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U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping attend the Group of 20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires in December 2018. Instead of appeasing dictators and shredding alliances, the U.S. should beef up its network of partners. Alone, it won’t emerge victorious from the rivalry with Beijing.  
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 29, 2025

How to make America truly 'great again'

Instead of trying to go it alone, Washington should fix its internal problems and build up its external alliances if it wants to come out on top of the competition with China.
While the results were better than analysts had expected, investors are focused on how tariff concerns will play out in the coming quarter.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 2, 2025

Tim Cook says unchanged U.S. tariffs could dent Apple’s next-quarter margins

Apple Q2 beats expectations but warns that unchanged tariffs could cost the company $900 million and requires drastic supply-chain realignment.
An Indian paramilitary trooper stands guard along a street in Srinagar on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 2, 2025

India renews call for ‘justice’ after U.S. urges de-escalation

Relations between India and Pakistan have rapidly deteriorated in the wake of an attack last week that India and the U.S. have called an act of terrorism.
Naoya Inoue works out in Los Angeles in April. Inoue will put his undisputed super bantamweight crown on the line against Ramon Cardenas in Las Vegas on May 4.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
May 2, 2025

'The Monster' Naoya Inoue returns to U.S. to defend undisputed title

The pound-for-pound superstar remains undefeated with 29 wins — a staggering 26 coming by way of knockout.
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife, Lady Victoria Starmer host a VE Day 80th Anniversary street party on Downing Street, central London, on Monday.
WORLD
May 6, 2025

U.K. kicks off party to mark 80 years since the end of World War II

Tens of thousands defied the damp weather on the Union Jack-lined Mall to watch the parade, which began with Winston Churchill's 1945 victory speech.
The Trump administration has launched a full-scale federal "plastic patriotism" effort to eliminate paper straws, arguing they are ineffective, hazardous, more expensive and become soggy.
COMMENTARY / World
May 6, 2025

A world restored: The U.S. takes the offensive against paper straws

The Trump team has issued an executive order and a national strategy to rid the country of the pulpy, soggy mess of paper straws that torments too many of America's citizens.
Smoke billows up at Sanaa Airport in Yemen after Israeli military warplanes struck the Houthi rebel-held capital on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2025

U.S. and Yemen's Houthis agree to ceasefire

The deal comes after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States would end attacks against the Houthis after the rebels agreed to stop harassing ships.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping shake hands during a welcoming ceremony before their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
May 9, 2025

'Friends of steel': Xi and Putin pledge to stand together against U.S.

At talks in the Kremlin, the two leaders cast themselves as defenders of a new world order no longer dominated by the U.S.
Palestinians queue for a portion of hot food distributed by a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD
May 9, 2025

U.S. says solution for Gaza aid is 'steps away' as aid groups raise alarm

Anticipation has built up about a new aid plan for Gaza, laid waste by 19 months of an Israeli military campaign against Hamas.
Shinzo Abe, then the Chief Cabinet Secretary, shakes hands with former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage during a symposium in Tokyo in July 2006.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 9, 2025

Remembering two titans in Japan-U.S. relations

Their good humor, unflagging optimism and commitment to building a stronger Japan-U.S. alliance continues to shape that partnership.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (second right) and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer (left) meet with Japan’s economic revitalization minister, Ryosei Akazawa, in Washington on May 1. In an attempt to ease trade tensions, Bessent and Greer will meet with a Chinese team in Switzerland from Saturday. 
EDITORIALS
May 9, 2025

A moment of hope for U.S-China trade frictions

The U.S. and China will meet in Switzerland to discuss trade tensions, but deep mistrust and structural issues are hurdles they will have to overcome to make progress.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a Lower House committee meeting on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 11, 2025

Ishiba vows Japan will stand its ground, demanding U.S. lift auto tariffs

The U.S. is an important market for the Japanese automobile industry, accounting for about 20% of its total car exports in terms of volume and about 30% in terms of value.
White South Africans rally outside the U.S. embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, on Feb. 15. Dozens of Afrikaners who claim discrimination in their home country left Johannesburg on Sunday. Their departure for the U.S. comes as the Trump administration has halted virtually all refugee admissions.
WORLD / Politics
May 12, 2025

First white South Africans board plane for U.S. under Trump refugee plan

South African authorities say the Trump administration has waded into a domestic political issue it does not understand.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney finishes a news conference in Ottawa on May 2. U.S. President Donald Trump's persistent desire to annex its northern neighbor continues despite Canada's rejection the notion.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 12, 2025

Sorry, America. Canada’s just not that into you.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has been tactful but firm. Yet President Donald Trump can’t seem to take no for an answer.
Palestinians struggle to receive food cooked from a charity kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on April 29.
WORLD / Politics
May 14, 2025

U.N. humanitarian chief slams Gaza aid plan Israel proposed and U.S. backs

No humanitarian aid has been delivered to Gaza since March 2, and a global hunger monitor has warned that half a million people face starvation.
A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker is tugged toward a thermal power station in Futtsu, Chiba Prefecture, in 2017.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2025

Japan under pressure from U.S. to invest in Alaska LNG pipeline

Doubts over the pipeline's profitability and viability leaves Japan's participation in the $44 billion (nearly ¥6.7 trillion) project uncertain.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's tariff czar, after the first round of talks in Washington. Media reports indicate he may be headed back to the United States next week for the third round of negotiations.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 15, 2025

Third round of U.S.-Japan tariff talks may be held next week: report

Akazawa’s two previous visits to Washington yielded no tangible results.
Over 30 years, U.S.-China trade talks have largely failed because Beijing prioritizes protecting its political system, making only symbolic concessions, while Washington struggles to win lasting changes.
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2025

The U.S. will never win a trade war with China

For sure, the 90-day truce is merely temporary relief. As long as negotiations continue as they are, the U.S. will not be able to win a trade war with China
A new U.S. citizen holds a U.S. flag after a naturalization ceremony in Boston on March 11.
COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2025

U.S. citizenship could soon look very different

Trump's vision tilts heavily toward the wealthy and well-to-do, with special shortcuts for them and barriers to entry for the rest.
China slapped antidumping duties on imports of engineering plastic, including 35.5% duties on shipments from Japan.
BUSINESS
May 19, 2025

China slaps antidumping duties on plastics from U.S., EU, Japan and Taiwan

POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc and have various applications including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Feb. 13. Trump’s coercive use of trade threats against India during the Pakistan military crisis has undermined trust in the U.S.-India partnership and exposed Washington as an unreliable security ally.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 21, 2025

Trump’s wake-up call for India’s foreign policy

Trump may have done India a favor. His actions have exposed an uncomfortable truth: Under his leadership, the U.S. is not a dependable partner in matters of security.
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has proposed setting up a U.S.-Japan sovereign wealth fund to make large investments in technology and infrastructure, according to the Financial Times.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 25, 2025

Softbank’s Son floats idea of U.S.-Japan sovereign wealth fund, report says

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has discussed the plan with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, although it hasn’t been formally proposed.
A military exercise in Bali, Taiwan, on July 27, 2023. Taiwan Defense Minister Wellington Koo says the Trump administration has a shared interest in security in the region, but Taiwan must also ready its own forces for asymmetric warfare.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 26, 2025

In Trump era, Taiwan defense chief says U.S. still is a check on China

Wellington Koo says the Trump administration has a shared interest in security in the region, but Taiwan must also ready its own forces for asymmetric warfare.
Members of the Okinawa Prefectural Police and the U.S. military conduct a joint patrol in the city of Okinawa in April. Prefectural police arrested a U.S. Marine for an alleged hit-and-run case on Sunday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 26, 2025

U.S. Marine arrested for Okinawa hit-and-run that injured four

Lance Cpl. Ivan Garcia-Martinez’s breathalyzer test showed an alcohol level approximately twice the legal limit, police said.
A United States Steel plant in River Rouge, Michigan. The guessing game continues as to what a "partnership" between Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel, as announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, actually entails.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 26, 2025

Even Nippon Steel is unsure about what a ‘partnership’ with U.S. Steel means

U.S. President Donald Trump's plan for the steelmakers has left the markets guessing and the participants keen to remain mum.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivers a speech during the ASEAN-GCC-China Economic Forum's official dinner in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 28, 2025

China aims to capitalize on U.S. tariff turmoil with new ASEAN-GCC forum

The summit with Southeast Asian and Arab Gulf states is the latest sign of more countries looking to join hands to fend off U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff push.
Products affected by the U.S. order to stop shipping goods to China without a license include design software and chemicals for semiconductors.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 29, 2025

U.S. curbs chip design software, chemicals and other shipments to China

The new restrictions appear aimed at choke points to prevent China from getting products necessary for key sectors.
The Trump administration's escalating campaign against Harvard — cutting billions in funding, blocking foreign students, and threatening its independence — marks an unprecedented attack on U.S. higher education.
EDITORIALS
May 30, 2025

U.S. soft power is a casualty in Trump’s war on Harvard

The fight against Harvard will do extensive and potentially irreparable injury. It is an extraordinary act of self-harm.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, is in Washington again for a fourth round of high-level negotiations with the United States.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 30, 2025

Tariff talks with U.S. a mix of slow progress, ever-present uncertainty 

Japan's chief negotiator is back in Washington for another round of high-level negotiations.
Philippines Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 2, 2025

Philippines vague on U.S. missile deployments, but clear on one thing

Manila has already secured the funds to buy its own midrange missiles, according to Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro.

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