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A cartoon image of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump holding a Bitcoin token to mark the cryptocurrency reaching over $100,000 is displayed at a Coinhero store in Hong Kong on Dec. 5.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 20, 2025

Trump’s win sparked euphoria in markets — now comes the real test

A reversal was first apparent in the stock market, where the S&P 500 Index gave back a solid chunk of its "Trump bump.”
U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2025

Trump pledges to save U.S. from 'decline,' vowing new 'golden age'

Trump quickly signed a series of executive actions to curb immigration and roll back environmental regulations, but did not take immediate action to raise tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2025

Trump seizes control: his executive actions, from tariffs to immigration

Actions so far include pardoning nearly all charged over the 2021 Capitol riot, rescinding 78 orders by the previous administration, and again exiting the Paris Agreement.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya at the State Department in Washington on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 22, 2025

Top diplomats agree to take U.S.-Japan alliance to 'new heights'

Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and new U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also agreed on the importance of trilateral cooperation with South Korea and others.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on Stargate, as Oracle Executive Chairman Larry Ellison, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman look on in the Roosevelt room at the White House.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 22, 2025

SoftBank to help fund and lead Trump-backed Stargate AI project, a $500 billion venture

The president said it will be the largest AI infrastructure ever built and that it will help counter technology threats from China and other countries.
Workers unload equipment to set up a temporary shelter to receive migrants deported by the United States, in the El Punto area of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Society
Jan 23, 2025

Mexico builds temporary shelters to prepare for deportations from U.S.

The shelters in Ciudad Juarez will have the capacity to house thousands of people, a municipal official has said.
The start date and production levels for battery-powered Nissan cars to be manufactured at a plant in Canton, Mississippi, will depend in large part on whether U.S. President Donald Trump and the Republican Congress follow through on vows to scrap a $7,500 tax credit and other incentives for buyers and makers of EVs.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 25, 2025

Nissan looks to Trump-proof North American production plans

Nissan may slow a planned ramp-up of electric vehicles made in the U.S. after halting output at a joint venture in Mexico.
U.S. airmen and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency personnel prepare to load undocumented migrants onto a C-17 Globemaster III at Tucson International Airport in Tucson, Arizona, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 25, 2025

Trump deploys visible military force to launch migrant crackdown

Long done in the shadows, Trump’s administration is releasing photos and videos of authorities herding migrants onto C-17s, military planes.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks after being sworn in during a ceremony in Washington on Saturday.
WORLD
Jan 26, 2025

Pete Hegseth vote portends glide path for other Trump nominees

Trump's success in pushing through his Pentagon chief nomination despite private doubts among lawmakers amounted to a fresh testament to his hold over the GOP.
The U.S. head office of TikTok in Culver City, California
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 26, 2025

White House in talks to have Oracle and U.S. investors take over TikTok

Under the deal, ByteDance would retain a stake in the company, but data collection and software updates would be overseen by Oracle.
Constitutional Democratic Party head Yoshihiko Noda (right) at a plenary session in the Lower House in Tokyo on Monday
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 27, 2025

Constitutional Democratic Party head grills Ishiba on diplomacy with Trump

The CDP leader raised concerns about the United States' decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization and the Paris agreement on climate change.
Engineers with Chinese startup DeepSeek built a competitive AI model despite U.S. attempts to curtail China’s tech development, raising questions about the effectiveness of Washington’s trade curbs.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jan 28, 2025

DeepSeek’s AI model tests limits of U.S. restrictions on Nvidia chips

Powerful AI software from the Chinese startup indicates its engineers built a competitive model despite U.S. attempts to curtail Beijing's tech development with trade curbs.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a House Republican members conference meeting at Trump National Doral resort in Miami on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 28, 2025

Trump pledges tariffs ‘much bigger’ than 2.5% and on key sectors

The American president's remarks were the latest in a string of major signals that he’s preparing widespread levies to reshape U.S. supply chains.
Chrystia Freeland, Canada's former finance minister and candidate for Liberal Party leader and prime minister, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Jan 29, 2025

Trump threatens allies to send a message to China, Canada’s Freeland says

Freeland said a government led by her would hit the U.S. hard if Trump imposed tariffs.
With China's growing military threat against Taiwan, experts argue that real deterrence — such as increased training ties with Japan, the U.S. and other nations — may be necessary to prevent an invasion and protect regional stability.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 29, 2025

How to secure Taiwan as drumbeats of a looming invasion grow louder

It is high time to get creative for real deterrence to protect the democratic island.
Debris at the site of a deadly plane crash in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Thursday.
WORLD
Jan 31, 2025

Investigators seek to salvage aircraft after deadly Washington crash

Authorities have recovered black boxes but have not yet pinpointed a reason for the collision between the regional jet and a U.S. Army helicopter.
The GCT Deltaport container terminal at Roberts Bank Port in Delta, British Columbia, Canada, on Sunday
WORLD
Jan 31, 2025

Trump to hit Canada and Mexico with 25% tariffs on Saturday

Trump indicated the 25% rate could represent a floor, saying that the tariff levels "may or may not rise with time.”
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as his defense chief, Pete Hegseth, speaks about the midair crash between a passenger jet and U.S. Army helicopter on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 1, 2025

Trump’s Pentagon sheds no-politics image in a major reversal

In a break with his predecessors, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has become a major driver in Trump’s agenda.
Institutional security officers stand during a ceremony to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the United States ceding control of the Panama Canal to the government of Panama in 1999, in Panama City on Dec. 31, 2024.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 1, 2025

Why the U.S. is claiming China’s presence violates the Panama neutrality treaty

U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to take back the waterway during his Jan. 20 inauguration speech, falsely claiming that China is operating it.
Government officials and energy executives from countries such as India, Kuwait and Japan have been holding talks about procuring more U.S. gas, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 1, 2025

From India to Japan, specter of Trump tariffs spurs interest in U.S. gas

Trump’s tactics, however, are pushing away some other buyers, like those in China, the world’s top importer.
Palestinians who were emprisoned by Israel are welcomed by family and friends upon their arrival in the Gaza Strip on Saturday.
WORLD
Feb 2, 2025

Netanyahu to begin talks on second phase of Gaza truce

A date for formal talks involving mediators and delegations from Hamas and Israel has not been set, with the 42-day first phase due to end next month.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference as Ottawa responded to U.S. President Donald Trump's order to impose tariffs on Canadian imports, in Ottawa on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 2, 2025

‘Complete betrayal’: Canada reels as Trump tariffs rattle major trading relationship

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, speaking on a bitterly cold night in Ottawa, said Trump’s move left his government with no choice but to respond forcefully.
Many attribute the far right’s recent global rise to “anti-incumbency” bias, but this overlooks how the COVID-19 crisis fostered division and distrust, turning voters against their governments. 
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2025

Confronting the pandemic’s toxic political legacy

Libertarian resentment over past restrictions and mandates is one thing; an abiding distrust of scientists is quite another.
The Yangshan Deepwater Port in Shanghai on Jan. 20. China's Finance Ministry said it would impose levies of 15% for U.S. coal and LNG and 10% for crude oil, farm equipment and some autos.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 4, 2025

China hits back with tariffs on U.S. goods after Trump imposes new levies

Trump on Monday suspended his threat of 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada at the last minute, but there was no such reprieve for China.
DeepSeek’s AI breakthrough has shaken assumptions about China’s innovation, highlighted weaknesses in U.S. tech restrictions, and reinforced China’s push for self-sufficiency despite export controls.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 4, 2025

DeepSeek forces a rethink of China’s ability to innovate

The Trump administration hasn’t outlined a policy toward technology flows yet, but it ordered a review of export controls on day one.
Trading company Mitsui
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 4, 2025

Japan's Mitsui could study Alaska LNG project, but no decision yet

Japan is considering offering support for a $44-billion gas pipeline in Alaska as it seeks to court U.S. President Donald Trump and forestall potential trade friction.
DeepSeek's impressive AI breakthroughs have sparked global attention but face mounting U.S. scrutiny, with potential bans unlikely to stop its open-source technology from spreading worldwide.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2025

DeepSeek’s breakthroughs are too big for the U.S. to ban

The national security concerns behind the U.S. push to ban TikTok are even more pronounced when it comes to generative AI.
David Burritt, president and chief executive officer of U.S. Steel, in Detroit in September
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 7, 2025

Trump meets U.S. Steel CEO as Nippon Steel hopes to save deal

The meeting took place one day before Trump is due to meet with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
Nippon Steel's pursuit of U.S. Steel has stretched on for more than a year, with U.S. President Donald Trump vociferously condemning the proposal on numerous occasions, before Friday's more tempered remarks at the Oval Office with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at his side.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 8, 2025

Trump says Nippon Steel will invest in U.S. Steel, not buy it

It was unclear if the investment referred to a new deal structure and what the details of the transaction would be.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and U.S. President Donald Trump. Microsoft and Nvidia are quietly engaging with the Trump administration on policies affecting AI, chip exports and data centers
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 9, 2025

Tech giants Microsoft and Nvidia taking a quieter approach to Trump

Under Biden, the United States curbed the sale of Nvidia chips to China and capped the sales of its AI chips to more than 100 other countries

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