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U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon in Washington on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 25, 2024

U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs to meet this week, as military drills around Taiwan end

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, this week for the first time, the Pentagon said Friday.
A member of a Ukrainian artillery crew stores munitions at a firing position near the town of Vovchansk, in the northern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, on May 19. Two classified Ukrainian reports show that some U.S. precision-guided weapons are vulnerable to electronic warfare, an element in Ukraine's recent battlefield setbacks.
WORLD
May 26, 2024

Some U.S. weapons stymied by Russian jamming in Ukraine

Two classified Ukrainian reports show that some U.S. precision-guided weapons are vulnerable to electronic warfare, an element in Ukraine’s recent battlefield setbacks.
Wanxiang America’s Neapco manufacturing plant in Belleville, Michigan
BUSINESS / Companies
May 29, 2024

Once embraced, Chinese companies now shunned in U.S. on security fears

It doesn’t matter if it’s mining or health care, even Chinese furniture could one day be seen as a national security issue, a lawyer who represents Chinese clients said.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol addresses the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul on Monday as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang listen on.
EDITORIALS
May 31, 2024

A long-neglected trilateral resumes — to expected results

Revival of this trilateral has been driven by Chinese uncertainty: worries about its economy and anxiety regarding geopolitical developments.
British opposition leader Keir Starmer speaks at a Welsh Labour general election campaign event in Abergavenny, Wales, Britain, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2024

Starmer campaigns on U.K. security ahead of key debate with Sunak

The Labour Party head is trying to win the election by campaigning on the political center ground, and by showing how the party has shifted since its historic 2019 defeat.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin leaves a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Friday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 4, 2024

China is winning the communications competition

It's a mistake for the U.S. to take for granted that the world sees it as “the good guy” in its competition with China.
The United States' Saurabh Nethralvakar celebrates after the team's win over Pakistan at the Twenty20 World Cup in Grand Prairie, Texas, on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Cricket
Jun 7, 2024

U.S. stuns cricket world with historic upset of Pakistan at T20 World Cup

The Times in the U.K. called it "one of the biggest upsets in cricket history."
The US economic engine has pulled in an increasing share of global capital.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 17, 2024

How the U.S. mopped up a third of global capital flows since COVID-19

The U.S. also pulled in a fresh wave of foreign direct investment thanks to billions of dollars worth of incentives.
American Institute in Taiwan Director Sandra Oudkirk speaks during a news conference in Taipei on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 17, 2024

As China’s pressure on Taiwan rises, departing U.S. envoy urges steady hand

Worries about Chinese belligerence rose during Sandra Oudkirk’s three years in Taipei. As she leaves, she is seeking to assure Taiwan of continued U.S. support.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is in custody on espionage charges, waves behind a glass wall of an enclosure for defendants as he attends a court hearing in Moscow on April 23.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 18, 2024

Russia sets closed espionage trial for U.S. reporter Gershkovich

The White House has called the charges "ridiculous," and President Joe Biden has said the reporter's detention is "totally illegal."
An Israeli tank maneuvers inside the Gaza Strip on Thursday. Gaza's environment was already suffering from recurring conflicts, rapid urban growth, and high population density, before the most recent conflict began on Oct. 7.
WORLD / Society
Jun 18, 2024

Gaza conflict has caused major environmental damage, U.N. says

Water, sanitation, and hygiene systems are now almost entirely defunct, the report found, with Gaza's five wastewater treatment plants shut down.
American Institute in Taiwan Director Sandra Oudkirk looks at a Switchblade 300 drone during the 2023 Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition at the Nangang Exhibition Center in Taipei last September.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 19, 2024

U.S. approves sale of more than 1,000 ‘suicide drones’ to Taiwan

The $360 million arms sale comes as Washington doubles down on helping Taipei counter a potential Chinese attack on the self-ruled island.
The U.S. will no longer view itself through the lens of exceptionalism, regardless of whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden wins the next election.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 24, 2024

American exceptionalism is dead no matter who wins the election

The U.S. will no longer view itself through the lens of exceptionalism regardless of the presidential election's outcome, focusing instead on its narrow self-interests.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers the first speech of his premiership outside No. 10 Downing St. in London on Friday, following his Labour Party's win in the general election.
WORLD
Jul 6, 2024

New U.K. PM Keir Starmer speaks to world leaders and names top team

Starmer named Rachel Reeves the U.K.'s first female finance minister and appointed David Lammy as foreign secretary, among other Cabinet choices.
An unarmed AGM-86B air-launched cruise missile is released from a B-52 bomber over the Utah Test and Training Range during a Nuclear Weapons System Evaluation Program sortie in September 2014.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 6, 2024

Trump advisers call for U.S. nuclear weapons testing if he is elected

A number of nuclear experts reject a resumption as unnecessary and say it would threaten to end a testing moratorium that has been honored for decades.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington in April. Both leaders face an uphill battle to stay at the helm of their respective parties and countries.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 10, 2024

Japan too is wrestling with a flawed leader

Questions about election prospects plague Biden in the U.S. and Kishida in Japan, with both trying to hang on to their commanding positions despite growing discontent.
Electronic waste — also known as e-waste — from computers in a junk shop in Metro Manila, Philippines
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 11, 2024

U.N. warns digital economy drive is damaging the environment

The U.N. agency called for sustainable strategies to counter the growing environmental toll digitalization creates, particularly in developing countries.
U.S. Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a U.S. House representative from Texas
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 12, 2024

U.S. lawmakers raise concerns over Microsoft deal with Emirati AI firm

The Republican lawmakers' letter is a sign of growing concern about the lack of regulations around the export of sensitive artificial intelligence models.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a commemoration ceremony for soldiers killed during the 2014 Gaza war, also known as Operation Protective Edge, at the Memorial Hall on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 21, 2024

Defiant Benjamin Netanyahu to face U.S. Congress amid Gaza tensions

Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving premier, will become the first foreign leader to address a joint meeting of the two chambers four times.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden walk through the colonnade on their way to the Oval Office at the White House in Washington in January 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 22, 2024

World leaders praise Biden’s record after U.S. president quits 2024 race

Leaders, including Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, said they would continue to watch the U.S. presidential race closely.
U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks at West Allis Central High School during her first campaign rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 24, 2024

Harris in speech says Trump would create a U.S. of 'fear and hate'

In her speech, Kamala Harris went after Donald Trump's vulnerabilities, comparing her background as a former prosecutor to his record as a convicted felon.
The World Anti-Doping Agency has been under fire from U.S. officials over the handling of a case involving Chinese swimmers in the months before the Tokyo Games.
OLYMPICS
Jul 25, 2024

WADA to put U.S. anti-doping agency under compliance review

WADA is taking the step as a result of a dispute with the USADA over its handling of a case involving 23 Chinese swimmers.
Mourners carry coffins, during the funeral of children who were killed at a soccer pitch by a rocket fired from Lebanon, in Majdal Shams, a Druze village in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, on Monday.
WORLD
Jul 30, 2024

Don't bomb Beirut: U.S. leads push to rein in Israel's response

Washington is racing to avert a full-blown war between Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese movement Hezbollah.
U.S. President Joe Biden escorts Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to their trilateral summit at the White House in Washington in April.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 6, 2024

As U.S. ‘minilateral’ diplomacy grows, Japan emerges as key actor

As geopolitical tensions in the region rise, the breakout of any conflict would put Tokyo on the front lines alongside Washington.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin attend the Japan-U.S. Extended Deterrence Dialogue in Tokyo on July 28.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 7, 2024

Japan-U.S. alliance transforms with concrete 'two-plus-two' talks

Despite the long and challenging history of Japan-U.S. two-plus-two meetings, this year's Tokyo meeting was truly groundbreaking.
Researchers have flagged that Elon Musk, who purchased Twitter (now X) in 2022 and is a vocal backer of Donald Trump, appears to be swaying voters by spreading falsehoods on his personal account.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 9, 2024

Musk's misleading election posts viewed 1.2 billion times, study says

Elon Musk, who purchased Twitter (now X) in 2022 for $44 billion, is facing growing scrutiny over his potential influence on voters.
Flaring at the Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. Flaring, a common sight at LNG plants, is a controlled burning of gas for reasons ranging from depressurizing equipment to disposing of gas that can’t be used. The practice is a "waste of money" and negatively impacts climate change and human health, says the International Energy Agency.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Aug 11, 2024

Japan fuels U.S. LNG boom even as climate targets and impacts loom

For over half a century, Japan has been a sizable buyer of LNG, and its government, banks and energy companies have played a key role in continued investment.
Protesters countering the far right gather in London on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 12, 2024

White supremacists turn U.K. riots into online recruiting pitch

Using messaging app Telegram and social media platform X, they promote conspiracy theories and incite violence in their bid to lure new members.
California Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains, the first Sikh-American politician to be elected in the California State Legislature, poses for a picture with fellow assembly member Sharon Quirk-Silva while attending a luncheon gathering in Artesia, California, on June 8.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 13, 2024

Some U.S. Sikhs fear Modi government is threatening them

Some Sikhs in the U.S. described experiencing online harassment and surveillance at their homes.
France President Emmanuel Macron and International Olympic Committee         President Thomas Bach before the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics on Sunday.
OLYMPICS
Aug 13, 2024

Paris Olympics average 30.6 million U.S. viewers, a 82% bump from Tokyo

The BBC said the Games were streamed 218 million times on its platforms, more than doubling Tokyo's figures.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight