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Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thailand's prime minister, holds a news conference in Bangkok on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 19, 2025

Youngest Thai prime minister faces swift end to her short career

After her largest backer pulled support, Paetongtarn Shinawatra has barely enough votes for a parliamentary majority and other key allies are holding urgent talks today.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will be the first reigning emperor and empress to visit Mongolia.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2025

Emperor and empress to visit Mongolia in July

They will be the first reigning emperor and empress to visit Mongolia. The emperor visited the country in 2007 when he was Crown Prince.
Japan’s governance reforms launched in 2015 sparked a surge in M&A and investor activism, but critics warn the resulting foreign takeovers and short-term focus may come at a cost.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 20, 2025

Has Japan's corporate revolution worked too well?

From private equity to activist investors to consolidation among companies fearful they’ll be targeted next, no acquisition seems beyond the pale.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi steps off the plane upon his arrival at OFranjo Tudjmano airport in Zagreb, Croatia, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health / FOCUS
Jun 21, 2025

Modi's ambitious water plan fails to quench India's thirst

On paper, the water initiative is a success. But unconnected water tanks and broken taps point to a very different reality on the ground.
Kirsty Coventry, who will formally take over as the president of the International Olympic Committe on Monday, speaks during a news conference in Costa Navarino, Greece, in March.
OLYMPICS
Jun 21, 2025

As sports embrace gender tests, Coventry and IOC may follow

Such testing has its share of critics and the Olympics have already tried it once only to abandon it in 1996.
Smoke rises from an Israeli attack on an oil refinery in Tehran on June 15.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 22, 2025

Trump’s airstrikes on Iran leave oil market poised for surge

A recent rise in the price of oil is expected to restart on Monday after the U.S. assault dramatically raised the stakes in a region that accounts for a third of global oil output.
The Suns agreed to trade Kevin Durant to the Rockets in a blockbuster deal on Sunday.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jun 23, 2025

Suns to send Kevin Durant to Rockets in blockbuster trade

"Being part of the Houston Rockets, I'm looking forward to it," Durant said. "Crazy, crazy last couple weeks, but I'm glad it's over with."
Rice paddies in the city of Asahikawa, Hokkaido. Rice is a major crop for Hokkaido, with the region having produced 562,400 tons of it last year.
BUSINESS / Economy / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jun 30, 2025

U.S. import pressure raises concerns for Hokkaido agriculture

The U.S. is nudging Japan to import more rice, soybeans, and maize — vital crops that support Hokkaido's economy.
Shareholders enter a venue of Honda's annual general meeting in Tokyo on Thursday. Companies are seeking to build shareholder support as activists inundate them with an unprecedented number of proposals.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 23, 2025

Japanese companies offer gifts to boost their ranks of loyal retail investors

A survey by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank showed 11% of firms gave out gifts at shareholder meetings in 2024, up from 4% in 2021.
Taiyo Holdings Chief Executive Officer Eiji Sato
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 23, 2025

Japan activist clout shown in shareholder rejection of Taiyo CEO

Voting out a company’s CEO candidate, something that doesn’t happen often in Japan, is another sign of how activist investors are pushing to change company policies.
A checkout system equipped with a display showing a 3D avatar enables a Lawson employee to remotely help customers at an experimental Lawson store that opened Monday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 23, 2025

Lawson beta tests futuristic convenience store with KDDI

Real x Tech Lawson utilizes a range of technologies, including robotics, digital signage and artificial intelligence.
Tokio Marine has made a string of big acquisitions in the U.S. in recent years to make up for limited growth prospects at home.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2025

Tokio Marine hunts for deals abroad and sees room for growth in U.S.

The insurer has the capacity for more deals overseas after generating record profits by selling shareholdings worth tens of billions of dollars.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's grandson Hassan Khomeini stands next to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the 36th anniversary of the death of the leader of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, at Khomeini's shrine in southern Tehran on June 4.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2025

Search for successor to Iran's Khamenei hastens as tensions erupt into conflict

Israel attacked Iran and threatened to assassinate its veteran leader.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects nuclear warheads at an undisclosed location. Events in Iran are likely to reinforce Pyongyang's belief that nuclear weapons ensure regime survival, with Pakistan and Libya providing lessons on how to get them and why giving them up can be fatal.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 24, 2025

Kim Jong Un’s nuclear lessons should trouble the rest of us

Operation Rising Lion has reaffirmed the belief that nuclear weapons are essential to protect a nation from attack.
Migrants are rescued from a wooden boat by Doctors Without Borders in international waters off the coast of Tunisia in the central Mediterranean Sea in July 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2025

Hard EU line on migration rose from the ashes of compassion

A decade ago, the image of a 3-year-old Syrian boy washed up dead on a beach prompted an outpouring of emotion and renewed commitments to take in refugees.
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 29, 2025

With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining

Want to be an advocate of Japan’s marine health? Look out for sustainably farmed fish the next time you dine at a restaurant.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant who lived in the U.S. legally with a work permit and was erroneously deported to El Salvador, is seen wearing a Chicago Bulls hat, in this image obtained on April 9.
WORLD
Jun 27, 2025

Trump administration will put Abrego on trial before deporting him again

The case of Kilmar Abrego has become a flashpoint over U.S. President Donald Trump's hard-line immigration agenda.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that terror victims can sue the Palestinian Authority and PLO in American courts, a decision likely to impact future cases and the law.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 27, 2025

Foreign terror has a price in U.S. courts

The lower courts dismissed the cases on the ground that they lacked jurisdiction over the defendants. The U.S. Supreme Court disagreed.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a news conference at the White House on Friday in Washington.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 28, 2025

Trump says he will 'get the conflict solved with North Korea'

Trump also appeared to spotlight fears among U.S. allies that his administration could put their security in jeopardy by not adhering to alliance commitments.
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Jun 29, 2025

As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity

With hot weather and a growing population, the region is becoming a key growth market for Daikin and other players. But experts warn of a vicious cycle leading to more emissions.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy
WORLD / Politics
Jun 30, 2025

U.K. considers envoy for Britons held abroad

Cases like jailed Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abdel Fattah and imprisoned Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai have highlighted the issue.
Racks of servers being tested at the new Amazon Web Services facility in New Carlisle, Indiana, on June 3
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 30, 2025

AI data-center boom could destroy Big Tech's net-zero plans

The tech sector faces a "climate strategy crisis" as its data centers demand ever more electricity and water to power growing fields, such as artificial intelligence.
China is preparing to counter the rising threat of U.S.-backed digital dollars by leveraging its powerful e-commerce firms and Hong Kong’s crypto-friendly financial system to promote stablecoins tied to local currencies.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2025

China is more than ready for U.S. stablecoins

E-commerce prowess and Hong Kong’s financial chops can ward off the threat from digital dollars.
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in 2016
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 30, 2025

Dalai Lama set to reveal succession plan as China watches

The Dalai Lama has said his successor will be born outside China and urged his followers to reject anyone chosen by Beijing.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh on May 14.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 1, 2025

Trump lifts U.S. sanctions on Syria in bid to boost new government

The order removes various sanctions on Syria, effective July 1, while keeping those on former President Bashar Assad.
Pro-China supporters hold Chinese flags at an event celebrating the 28th anniversary of the former British colony's handover to Chinese rule, in Hong Kong, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 1, 2025

Hong Kong rights record under fire as it marks China handover anniversary

Lee's government enacted a separate security law of its own in 2024 saying it was needed to restore order.
The Iranian shores and the island of Qeshm are seen in the Strait of Hormuz on Dec. 10, 2023. Two U.S. officials said Tehran was gearing up to blockade the strait following Israel's strikes on sites across Iran last month.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 2, 2025

Iran made preparations to deploy mines in Strait of Hormuz, U.S. sources say

About one-fifth of global oil and gas shipments pass through the strait, and a blockage would likely have spiked world energy prices.
Coco Gauff reacts as she plays against Dayana Yastremska during their match on the second day of Wimbledon on Tuesday.
TENNIS
Jul 2, 2025

Gauff ousted on day of Wimbledon shocks as Djokovic launches history bid

Instead of building on her success at the French Open, 21-year-old Gauff suffered her earliest Grand Slam exit since another first-round loss at Wimbledon in 2023.
Workers take a break near a ship under construction at China State Shipbuilding Corp.'s Longxue Shipyard in Guangzhou, China, in November 2011.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jul 2, 2025

China’s shipyard dominance leads to geoeconomic risks

According to 2024 data from the Chinese government, the country ranks first worldwide in ship completions, new orders and order backlogs.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji