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Toyota is investing in increased capacity for electric vehicles and has unveiled plans to establish a subsidiary in Shanghai.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2025

Toyota raises annual profit guidance despite quarterly income drop

The automaker now expects a profit of ¥4.7 trillion ($31 billion) for the fiscal year ending March, up from its previous forecast of ¥4.3 trillion.
DeepSeek's impressive AI breakthroughs have sparked global attention but face mounting U.S. scrutiny, with potential bans unlikely to stop its open-source technology from spreading worldwide.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2025

DeepSeek’s breakthroughs are too big for the U.S. to ban

The national security concerns behind the U.S. push to ban TikTok are even more pronounced when it comes to generative AI.
U.S. President Donald Trump's imposed and since paused tariffs on Canada and Mexico, coupled with his broad levies on China — and possibly others soon — pose risks of economic retaliation, supply chain disruptions and long-term damage to U.S. influence.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2025

The tariff man is making a risky bet

The optimal tariff argument ignores the substantial risks that Trump is taking. A generalized trade war will make everyone worse off.
Homes destroyed by wildfire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles earlier this month. Insured losses caused by this and other fires raging in the area in recent weeks have been valued at over $30 billion.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2025

Fossil fuel insurance is still way too cheap

Despite mounting losses from climate-induced disasters, insurers continue underwriting fossil fuels. Raising the cost of such policies would help cut emissions and benefit many.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura (second from left) hands a letter regarding the 2025 Osaka Expo to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2025

Same-day ticket sales under consideration for Osaka Expo

As of Jan. 29, the number of advance tickets sold stood at some 7.66 million — about the half of the target number.
Ditching the U.S.' normal trade relations designation for China could lead to an automatic jump in levies, at rates that could far exceed what Trump has so far slapped on China.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Feb 6, 2025

Trump's China focus increases odds of end to special trading status

The Permanent Normal Trade Relations designation was was extended to China in 2000.
Kuaishou Technology has attracted tens of millions of younger viewers who habitually scroll screens for new stories and trending videos.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 6, 2025

Mini dramas have supplanted movies in China. Is the U.S. next?

Professionally produced series for the web, mini dramas have clear storylines and big cliffhangers, with episodes running just 60 to 90 seconds each.
Manchester City's Erling Haaland (center of three) looks dejected after Thomas Partey scores Arsenal's second goal on Sunday.
SOCCER
Feb 6, 2025

Manchester City’s troubles spread from Premier League to politics

After years of dominance, this season Man City is regularly losing matches. But it is events off the pitch that risk undoing one of the world's biggest soccer clubs.
"Uketsu" is a completely anonymous writer and YouTuber whose odd books — which blend mystery and horror — have become a smash-hit publishing phenomenon in Japan.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 7, 2025

'Uketsu': The internet phantom haunting Japan's bestseller lists

Anonymous author and YouTuber "Uketsu" deals in a quiet horror that has delighted millions of readers.
TENNIS
Feb 7, 2025

Rybakina battles past Jabeur into Abu Dhabi semis

The 2022 Wimbledon champion will next face Switzerland's Belinda Bencic for a place in the final.
Singapore is positioning itself as a key player in the effort to diversify supply chains away from China, leveraging its proximity to Malaysia’s Johor state.
COMMENTARY
Feb 7, 2025

Singapore finds its seat at the China+1 table

Singapore is positioning itself as a key player in the effort to diversify supply chains away from China.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a ceremony near Pyongyang on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 8, 2025

North Korea says its nuclear weapons not a 'bargaining chip' as Trump and Ishiba meet

The two leaders expressed their commitment to ensuring North Korea ends its nuclear weapons program.
Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, speaks at a White House event with President Donald Trump, left; Softbank chief executive Masayoshi Son, third from left; and Larry Ellison, chairman of Oracle, at the White House on Jan. 21.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 9, 2025

How Sam Altman sidestepped Elon Musk to win over Donald Trump

After helping President Trump get elected, Elon Musk was poised to dominate the nation’s AI policies. But someone got there before him.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida (left) and Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe during a news conference in December
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 10, 2025

Honda and Nissan results will highlight flaws as deal set to fail

The likely fallout of Honda’s short-lived alliance with Nissan spells trouble for both companies, but probably one more than the other.
Israeli military vehicles drive past destruction in southern Lebanon, as seen from northern Israel on Jan. 26.
BUSINESS
Feb 10, 2025

Investors return to new-look Middle East, but Trump causes some concern

President Donald Trump's proposal that the U.S. take over Gaza may have thrown a curveball into the mix, but recent events in the Middle East have fed hopes of a reset.
South Korea's Choi Min-jeong (center) competes in the women's short track speedskating 1,000-meter final during the Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 10, 2025

Choi Min-jeong grabs three golds for South Korea at Asian Winter Games

Short track is one of the few sports with genuine world class competition at the Winter Asiad.
French President Emmanuel Macron attends an interview for national television ahead of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 10, 2025

Macron beats French investment drum ahead of AI summit

The two-day event in Paris has stated aims that include "mapping" AI governance around the world, and promoting the idea of more ethical, accessible and frugal AI.
Construction for a new Microsoft data center in East Wenatchee, Washington, in November 2024.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 10, 2025

What DeepSeek? Big Tech keeps its AI building boom alive.

After DeepSeek’s breakthrough rattled markets, U.S. tech giants doubled down on massive data center investments to stay ahead in AI.
Russian Communist Party supporters carry a flag after a ceremony in Moscow to mark the 150th anniversary of Vladimir Lenin's birth in 2020.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2025

Russia’s nostalgia machine works for strongman Putin

If Russians are gripped by a yearning for an imaginary past, they will not fight for a better future.
Drug rehab patients walk in formation to have lunch at the Mega Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center, north of Manila, in 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 10, 2025

Abuse and coercion rife in Philippines drugs rehab, rights groups say

Rights groups say some facilities fail standards and have called for more health and social support.
Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring his team's third goal against Al Fayah in Riyadh on Friday.
SOCCER
Feb 11, 2025

Ronaldo reaches deal with Al Nassr to extend contract, official says

Ronaldo turned 40 last week, with his current contract due to end in June 2025.
Novak Djokovic of Serbia exits after his match against Alexander Zverev of Germany in the semifinals of the men's singles at the 2025 Australian Open in Melbourne on Jan. 24.
TENNIS
Feb 11, 2025

Djokovic 'almost 100%' after injury, aiming for 100th title in Doha

The 24-time Grand Slam champion retired due to a hamstring injury in his semifinal against Alexander Zverev last month.
U.S. President Donald Trump made reference to Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who has competed as a woman, in a speech after signing an order on transgender participation in sports, calling her "a male boxer."
SPORTS
Feb 11, 2025

Trump order on transgender athletes clashes with international norms

There was no immediate outpouring of support from international organizations for the U.S. president's move.
Southeast Asian economies, once seen as beneficiaries of the U.S.-China trade war, now face challenges as escalating tariffs and trade tensions threaten their growth and regional stability.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2025

Winners of the first trade war may not be so victorious

Stuck between the U.S. and China, Southeast Asia’s challenges this time around are much greater.
A Nissan Motor X-Trail vehicle at the company's showroom in Tokyo's Ginza district
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 12, 2025

Foxconn signals interest in buying Renault's stake in Nissan

The company has approached both Renault and Nissan about potential cooperation.
Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone (left) tries to get a shot away in front of Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid during the second period at Rogers Place, Edmonton, Canada on Dec. 14, 2024.
MORE SPORTS / Ice Hockey
Feb 12, 2025

Canada and Sweden ready to drop puck on anticipated 4 Nations Face-Off

Not since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey have the NHL's brightest stars lined up against each other to compete for their countries.
Susan Holt, New Brunswick’s premier, speaks during a news conference in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Feb 13, 2025

Canada’s 13 premiers descend on Washington to play the China card

For the first time, all 13 of the country’s premiers were in Washington together, lobbying Republican lawmakers against President Donald Trump’s proposed import taxes.
Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki pitches during a spring training workout in Glendale, Arizona, on Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Feb 13, 2025

Dodgers expect Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki to pitch in Tokyo

The defending champions will face the Cubs at Tokyo Dome in March to open the MLB season.
Following weeks of talks after Nissan Motor President Makoto Uchida and Honda President and CEO Toshihiro Mibe's December announcement of a possible merger, the two automakers confirmed on Thursday that the deal is officially off.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 13, 2025

Honda and Nissan cancel megamerger after weeks of negotiations

The automakers failed to find the common ground needed to reach an agreement, though they still intend to work together in other areas.
Too many people die from treatable diseases in places with little access to health care. To prevent this from happening, affordability, availability and acceptability considerations must be at the core of medical products' lifecycles, starting with R & D.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 13, 2025

To stop preventable deaths, start with the fundamentals

Treatable diseases like malaria are still causing too many deaths in places with poor health care. To prevent these, accessibility must be baked into medical development.

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