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Demonstrators protest against a government plan to increase the number of seats at medical schools in Seoul in March.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 8, 2024

Deaths amid doctor shortage fuel election angst in South Korea

A critical lack of doctors in South Korea has led to thousands of deaths as President Yoon Suk-yeol works to address the problem.  
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (left) with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing in November 2022. Scholz is travelling to China again this week with the goal of shoring up economic ties with Germany's biggest trading partner.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 15, 2024

An EV trade war with China would be an own goal for carmakers

As German Chancellor Scholz visits China this week, he should push for stronger ties between Chinese and European automakers, especially in the EV market.
Dozens of other voices that oppose Prime Minister Narendra Modi are active on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 19, 2024

Critics of India's Modi migrate online as mainstream media stays deferential

Critical voices have shifted to social media, with many speaking in Hindi, the language of India's heartland and BJP stronghold.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an election campaign rally in Agartala, India, on Wednesday
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Apr 19, 2024

As India's election kicks off, extreme heat poses threat to voters

Polling stations are bracing for blazing temperatures following warnings from the nation's meteorological service.
Natsumi Sakai, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan’s candidate and one of four female candidates running in the by-election, touts her experience as a cancer survivor and midwife as having prepared her to tackle issues that women currently face.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 25, 2024

Tokyo's Koto Ward by-election a race unlike any other

In a departure from boys' club politics, candidates including four women, a writer and an ex-martial artist are making their case for a seat in parliament.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during a news conference, at the Downing Street Briefing Room in central London on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 27, 2024

‘Operation Save Rishi’ aims to get U.K. leader through key vote

Rishi Sunak has said that he’s putting U.K. defense spending on a "war footing.” He might as well have been talking about his own position.
Resistance soldiers ride in the back of a pickup truck in southern Karenni State, Myanmar, on Jan. 28. Three years after a military coup, the Southeast Asian nation is teetering on the brink of failed statehood.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 3, 2024

What’s happening in Myanmar’s civil war?

The military is still the country’s most influential institution, and a militarized culture pervades many areas that ethnic minorities control.
Presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino (left) poses with ex-President Ricardo Martinelli during the general election, in Panama City in this photo released Sunday. Mulino was named the winner of Sunday's presidential election.
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2024

Ex-minister Jose Raul Mulino wins Panama presidential race

Jose Raul Mulino, the protege of a graft-convicted former head of state, was declared Panama's president-elect after elections Sunday.
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a meeting with New Caledonia's elected officials and local representatives at French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc's residence in Noumea, New Caledonia on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
May 23, 2024

Macron arrives in riot-hit New Caledonia for high-stakes talks

Local group warns things may take a turn for the worse if the French president does withdraw an electoral bill that protesters fear will dilute Indigenous votes.
Aphelele Vavi (right), 22, who is studying sound engineering, at lunch with fellow students at SAE Creative Media Institute in Rosebank, South Africa, on March 19
WORLD / Politics
May 29, 2024

South Africa’s young democracy leaves its young voters disillusioned

The nation is heading into a pivotal election, in which voters will determine who will pick the president, but voter turnout has been dropping in recent years.
The Grand Kremlin palace in Moscow
WORLD / Politics
Jun 12, 2024

How a Russian operative worked to shape Moscow’s story in Europe

The operative has contacted at least six European journalists and at times appears to have offered to pay for planted news articles.
Naran Unurtsetseg became one of Mongolia's most well-known journalists by exposing sexual abuse in a Buddhist boarding school, violence in the military and by taking on some of the country's most powerful people.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 12, 2024

Hard-hitting journalist ensnared in Mongolia's press freedom crackdown

Mongolia has plummeted in press freedom rankings amid what critics say is a declining rule of law and a government seeking to curb criticism of its record on corruption.
An election poster board in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward on Friday. Incumbent Yuriko Koike and former Upper House lawmaker Renho may be stealing the spotlight for the July 7 Tokyo governor poll, but some other candidates highly unlikely to win are nonetheless running in the hope of gaining publicity during the campaign period.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 21, 2024

PR opportunity pushes Tokyo governor candidates to record number

The amount of publicity to be gained during the campaign period is a major draw, with the ¥3 million candidate deposit described as a bargain.
U.S. President Joe Biden waves as he boards Air Force One prior to departure from Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wisconsin, o Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 6, 2024

Biden allies abroad think it’s untenable for him to stay on

Some officials are now saying that Biden should step aside for someone with a better shot at beating rival Donald Trump.
U.S. President Joe Biden walks out of the Oval Office toward Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD
Jul 16, 2024

In blow to Biden, Teamsters consider no endorsement in 2024 race

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters' decision has not been finalized and is expected to be made in the coming weeks.
French maritime police patrol the waters of the River Seine in Paris on Thursday.
OLYMPICS
Jul 21, 2024

Paris Olympics preparations hit the home stretch

Police with sniffer dogs checked the 6-kilometer route along the Seine ahead of the opening ceremony on the river.
South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee and  President Yoon Suk-yeol listen as U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at an official state dinner, during Yoon's visit to Washington at the White House in April last year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 21, 2024

South Korea's first lady grilled over Dior bag and stock manipulation

Kim Keon-hee, has been questioned over allegations of stock manipulation and graft involving a $2,200 luxury handbag, prosecutors said Sunday.
 U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris waves upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 30, 2024

As Democrats embrace Harris, some pivotal House candidates hold back

In the 35 competitive races that will determine control of the House, 12 Democratic incumbents or challengers have so far held off on endorsing Harris.
The U.S. Capitol building stands past visitors taking photographs at the Washington Monument in Washington in 2017.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 30, 2024

Russia, Iran and China all seek to shape U.S. election, officials say

Some U.S. citizens have been knowingly helping foreign governments shape the election narrative while others have been tricked into helping.
Protesters countering the far right gather in London on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 12, 2024

White supremacists turn U.K. riots into online recruiting pitch

Using messaging app Telegram and social media platform X, they promote conspiracy theories and incite violence in their bid to lure new members.
Members of the French police stand guard on the roof of Paris' commercial court prior to the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 12, 2024

French police win plaudits after high-risk Olympics

The operation was like no other in recent French history, with the around 75,000 police, soldiers and private security guards mobilized on opening night.
Students at the University of British Columbia during the first week of classes in Vancouver, Canada
WORLD / Politics
Aug 14, 2024

Global immigration crackdown ensnares students studying abroad

Aggregate visa data for the first quarter of 2024 showed volumes to the U.K., Canada and Australia down between 20% and 30% from a year earlier.
Security guards on the observation deck of the Istanbul Sapphire building.
WORLD
Aug 17, 2024

The shaky ground below Istanbul is getting people worried

After last year's devastating quake, and criticism the authorities weren’t prepared, banks are now getting ahead on contingency planning.
A banner is displayed by Northern Ireland fans in protest against the redevelopment of Casement Park for use in Euro 2028, at Windsor Park in Belfast last October.
SOCCER
Aug 24, 2024

Derelict stadium for Euro 2028 highlights Belfast’s bitter divide

The issue is stirring up old divisions and proving to be an early headache for the Labour government.
Helmut Engwer and Gerhard Iffert pose for a photo during a Buendnis Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance election campaign rally in Eisenach, Germany, on Aug. 19.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 28, 2024

Eastern Germany's economic success leaves voters cold

Half of east Germans are convinced their region is economically stagnating, a study has shown.
Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman, Bangladesh's army chief, arrives at Dhaka International Airport to receive Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus on Aug. 8 to lead the country's interim government.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 29, 2024

Will Bangladesh go the way of Pakistan?

The Islamist resurgence poses a serious law-and-order challenge in Bangladesh, as it has long done in Pakistan.
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he attends a town hall event in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 30, 2024

Trump's high-wire act on abortion angers conservatives

The Republican nominee, who often brags about his role in overturning the constitutional right to abortion in the U.S., now claims to promote "reproductive rights."
The shutdown of Elon Musk's X has drawn parallels with authoritarian regimes, damaging Brazil’s international reputation and raising concerns about judicial overreach.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 4, 2024

Shutting off Elon Musk won't help Brazil's democracy

While regulating hate speech is complex, the approach by Brazil's Supreme Court might be excessive and counterproductive.
An investor sits in front of a board showing stock information at a brokerage office in Beijing.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 7, 2024

China bulls getting tired of waiting for elusive stock recovery

Weakness in Chinese equities is eroding the confidence of some of Wall Street’s staunchest supporters, with hopes for a turnaround fading in the world’s No. 2 economy.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (center) and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy meet in Kyiv on Wednesday.
WORLD
Sep 12, 2024

U.S. and U.K. envoys mull Ukraine’s push for deep strikes into Russia

The visit to Ukraine came as the Biden administration struggles to curtail aid to Russia from Iran, North Korea and China.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight