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Demonstrators hold a rally to honor the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in front of the Russian Embassy in Warsaw on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 18, 2024

The lonesome death of a Russian opposition leader

The prison where Navalny died, Nicknamed “Polar Wolf,” is a freezing cold gulag for violent criminals. But Navalny — an anti-corruption lawyer and blogger.
Palestinians help an injured man in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2024

The Gaza war isn't a Holocaust, but it's still a nightmare

There are, sadly, many examples in history of the kind of conflict under way in Gaza, and the Holocaust isn’t one of them.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in Ottawa in May 2009.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 1, 2024

Brian Mulroney, former Canadian prime minister, is dead at 84

Mulroney was known as the Canadian leader who led the country into the North American Free Trade Agreement with the United States and Mexico.
Korean Canadian director, playwright and screenwriter Celine Song walks on the stage to pose for photos after a screening of her film, "Past Lives" in Seoul last week.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 7, 2024

Oscar-nominated Korean diaspora film follows 'lives we leave behind'

"Past Lives," which marks Celine Song's debut as a director, is one of several recent films that address the Korean diaspora.
Trevor Bauer has not pitched in MLB since the 2021 season.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 8, 2024

Trevor Bauer to return to Dodgers' facilities on quest for MLB comeback

Bauer's quest to return to the major leagues will take him through the Los Angeles Dodgers' facility in Glendale, Arizona.
A Palestinian child stands in the remains of a building following an Israeli airstrike in a residential neighborhood of Deir al-Balah, in the Gaza Strip, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 11, 2024

Israel-Hamas cease-fire agreement elusive as Ramadan arrives

The U.S. had been hoping for a breakthrough in the negotiations before Islam’s holy month of Ramadan, which began after sundown Sunday.
Firefighters tackle a blaze near the village of Piedrafita in northern Spain's Asturias region on March 31.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 12, 2024

Europe must do more against 'catastrophic' climate risks, EU says

The risks are plenty and varied, including fires, water shortages, flooding, erosion and saltwater intrusion.
China insists that for meaningful negotiations to occur, the nuclear arsenals of the U.S. and Russia must be reduced to levels comparable to its own.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2024

China’s ‘minimum’ nuclear deterrence is still a threat

Estimates of the number of Chinese warheads range from 400 to 500, a striking contrast to the several thousand that the U.S and Russia possess.
Israeli police officers hold fire extinguishers during a protest against  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in Tel Aviv on Saturday.
WORLD
Mar 31, 2024

Deadly chaos at Gaza aid distribution as WHO renews hospital warning

U.N. agencies have warned repeatedly that northern Gaza is on the verge of a man-made famine.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz walks as families and supporters of hostages kidnapped in the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas take part in a four-day march from Reim to Jerusalem as they call for the release of hostages, near Beit Shemesh, Israel, on March 1.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 4, 2024

Israel’s Gantz ups ante with Netanyahu by calling for early elections

Gantz has seen his popularity among Israeli voters surge as that of Netanyahu has taken a nosedive.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (left), South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin (center) and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi prior to the trilateral foreign ministers' meeting in Busan, South Korea, in November
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 5, 2024

China, Japan and South Korea looking to hold summit in May, reports say

The three-way talks could follow a summit set for next week in Washington where Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is due to meet U.S. President Joe Biden.
Two astronauts from Japan are set to take part in the Artemis program, a NASA-led effort to return astronauts to the moon.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2024

Japanese astronaut to be first non-American to set foot on moon

The offer to Japan came as part of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's state visit, and as Washington seeks to strengthen ties with a key ally.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about student protests at U.S. universities during brief remarks at the White House in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
May 3, 2024

After breaking silence, Biden faces balancing act on Gaza demos

Biden took a tough, law-and-order tone after police broke up some of the protests that have rocked U.S. college campuses.
BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda has talked about the potential need for a monetary policy response given foreign exchange rates’ impact on the economy. Last month, the yen touched its weakest level in 34 years, ¥160 per dollar, before rebounding.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 20, 2024

BOJ Gov. Ueda finally toughens message on the weak yen

Though most of the factors behind the flailing currency lie outside of Japan, the central bank and Finance Ministry have some agency in determining events. They should use it.
Joe Biden’s tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and other imports are more than symbolic — they are a signal that the U.S. won’t accept a surge of imports that could undermine crucial parts of his administration’s agenda.
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2024

The U.S. is preparing for a second 'China shock'

The immediate impact of these tariffs will be small, because the United States currently imports very few of the affected goods from China.
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.
The cast of “Megalopolis” joins director Francis Ford Coppola on the red carpet at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2024

‘Megalopolis’ got the Hollywood treatment. The bad kind.

The real issue is that the American film industry, in its current condition, cannot make heads or tails of a movie like "Megalopolis."
President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Tuesday, en route to Paris for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in France.
WORLD
Jun 5, 2024

Traveling to Europe, Biden will find both solidarity and isolation

Critics of Biden said he has no one to blame for his diplomatic challenges in Europe but himself for an inconsistent approach to international crises.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivers remarks during a press conference following the announcement that the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 13, 2024

Fed leaves rates unchanged and says cuts delayed to possibly December

U.S. policymakers are content to leave rates where they are until the economy sends a clear signal that something else is needed.
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."
Former Giants star Orlando Cepeda stands in front of his old No. 30 during a ceremony to retire his number, in San Francisco in 1999.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 29, 2024

Orlando Cepeda, baseball slugger known as the Baby Bull, dies at 86

Playing for 17 seasons in the major leagues, Cepeda hit 379 home runs, had 2,351 hits, drove in 1,365 runs and had a career batting average of .297.
England's Jude Bellingham scores against Slovakia during their Euro 2024 match in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, on Sunday.
SOCCER
Jul 1, 2024

Jude Bellingham keeps England alive and silences critics with miracle goal at Euro 2024

Bellingham's effort took the match to extra time, with Harry Kane heading home for a 2-1 win.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. A Bloomberg survey showed some 14 of 48 economists predict the BOJ will raise its policy rate at the next week’s meeting.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 24, 2024

Most BOJ watchers see July rate hike risk with bond-buying cut

Survey respondents also predicted the central bank will cut bond-buying to ¥5 trillion per month starting in August.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (right) during a meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 24, 2024

Why Japan's mysterious stash of classified funds escapes scrutiny

The funds can be used by the chief cabinet secretary with no explanation needed, fueling speculation of widespread misappropriation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 25, 2024

Netanyahu sketches vague outline for postwar Gaza

Israeli leader also accused anti-Israel protesters as standing with Hamas, charging without evidence that they were backed by Iran
Nicolas Maduro speaks to members of the media after casting a ballot in Caracas on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 29, 2024

Venezuela opposition rejects Maduro election win

Venezuela’s political opposition has vehemently rejected the electoral authority’s ruling that Nicolas Maduro was reelected as the nation’s president, calling on the military to intervene. The U.S. and some Latin American neighbors also raised concerns about the official result.
People take part in a protest organized by pro-abortion rights, pro-LGBT rights and pro-Palestinian activists, on the eve of the Democratic National Convention, in Chicago on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 19, 2024

Pro-Palestinian delegates to Democratic convention to push for Israel arms embargo

Pro-Palestinian activists say Harris has been more sympathetic to Gazans than Biden has been.
Astellas Pharma's headquarters in Tokyo
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2024

Japanese citizen indicted on suspicion of espionage, China confirms

Chinese prosecutors have indicted a Japanese citizen on suspicion of espionage, China's foreign ministry said.
Looming interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and a new hawkishness on the part of the Bank of Japan can make a claim for the yens recent movements.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 13, 2024

Epic yen rally is a lesson in the lost art of FX intervention

Japan's own proactive currency interventions have played a crucial role in the yen's recent recovery.
The Shenzhen Japanese School in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 20, 2024

Xi’s nationalism faces a reckoning after the murder of a Japanese boy

The Chinese government is now grappling with online hatred spilling over into real-life violence.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?