, Sudan, on March 28.
WORLD
Apr 24, 2025

'No one else will': Sudan's journalists risk all to report the war

Since fighting erupted between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in April 2023, at least 28 reporters have been killed, according to Sudan's journalist union.
Giant panda Rauhin at Adventure World in Wakayama Prefecture. She and her three daughters are expected to be sent to China in June.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2025

All four giant pandas at western Japan zoo to be sent to China

If no new additions join the zoo, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo would be the only remaining giant pandas housed in Japan.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks with U.S. President Donald Trump at St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Saturday.
WORLD
Apr 26, 2025

Trump and Zelenskyy meet one-on-one in Vatican basilica to seek Ukraine peace

The meeting, their first since an angry encounter in Washington in February, comes at a critical time in negotiations aimed at bringing an end to the war in Ukraine.
Pope Francis leads a prayer in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Dec. 31, 2023.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Apr 26, 2025

Pope Francis saw defending the climate as an urgent priority for the world

Pope Francis spoke and wrote often about climate change, telling oil and gas executives in 2018 that transitioning to clean energy was a "duty” to humanity.
Vehicles travel along the 110 freeway in downtown Los Angeles. California's GDP has overtaken Japan's to become the world's fourth largest economy, according to the U.S. state.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 27, 2025

California says it overtakes Japan to become world’s No. 4 economy

Japan's annual GDP was surpassed by China in 2010 and Germany in 2023, positioning the country in fourth place.
Pallbearers carry the coffin of Pope Francis during the funeral ceremony at the Vatican on Saturday.
WORLD
Apr 27, 2025

All eyes turn to conclave after Pope Francis' funeral

On Monday morning, cardinals will hold their fifth general meeting since the pope's death, at which they are expected to announce a date for the conclave.
Soldiers drive a British battle tank during joint combat exercises between the French and British armies north of the city of Reims, in northeastern France, on April 22.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 28, 2025

Conflicts spur 'unprecedented' rise in military spending

More than 100 countries, including all of the 15 largest spenders, increased their military budgets last year, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said.
A Doctors Without Borders nurse conducts a malaria test on a young Sudanese refugee suffering from malnutrition, at the group's hospital at the Touloum refugee camp in the Wadi Fira province, Chad, on April 11.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 28, 2025

U.S. aid cuts create 'perfect storm' for malaria in Africa

Experts warn that U.S. funding cuts could lead to an upsurge in the disease across Africa and beyond.
Pope Francis prays in front of a candle lit to remember victims of abuse by the church, inside St Mary's Pro Cathedral during his visit to Dublin, Ireland on August 25, 2018.
WORLD / Society
Apr 28, 2025

Abuse victims say they saw progress under Pope Francis, just not enough

For abuse survivors, Francis' legacy on the issue is a mixed one of powerful words and at times underwhelming deeds.
Fireworks explode over the Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremony of the London Games in July 2012.
OLYMPICS
Apr 29, 2025

London mayor Sadiq Khan targets Olympic history for city

Khan wants the city to become the "sporting capital of the world," and is backing a bid for 2040 Games.
A view shows the BRICS Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2025

BRICS meeting in Brazil discusses Ukraine, Gaza and Trump's trade war

Ministers from the bloc — which has traditionally been cautious in comments about the Ukraine war — met to hone their agenda ahead of a leaders' summit in July.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney waves to supporters at a victory party in Ottawa on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2025

Carney's Liberals win Canada election defined by Trump

Following a campaign dominated by Trump's tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart "a new path forward."
Palestinian girls look at the rubble after Israeli strikes in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD
Apr 29, 2025

Amnesty accuses Israel of 'live-streamed genocide' in Gaza

In its annual report, Amnesty charged that Israel had acted with "specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, thus committing genocide."
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the BRICS Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Rio de Janeiro on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2025

At BRICS meeting, China vows to stand firm against ‘bully’ Trump

On Tuesday, China’s Foreign Minister warned BRICS nations not to cave to U.S. tariffs, urging resistance to pressure amid growing trade tensions.
A drone view shows the car market in Sarmada town, Idlib, Syria, on March 17.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 30, 2025

A tale of two Syrias: Free-market opening sows resentment of new rulers

Bashar Assad's mismanagement helped push the country of 24 million into an economic tailspin, amid Western sanctions and brutal civil war.
An open-pit mine in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, on April 23. The financial payoff from the deal may take a decade or longer to materialize.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 2, 2025

U.S. and Ukraine may wait decade or more to see revenue from minerals deal

While the financial benefits from the deal are uncertain, officials in Ukraine believe it will help shore up U.S. support for Kyiv.
A United Nations Security Council meeting on Tuesday. The U.N. is considering an overhaul that would represent the most sweeping reforms in decades, according to an internal memo.
WORLD / Politics
May 2, 2025

U.N. considers major overhaul amid funding crisis, internal memo shows

Deep budget shortfalls — 20% staffing cuts at UNICEF, 30% at the migration agency—have spurred urgent calls for “bold and immediate” efficiency measures.

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