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Efrat Machikawa (center) and others protest in white near the Knesset in Jerusalem on Feb. 14, advocating for the safe return of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 24, 2025

The terror, the protests and the reunion: Efrat Machikawa's life since the Israel-Hamas war

The family of Machikawa's uncle, 80-year-old Gadi Moses, taken hostage from southern Israel by Hamas in their October 2023 attack, waited nearly 500 days for him to return home.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton at a Formula One launch event in London on Feb. 18
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Feb 25, 2025

Hamilton’s move to Ferrari opens new possibilities

The driver is hopeful that an eighth world championship will be within his sights once again.
U.S. President Donald Trump's approach to ending Russia’s war in Ukraine appears to prioritize re-establishing U.S.-Russia relations over securing a fair settlement for Ukraine.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 25, 2025

Ukraine is just a pawn in a Russian reset

Donald Trump's approach makes U.S. actions more logical, but no less shameful.
While Osaka’s 2025 World Expo may strengthen Japan’s global ties through diplomatic engagements, its success will depend on fostering long-term innovation, economic cooperation and international collaboration beyond visitor numbers.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 25, 2025

Will Expo 2025 in Osaka be a success?

Osaka has hosted the Expo twice before, in 1970 and 1990, with the 1970 affair in particular occupying a special place in many local residents’ hearts.
Both Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre have called for placing levies on the U.S. that are similar to those the U.S. places on Canada.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 26, 2025

Something is rotten in Canada

So while Trump is right to say Canada’s trade surplus with the U.S. has grown, he’s wrong about why it has expanded.
Nissin Foods expects continued demand for cheap precooked noodles even as the industry works to shed its image of being an unhealthy staple, the firm's president said on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2025

Noodle-maker Nissin plans big investments, eyeing pickup in demand

Nissin Foods expects continued demand for cheap precooked noodles even as the industry works to shed its image of being an unhealthy staple.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance and wife Usha stand in front of an iron gate with the slogan "Arbeit macht frei" ("Work will set you free") as they arrive for a tour of the Dachau Concentration Camp memorial site in southern Germany on Feb. 13.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 27, 2025

Without America, ‘the West’ will splinter, wither and die

Trump and his movement do not share similar values, at least not unequivocally, and that is now sinking in across the rest of the West, which the U.S. has led for eight decades.
Global sales, including that of subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor and Hino Motors, rose 2% from a year ago to 846,744 units, a record for the month of January, Toyota Motor said Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2025

Toyota’s domestic sales rebound as it recovers from scandals

Despite unease in major markets and a dip in quarterly profit, Toyota raised its annual profit guidance for the fiscal year ending in March.
The peloton rides from Florence to Rimini, Italy, during the first stage of the 2024 Tour de France.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 28, 2025

For Tour de France, foreign starts make financial sense

The Barcelona start will be the 27th non-French starting location since the Tour first went on the road internationally in Amsterdam in 1954.
Boris Spassky (left) and Bobby Fischer compete during a match in September 1992.
MORE SPORTS / Chess
Feb 28, 2025

Russian chess grandmaster Boris Spassky dies at age 88

Spassky, who took French nationality in 1978, was the 10th World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1969 to 1972.
The latest "Captain America" movie depicts a conflict between the U.S. and Japan over a newly discovered element, but the premise seems implausible and likely reflects a late-stage decision to replace China with Japan to avoid alienating Chinese audiences.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 28, 2025

A U.S. war with Japan? Only in ‘Captain America.’

It’s clear that Japan must be a stand-in for China — possibly a late-stage replacement in a movie that became notorious for its multiple rewrites and reshoots.
Australia’s new International Gender Equality Strategy aims to improve the situation of women and girls, but its success may depend on addressing male resentment by providing men with a sense of purpose and social achievement.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 28, 2025

What’s missing from Australia's gender equality strategy?

It’s necessary to recognize that the male backlash to female empowerment is a locally and globally destabilizing force.
The global electric vehicle boom has resulted in a lithium supply shortage since 2022 despite the 180% increase in production compared to 2017.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 1, 2025

Three novel approaches that can revolutionize batteries

The innovations aren’t yet available at a commercial scale, but they are part of an effort to prevent the global clean energy transition from stalling.
The roll-out of accent translation is part of a bigger push by Teleperformance to invest up to €100 million ($104 million) in AI partnerships this year.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 1, 2025

Teleperformance uses AI to ‘neutralize’ Indian accents among staff

The roll-out of accent translation is part of a bigger push by Teleperformance to invest up to €100 million ($104 million) in AI partnerships this year.
Chinese President Xi Jinping
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 3, 2025

Xi prepares to unveil China stimulus plan as trade war heats up

AI breakthroughs and Xi’s recent embrace of private entrepreneurs have driven a rally ahead of the National People’s Congress.
Xiaobaodang Coal Mine, in Shaanxi province, China, in 2023. China, which mines and burns half the world’s coal, is facing swelling inventories of the fuel.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 3, 2025

Coal’s four-year lows hide a coming global supply squeeze

Demand for the fuel continues to rise in India and China, outpacing breakneck rates of expansion in solar and wind.
The figure skater Maxim Naumov, who lost his parents when an army helicopter collided with a passenger jet above the Potomac River, drops to his knees in tears on the ice at the Legacy on Ice tribute in Washington on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
Mar 4, 2025

Figure skating stars pay an emotional tribute to the Washington plane crash victims

Dozens of stars from the sport, going back decades, attended the benefit.
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz in action during his Qatar Open round of 16 match against Italy's Luca Nardi in Doha, Qatar, on Feb. 19
TENNIS
Mar 4, 2025

Alcaraz guns for Indian Wells three-peat as Sinner serves ban

Poland's Iga Swiatek, meanwhile, will look to become the only woman to win the tournament three times.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meets with Russia's President Vladimir Putin after the Group of 20 Summit in Osaka in June 2019. Putin managed to pocket every concession made by Abe over the years and demanded more.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 4, 2025

Abe’s Russia outreach flopped — Trump should take note

Supporters of Trump’s policy argue that China is the bigger threat and the U.S. should steer Moscow away from Beijing.
Carlos Alcaraz speaks to the media during a news conference in Indian Wells, California, on Tuesday.
TENNIS
Mar 5, 2025

Alcaraz chases third straight Indian Wells title

Carlos Alcaraz, coming off a quarterfinal defeat in the Qatar Open, is seeded second behind Germany's Alexander Zverev.
Items from Shohei Ohtani's 50-50 season are seen in an exhibition at Tokyo Node on Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 5, 2025

Tokyo fans get the Dodgers on their doorstep

In a big play to grow the team's fanbase, an exhibition connected with the MLB Tokyo Series is offering a taste of the LA experience.
Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, on Jan. 26, the final day of the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 5, 2025

Can sumo avoid becoming another soulless corporate sport?

Whether sumo also falls into the trap of creating greater separation between supporters and athletes remains to be seen.
Poles and members of the Ukrainian diaspora take part in a rally in front of the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw on Monday to protest after U.S. President Doland Trump clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during their meeting in the Oval Office.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 5, 2025

The Oval Office blowup: What went wrong and how to fix it

The world may have underestimated this incident's significance due to media spin and partisan bias by those more focused on political allegiances.
Campaign supporters light a total of 1,638 candles, representing the number of dead victims claimed by HIV/AIDS in the Philippines since 1984, as part of their commemoration of International AIDS Candlelight Memorial Day in metro Manila in 2016.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 6, 2025

Philippines' LGBTQ+ groups seek options to replace U.S. aid

Advocacy groups are looking at new financing strategies and calling for greater involvement by local health institutions to protect against foreign aid withdrawals.
Tariffs and trade uncertainty are causing the U.S. economy to lose steam, and companies more vulnerable to slower growth are starting to show the cracks.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 6, 2025

Investors spy the dawn of a tectonic shift away from U.S. markets

For most of the last three years, investors had bet on "U.S. exceptionalism," with the country ahead of others in economic growth, stock prices and AI.
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani is expected to return to a two-way role this season.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 9, 2025

As Shohei Ohtani embarks on Year 2 in Dodger Blue, a unique encore begins

Ohtani has won two Most Valuable Player Awards as a two-way player, for the Angels in 2021 and 2023.
Qianmen street, Beijing, in March 2023. Though the immediate shock has passed, COVID-19's legacy continues to reshape global economies and markets.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 8, 2025

Five years on, the economic impact of COVID-19 lingers

Though the immediate shock has passed, COVID-19's legacy continues to reshape global economies and markets.
Carlos Alcaraz hits a shot in his third round match against Denis Shapovalov at the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
TENNIS
Mar 11, 2025

Alcaraz, Sabalenka and Gauff power into Indian Wells last 16

Alcaraz said there were still a few things he could improve as he tries to join Federer and Djokovic as the only men to win three straight titles in the California desert.
Fertility rates remain low across much of Asia, with past policies to curb population growth proving difficult to reverse, while governments explore adaptation strategies like immigration and AI.
COMMENTARY
Mar 5, 2025

It’s time we adapt to low fertility rates

South Korea’s fertility rate saw a slight increase, but experts doubt it signals a long-term reversal. Similar trends are seen in Singapore and Japan.
U.S. President Donald Trump is often portrayed as a master dealmaker, but his approach tends to be erratic, his business record includes notable failures and his style leans more toward performance than strategic negotiation.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 11, 2025

Trump’s dealmaking is all about him

From effectively ending the war in Ukraine to setting tariffs, the president’s negotiating skills are coming up short.

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