Search - world

 
 
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (right) and his Dutch counterpart, Dick Schoof, shake hands after a joint news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 22, 2025

Japanese and Dutch leaders agree to strengthen cooperation

The two leaders announced an action plan calling for cooperation in a wide range of fields, including diplomacy, security, economy and culture.
Then-Canadian Industry Minister Allan Rock (left) talks with bat-maker Sam Holman at the Original Maple Bat manufacturing plant in Ottawa in October 2002. By the early 2000s, Holman had clients with nearly every major league baseball team.
BASEBALL
Apr 22, 2025

He revolutionized bats not with a new shape but a new kind of wood

Sam Holman made use of the fact that maple has a tight grain structure and is a harder wood than ash, giving it the potential to be more durable.
Executives from U.K. self-driving startup Wayve and SoftBank attend an event in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 22, 2025

U.K. AI startup Wayve makes Japan debut after Nissan partnership

Earlier this month, Wayve said it was joining forces with Nissan Motor to help build the next generation of its ProPilot driver-assist system.
A student in hazmat suit moves around a taxidermied giraffe at the "crime scene" set up in the warehouse of the Wildlife Forensic Academy in the Buffelsfontein Game and Nature Reserve near Cape Town, South Africa, on April 16.
WORLD / Society
Apr 22, 2025

Inside South Africa's wildlife CSI school helping to catch poachers

South Africa faces an acute poaching crisis, with more than 10,000 rhinos killed since 2007 according to the International Rhino Foundation.
Tiangong Ultra, a humanoid robot, crosses the finish line after securing the first position during the E-Town Humanoid Robot Half Marathon in Beijing on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2025

All hail the rise of the humanoid robots

Robotics is another of the critical emerging technologies, mastery of which will be central to 21st-century economic leadership.
Members of the clergy celebrate Mass in memory of Pope Francis, following the death of the pontiff, at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, in La Paz, Bolivia, on Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2025

A conclave to test Pope Francis’ legacy

Francis unraveled many knots after his elevation in March 2013, leaving the question of whether he did enough to secure his legacy now that he’s passed.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba receives a gift from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the start of their meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 22, 2025

Nvidia CEO urges LDP to build up Japan’s AI infrastructure

Japan has pledged to increase government and corporate funding in AI to over ¥50 trillion ($350 billion) in the next 10 years.
A person walks with a dog through the "micro-forest" park created by the Athens City Council near Alepotrypa Park in downtown Athens, Greece, on March 31.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Apr 22, 2025

Tentative tree planting 'decades overdue' in sweltering Athens

Planting vegetation is crucial to help cities beat the heat, scientists say, as climate change stokes hotter and more intense heatwaves.
A man sprays paint graffiti against Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on a Tesla showroom in New York on Tuesday in this screen shot taken from video.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 23, 2025

Musk to reduce White House role as Tesla profits plunge

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he would cut back "significantly" the time he devotes to the Trump administration from next month.
A demonstrators protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's moves to force changes at colleges such as Columbia University and others by cutting grants and imposing various sanctions, at Foley Square in New York on April 17.
WORLD / Society
Apr 23, 2025

U.S. college presidents unite against Trump's higher education policies

They have described the moves as "the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education."
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has long jostled with the press and questioned the editorial rules that prohibit interference in government-funded media, issued an executive order on March 14 to eliminate Voice of America and other U.S.-funded media.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 23, 2025

U.S. judge orders preliminary VOA funding restoration in blow to Trump

It remains to be seen if the order is enough to put the outlets back on air.
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.
Rohingya children eat from jars with the USAID logo on them at a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, in February.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 23, 2025

China unlikely to fill void left by U.S. aid pullback, data shows

Observers say Beijing often ties access to assistance to backing China’s preferred policy positions.
Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito (right) and Liu Jianchao, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee, in Beijing on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 23, 2025

Komeito leader Saito makes first visit to China

Carrying a letter from Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Saito will meet with senior Chinese officials before returning home on Thursday.
Japan has walked a delicate path — taking steps to hedge its dependence on China while distancing itself from the politics of Washington.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 23, 2025

Trump’s trade war with China puts Japan in a tight spot

Japan had long maintained deep economic ties with both China and the United States. Recent trade tensions may challenge that approach.
Nomura Holdings is seeking to build scale in the U.S. asset management market despite recent volatility caused by escalating trade tensions.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 23, 2025

Nomura bets big on U.S. market rebound with $1.8 billion deal

Nomura's executive officer said the latest disruptions don’t change the fact the U.S. remains the largest asset management market in the world.
Canada’s April 28 election presents a stark choice between globalist technocrat Mark Carney (right) and populist veteran Pierre Poilievre, with the outcome likely to shape not only domestic renewal but the country’s relevance in the world.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 23, 2025

Will Canada find its path again after the election?

This election has effectively become a binary choice between Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre and the unelected Prime Minister Mark Carney of the Liberal Party.
The U.S., U.K. and Europe are aligning with China and Russia in their efforts to undermine the encryption tools that millions of internet users depend on.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 23, 2025

Don't let governments break encryption

To convince the public that breaking encryption is necessary, governments often rely on technical jargon and emotionally charged anecdotes.
A restaurant owner pours California-grown Calrose rice into a rice cooker at his restaurant in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 23, 2025

Japan weighs using U.S. rice imports as tariff negotiation tool with Trump

The government hopes an import quota will give them more cards to play in tariff negotiations with the U.S.
An aerial photo taken on March 20, 2025, shows part of the original site of Lang Nu village in Vietnam's Lao Cai province, after it was wiped away in a landslide triggered by Typhoon Yagi's devastating heavy rains last year.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 23, 2025

Vietnam village starts over with climate defenses after landslide

She and dozens of survivors have been relocated to a site that authorities hope will withstand future climate change-linked disasters.
Astronauts for China's Shenzhou-20 space mission Wang Jie (left), Chen Dong (center) and Chen Zhongrui wave during a news conference a day before the launch of the mission, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi desert, in northwest China, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Apr 23, 2025

Veteran Chinese astronaut to lead fresh crew to space station

Chen Dong, a 46-year-old former fighter pilot and experienced space explorer, will be at the helm for the mission.
Ukrainian service members fire a multiple rocket launch system toward Russian troops near the frontline town of Pokrovsk, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on April 19.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 24, 2025

Trump ramps up pressure on Zelenskyy to accept peace deal

U.S. President Donald Trump ratcheted up pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept a peace deal that critics fear will favor Moscow.
Indian security forces personnel escort an ambulance carrying the bodies of tourists who were killed in a suspected militant attack near Pahalgam, outside the police control room in Srinagar, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 24, 2025

India downgrades ties with Pakistan after attack on Kashmir tourists kills 26

The dead included 25 Indians and one Nepalese national, and at least 17 people were also injured in the worst attack on civilians in decades.
Rory McIlroy celebrates on the 18th green after winning the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, in Augusta, Georgia, on April 13.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Apr 24, 2025

Rory McIlroy moved by way Masters win resonated with fans

The Northern Irishman completed the career Grand Slam 10 days ago at the Masters, with an emotional playoff win over England's Justin Rose.
Elon Musk confirmed plans on Tuesday to reduce his government time commitment to one or two days a week to focus on his battered car company Tesla.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 24, 2025

Trump's Cabinet ready to take back power with Musk stepping back, sources say

Elon Musk plans to reduce his government time commitment to one or two days a week to focus on his battered car company, Tesla.
Iga Swiatek served a one-month suspension late last year after testing positive for a banned substance.
TENNIS
Apr 24, 2025

Iga Swiatek feels stronger after experiencing 'worst' of anti-doping protocols

Paranoia has spread among tennis players after both Swiatek and Jannik Sinner failed drug tests.
An immature college student (Riku Hagiwara, left) is caught in the middle of a love triangle in “She Taught Me Serendipity.”
CULTURE / Film
Apr 24, 2025

‘She Taught Me Serendipity’: A quiet reminder not to take people for granted

While Akiko Ohku’s latest seems like a rom-com on its surface, the ensemble piece delves deeper into the importance of appreciating loved ones while you can.
"The main message we have on monetary policy is that in times of heightened uncertainty, flexibility and data dependence become paramount,” said Nada Choueiri, the International Monetary Fund’s Japan mission chief, on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 24, 2025

IMF urges BOJ flexibility on rates as tariffs dent outlook

Along with downgraded global growth projections, the IMF's forecast for Japan’s expansion in 2025 was trimmed by 0.5 percentage points to 0.6%.
Makoto Miyamori (second from the right) receives commemorative gifts with his family as the 1 millionth visitor to the expo on Wednesday in the city of Osaka.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2025

Osaka Expo reaches 1 million visitors

The event's official association is aiming for 28.2 million visitors to the expo, which will close on Oct. 13.
The government plans to send Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya to the funeral of Pope Francis.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2025

Japan plans to send foreign minister to pope's funeral

The head of the Catholic Church died Monday at the age of 88. His funeral is due to take place at the Vatican on Saturday.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami