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Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 7, 2025

Ukraine keeps its Kursk bargaining chip for any Russia talks

Russian forces have, so far, reclaimed only about half of the area that Ukraine took last year.
Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, speaks at a White House event with President Donald Trump, left; Softbank chief executive Masayoshi Son, third from left; and Larry Ellison, chairman of Oracle, at the White House on Jan. 21.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 9, 2025

How Sam Altman sidestepped Elon Musk to win over Donald Trump

After helping President Trump get elected, Elon Musk was poised to dominate the nation’s AI policies. But someone got there before him.
People block the Ayalon highway during a protest in support of the hostages kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, in Tel Aviv on Monday.
WORLD
Feb 11, 2025

Ceasefire in doubt after Hamas says it will stop releasing Israeli hostages

U.S. President Donald Trump said that if all the hostages are not returned by noon Saturday, he would propose canceling the ceasefire, letting "all hell break loose."
A structure burns during the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 7.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 11, 2025

It’s ‘virtually certain’ the world has already breached 1.5 C

"Every increment of warming above 1.5 degrees Celsius means worse extremes,” said a research scientist.
U.S. President Donald Trump and King Abdullah II of Jordan shake hands during a meeting in the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 12, 2025

Trump eases off aid threat after Jordan agrees to take ill Gaza children

The king's visit to Washington shows Arab leaders have little choice but to deal with the emboldened U.S. president.
Japanese companies face mounting pressure as U.S.-China tensions grow, forcing them to navigate security concerns, economic dependencies and shifting trade policies.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 12, 2025

For Japanese firms, the China dilemma is set to intensify

“America First” and “Make America Great Again” are simple slogans that can be fitted to any outcome. All that ultimately matters is the final say of the president.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki in July 2018
WORLD / Politics
Feb 13, 2025

In U.S. policy reversal, Trump and Putin agree to Ukraine talks

Trump's move blindsided European allies, who feared the more conciliatory American stance amounted to a giveaway to the Russian leader.
Israeli soldiers stand on top of a tank at the border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
WORLD
Feb 13, 2025

Israel calls up reservists as fears over Gaza ceasefire breaking grow

Hamas had agreed to free three more hostages on Saturday but said this week that it was suspending the handover over what it said were Israeli violations of the terms.
South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a hearing of his impeachment trial over his short-lived imposition of martial law, at the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 13, 2025

South Korea's Yoon back in court for impeachment hearing

Yoon was detained last month on insurrection charges, becoming the first sitting South Korean head of state to be arrested.
This is the 12th straight year that labor unions of major electronics firms have demanded pay scale hikes.
BUSINESS
Feb 13, 2025

Japan electronics unions demand wage hike of ¥17,000

The focus is on whether employers will agree to raise pay significantly as in recent years to ensure that wages rise faster than prices.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands at the conclusion of a joint news conference in the White House in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 14, 2025

India's Modi and Trump agree to trade talks to lower tensions

The agreements came hours after Trump unveiled a roadmap for reciprocal tariffs on every country that puts duties on U.S. imports, including India.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, on Feb. 1
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 14, 2025

Japan, China and South Korea planning foreign ministers' meeting on March 22

Japan and China are also considering holding a ministerial-level economic dialogue.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance attends a bilateral meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas at the residence of the U.S. Ambassador in Paris on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 14, 2025

Vance warns Russia of possible sanctions if it refuses good peace deal with Ukraine

The U.S. vice president also urged Europe to spend more on defense.
Russian President Vladimir Putin of Russia after a military parade on Victory Day in Red Square in Moscow on May 9, 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 17, 2025

EU seeks a military revival under pressure from Putin and Trump

European leaders have been charged with reviving the continent’s military power after almost 80 years in which they essentially outsourced much of their security to the U.S.
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes British Prime Minister Keir Starmer before an informal summit of European leaders to discuss the situation in Ukraine and European security at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 18, 2025

Europe talks up more defense spending as Ukraine peacekeeper plan divides

The leaders also said they were ready to provide security guarantees to Kyiv "depending on the level of American support."
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's party is heading for an election loss bigger than under any German leader since the Federal Republic was set up in 1949.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 18, 2025

Scholz leaves Germans with worst economic blues in a generation

Not since Gerhard Schroeder’s narrow defeat in 2005 has the economy featured so prominently in an election.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a leader feted around the world for defying a Russian invasion, has been reduced to asking an intermediary about talks that may affect his nation’s survival.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 19, 2025

Zelenskyy excluded as U.S. discusses Ukraine's fate with Russia

The Ukrainian was reduced to asking an intermediary about talks that may affect his nation’s survival, underlining a seismic shift in U.S. diplomacy.
The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan wants to use the Bank of Japan’s exchange-traded funds to help cover the cost of making high school education free.
BUSINESS
Feb 19, 2025

CDP eyes BOJ’s exchange-traded funds to pay for free schooling

The Bank of Japan's exchange-traded funds have remained untouched even as Gov. Kazuo Ueda oversaw further rate hikes.
Newly promoted grand champion Hoshoryu (center) performs a dedication ceremony at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on Jan. 31.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Feb 19, 2025

What is the ceiling for sumo’s newest yokozuna?

The ceremonies are complete, the celebrations are done, and now it’s time for Hoshoryu to get down to the daily task of leading Japan’s national sport.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gives a news conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 20, 2025

Trump turns on Zelenskyy, leaving Ukraine few options amid war

Any remaining hopes seemed to fade when Trump, embracing the Kremlin’s narrative, denounced Zelenskyy as a "dictator."
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 16, 2018
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 20, 2025

China risks becoming U.S. military’s top priority if Trump cuts a deal with Putin

U.S. and Russian officials have started talks in Saudi Arabia to negotiate an end to the three-year war, prompting deep concern in Europe and Ukraine itself.
In Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture, an entire street is dedicated to Japanese spirits, monsters and ghouls — a sign that the overall region is rich in spine-tingling tourist draws.
LIFE / Travel
Feb 22, 2025

Shimane and Tottori to bewitch tourists with supernatural charms

The two prefectures are leaning on spooky folklore to draw more travelers.
Once a boon to tea farmers' bottom lines, the global matcha craze is now pushing producers and distributors to their limits with few options to adequately meet demand.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 23, 2025

Japan struggles to fend off a world without enough matcha

Production methods and economic risks keep the domestic tea industry from ramping up supply.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (front right), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (second left) and other officials and advisers attend talks in Riyadh on Tuesday where they met to discuss ways on ending the Ukraine war.
EDITORIALS
Feb 21, 2025

America's allies get a rude awakening

U.S. allies are understandably confused and dismayed by the Trump administration’s statements and behavior.
The panic over Nvidia’s stock drop following China's DeepSeek AI breakthrough has subsided. Nvidia’s stock has rebounded, fueled by Elon Musk’s xAI and its latest chatbot, Grok-3, which benefits from an enormous Nvidia GPU stockpile.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 19, 2025

Nvidia revival marks the end of the great DeepSeek AI panic

Despite competition from other chipmakers and concerns over U.S. export restrictions, Nvidia remains central to AI development due to its CUDA software platform.
U.S. Marines during training in Okinawa last month.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 22, 2025

U.S. Marines start to leave Japan, decades behind schedule

The U.S. base on Okinawa has relocated 105 Marines. But an agreement to move 9,000 in total is colliding with the perceived threat from a rising China.
A poster depicting a hostage Omer Wenkert, at the site of the Nova festival where party goers were killed and kidnapped during the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas gunmen from Gaza, in Reim, southern Israel, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Feb 22, 2025

Israel prepares to receive six more Gaza hostages as Bibas body identified

The fragile truce between Israel and Hamas militants had been threatened with derailment by the misidentification of a body released on Thursday.
Eliya Cohen, who was seized from a roadside emergency shelter on Oct. 7, 2023, waves during a public hostage handover ceremony staged by Hamas in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on Saturday.
WORLD
Feb 23, 2025

Israel will postpone the release of Palestinian prisoners

Benjamin Netanyahu's office has stated it will delay the exchange partly due to 'humiliating ceremonies' by Hamas.
A campaign poster for Friedrich Merz, the Christian Democratic Union candidate for chancellor, in Potsdam, Germany, on Saturday
WORLD / Politics
Feb 23, 2025

Gloomy Germans vote in election which conservatives are set to win

The election campaign has been dominated by fierce exchanges over the perception that irregular immigration is out of control.
Ancient trees and animals play crucial roles in ecosystems, carbon storage and even human health, yet their populations are dwindling due to deforestation, fishing and climate change.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2025

Who will speak for the trees?

A slew of scientific discoveries shows why we should protect not just 1,000-year-old trees but also 200-year-old whales, 400-year-old fish and 10,000-year-old sea sponges.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past