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A satellite image provided by NOAA shows Tropical Storm Florence (upper left) in the Atlantic Ocean on Sept. 11, 2018.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 2, 2025

NOAA budget cuts to gut U.S. climate research and slash jobs

Critics say the reductions will diminish the ability to predict weather and erode the quality of weather models.
A port near Shanghai. Beijing has often responded to actions it opposes with targeted trade measures.
BUSINESS
Jul 3, 2025

Beijing braces for U.S. trade deals that aim to shut out China

China is becoming increasingly wary of U.S. efforts to forge deals that could isolate Chinese firms from global supply chains.
Akira Otani's genre-bending novel "The Night of Baba Yaga" takes place in Japan’s 1970s yakuza underworld and centers on the daughter of a mob boss and a ruthless martial arts fighter who serves as her bodyguard.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jul 4, 2025

Queer-coded yakuza story wins prestigious U.K. crime writing award

With “The Night of Baba Yaga,” Akira Otani is the first Japanese writer to win the Crime Writers’ Association Dagger Award for crime fiction in translation.
The Kadena U.S. Air Force Base in Kadena, Okinawa Prefecture, in August 2023. An airman from the base was arrested last weekend for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 7, 2025

Two U.S. servicemen arrested in Okinawa over assaults

A 25-year-old airman is accused of punching his girlfriend while, separately, a 21-year-old marine allegedly put his hands around the neck of an unacquainted man.
A concept model of the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) fighter jet is displayed during the DSEI Japan forum in the city of Chiba in May.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2025

Japan, U.K. and Italy open to Saudis joining next-gen fighter program

The three partners have tacitly agreed to such a move — but only once the project is underway and all outstanding points have been cleared.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters in Washington on June 27.
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2025

U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent to visit Japan next week for Expo

The visit comes after Donald Trump stated his intention to raise tariffs on all Japanese imports to 25% — slightly higher than the 24% rate initially announced in April.
The Transportation Security Administration’s reversal on removing shoes ends a policy that has been for nearly two decades one of the most visible — and criticized — features of the post-9/11 heightened U.S. airport security system.
WORLD
Jul 9, 2025

U.S. travelers can keep shoes on at airport security, TSA says

The reversal ends a policy that has been for nearly two decades one of the most visible features of the post-9/11 heightened U.S. airport security system.
Alan Bates, a former branch manager who led the fight for justice, has said the compensation process has "turned into quasi-kangaroo courts."
WORLD
Jul 9, 2025

U.K. post office scandal may have caused 13 suicides: inquiry

The Post Office wrongfully prosecuted around 1,000 subpostmasters — self-employed branch managers — between 1999 and 2015.
A sample of gallium (Ga)
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2025

How U.S. buyers of critical minerals bypass China's export ban

Trade data illustrate a re-routing of U.S. shipments via third countries — an issue Chinese officials have acknowledged.
Apple is reportedly challenging current Formula One broadcaster ESPN for the sport's U.S. television rights next year.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Jul 9, 2025

Apple eyes U.S. Formula 1 broadcast rights after movie success: report

The report follows the strong box office performance of Apple's high-octane racing film "F1: The Movie."
Former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama says she is stepping back from traditional politics to focus on cultural influence through her podcast, reflecting a broader trend of Black women redefining political engagement.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 9, 2025

Michelle Obama is quitting politics. Or is she?

Her misgivings about politics and the spotlight that she and her husband commanded in the White House as historic figures have only grown in recent years.
The yen-dollar exchange rate is displayed outside a securities firm in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 10, 2025

Japan unlikely to face U.S. pressure to strengthen yen, ex-top FX diplomat says

Masatsugu Asakawa was deeply involved in Japan's trade and currency negotiations with the U.S. when he was vice finance minister for international affairs.
Jensen Huang, co-founder and CEO of Nvidia, speaks during a news conference in Taipei on May 21.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 15, 2025

Nvidia to resume H20 AI chip sales to China in U.S. reversal

U.S. government officials told Nvidia they would green-light export licenses for the H20 artificial intelligence accelerator, the company said in a blog post.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron hold a news conference in London on July 10 after wrapping up a joint military visit.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 16, 2025

France and U.K. tighten nuclear ties amid questions over U.S. commitment

While France and the U.K. are taking a positive step for European security, the announcement is both more and less than it seems.
Tomoko Tamura, chairperson of the Japanese Communist Party, attends a debate with other party leaders in Tokyo in October. Her party urges voters to end the LDP’s business-centered politics and U.S. dependence by supporting its social, economic and foreign-policy reforms.
COMMENTARY / Japan / From Party Leaders
Jul 16, 2025

JCP vows fairer taxes, stronger social safety net and a commitment to peaceful diplomacy

Tamura says LDP’s politics are now in a terminal and critical state with the party unable to respond to domestic and international issues or the wishes of the people.
A packaged box of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) bears the USAID logo, inside MANA Nutrition’s plant in Fitzgerald, Georgia, on May 21.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 17, 2025

U.S. aid workers lobbied to save food stocks after Trump cuts

Wasted food will be turned into landfill or incinerated in the United Arab Emirates, costing the U.S. government an additional $100,000.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on June 26. The Donald Trump-ordered strikes on Iran, said to be an example of the “Trump Doctrine,” ignore decades of failed U.S. attempts to force adversaries to back down through short bursts of military power. 
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2025

The 'Trump Doctrine' is wishful thinking

The Donald Trump-ordered strikes on Iran, claimed to prove a unique “Trump Doctrine,” ignore decades of failed U.S. attempts to force adversaries to back down.
Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd gives a speech during the 2017 Asia Game Changer Awards and Gala Dinner in Manhattan, New York, in November 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 19, 2025

Australia confident issues raised in U.S. AUKUS review will be resolved

Australian Ambassador to the U.S. Kevin Rudd said his country is working with the Pentagon on the U.S. Defense Department's review of the AUKUS submarine project.
Delta Air Lines last week reported a 5% year-on-year jump in its second-quarter premium ticket revenue, compared to a 5% decline in main cabin revenue.
BUSINESS
Jul 21, 2025

U.S. airlines reap rewards from premium travel strategy amid demand slump

Strong demand from affluent travelers is helping airlines offset a pullback in spending by price-sensitive customers.
An Amazon Web Services data center in Ashburn, Virginia
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 23, 2025

AI should run on 100% renewable energy by 2030, U.N. chief says

A typical AI data center consumes as much power as 100,000 homes, according to the U.N., and the largest centers now being built will use 20 times that.
European Council President Antonio Costa (left) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (right) join hands with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba prior to a meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 23, 2025

Japan and EU launch trade ‘alliance’ amid concerns over U.S. and China

The new agreement will expand bilateral trade ties, promote business cooperation and explore ways to diversify critical mineral supply chains.
David Oscar Markus, an attorney for Ghislaine Maxwell, talks with the media as he leaves the first meeting his client had with Department of Justice officials at the Federal Courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, on Thursday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jul 26, 2025

Top U.S. Justice Department official questions Epstein accomplice for second day

Todd Blanche, who is also Trump's former personal attorney, has declined to say what he discussed with Ghislaine Maxwell in the highly unusual meetings.
With tariffs at an 80-year high and the U.S. dollar behaving unpredictably, the Fed should hold off on cutting rates until there’s clear evidence that inflation remains under control.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 27, 2025

The Fed needs to tread carefully with this strange dollar

Given that range of possibilities, it’s prudent to wait for the data to tell the story, exactly as Fed Chair Jerome Powell is currently planning.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has called off a trip to Central and South America that would have included stopovers in the U.S.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 29, 2025

Taiwan's Lai calls off trip with U.S. transit as Trump seeks Xi summit

The Taiwanese president had intended to stop in New York and then Dallas as part of a trip to diplomatic allies in Central and South America.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Washington in January.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 30, 2025

As China advances and the U.S. retreats, Japan-India ties grow stronger

Located on two ends of the Indo-Pacific region, India and Japan anchor a stable counterweight to China and a mercurial Trump.
Palestinians carry aid supplies from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the central Gaza Strip, on Thursday.
WORLD
Aug 1, 2025

U.S. shifts toward Israel after envoy meets Netanyahu in bid for Gaza aid and truce

The U.S. also announced sanctions on officials of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization, which run a state France, the U.K. and Canada may recognize.
The impeachment exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington
WORLD / Politics
Aug 3, 2025

U.S. museum says Trump administration did not compel impeachment display removal

The placard was meant to be temporary and "did not meet the museum's standards in appearance, location, timeline and overall presentation," the Smithsonian said.
A monitor in Tokyo shows the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropping on Monday morning.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 4, 2025

Stocks in Japan slump after U.S. data spark growth worries

The broader Topix Index and the blue-chip 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average pared some of their earlier losses but closed down 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively.
U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen shake hands following the announcement of a new U.S.-EU trade deal on July 27 in Turnberry, Scotland.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2025

The EU’s economic surrender only deepens its dependence on the U.S.

The European Union’s tariff deal with U.S. President Donald Trump highlights the bloc’s inability to present a united front.
Britain’s latest defense review highlights a growing gap between its military ambitions and economic constraints, as limited spending, troop shortages and political hesitation hinder readiness amid rising global threats.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2025

U.K. military rhetoric is not matching fiscal reality

U.K. prime ministers have a habit of over-promising and underdelivering on military commitments.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes