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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth walks to the West Wing of the White House on March 21. Hegseth disclosed war plans in an encrypted chat group that included a journalist two hours before U.S. troops launched attacks against the Houthi militia in Yemen, the White House said on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 25, 2025

White House mistakenly shares Yemen war plans with journalist

The plans were shared in a Signal messaging group that included a journalist from The Atlantic just before the U.S. attacked Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen.
Max Lesser, a senior analyst on emerging threats at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, has uncovered a network of companies operated by a secretive Chinese tech firm that has been trying to recruit recently laid-off U.S. government workers.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 26, 2025

Secretive Chinese network tries to lure fired federal workers in U.S.

Max Lesser, a researcher who uncovered the network, said the campaign follows "well-established" techniques used by previous Chinese intelligence operations.
While car production helped transform Germany, Italy and France after World War II, its influence in East Asia has been even more profound.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Mar 28, 2025

U.S. auto tariffs take aim at pillar of East Asian economies

Automakers form the nucleus of vast networks of group companies that impact almost every facet of working life in Japan and South Korea.
A ship fires missiles at an undisclosed location, after U.S. President Donald Trump launched military strikes against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday over the group's attacks against Red Sea shipping, in this screenshot of a handout video released on March 15.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 1, 2025

White House says strikes killed Houthi missile expert, but questions linger

The U.S. military has so far declined to confirm the death, and the identity of the Houthi commander in question remains unclear.
U.S. President Donald Trump unveils new U.S. tariffs at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 3, 2025

Japan promises 'bold and speedy' response to Trump’s surprise 24% tariffs

The duty rate for Japanese products is the "worst among the scenarios that had been imagined" by the market.
Protesters, mainly Houthi supporters, rally to mark the annual al-Quds Day on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 28.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Apr 6, 2025

U.S. progress against resilient Houthi militants remains murky

Trump's administration has offered limited evidence of weapons deployed and targets hit to back up his assertion.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order during a tariff announcement in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Wednesday. Trump's tariff policies are the centerpiece of his effort to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. and reshape a world trade system he has long decried as unfair.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 6, 2025

Trump promised a manufacturing boom. Industries are not so sure.

Some question the tariffs' underlying logic, saying that supply chain issues, high costs and other obstacles stand may in the way.
The White House says U.S. President Donald Trump "has a spine of steel and will not break.”
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 10, 2025

Trump shock pushes U.S. and China toward decoupling cliff edge

Trump's 120% tariffs on Chinese goods and Beijing’s determination to fight back in kind mean a seismic cleavage is rapidly becoming a reality.
A scientist tests glacier samples in Columbus, Ohio, in 2021. The threat to academics' livelihoods at universities including Yale, Columbia and Johns Hopkins has given Europe's political leaders hope they could reap an intellectual windfall.
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 11, 2025

Brain drain? Trump cutbacks force scientists to seek jobs in Europe

The threat posed by Donald Trump to academics' livelihoods at top U.S. universities has given Europe's political leaders hope they could reap an intellectual windfall.
U.S. President Donald Trump attends a bilateral meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during the Group of 20 leaders summit in Osaka in June 2019.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 14, 2025

How China went from courting Trump to ‘never yield’ tariff defiance

Beijing has put civilian government officials on a "wartime footing” and ordered a diplomatic charm offensive aimed at encouraging other countries to push back.
While U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed new tariffs on nearly every country in the world, China is clearly his primary target.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 14, 2025

How should Beijing respond to Trump’s tariffs?

Many are already comparing it to President Herbert Hoover’s 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which slashed global trade by 66% in five years and deepened the Great Depression.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba hold a news conference at the White House in Washington on Feb. 7. Tokyo's focus on economic strength to promote security contrasts with Washington's current era of unpredictability.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 15, 2025

For real national security, try a Japanese perspective

Genuine national security starts from a strong economy, one that provides for its citizens, incentivizes growth, production and wealth, and invites foreign participation.
Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs have dealt a blow to U.S. credibility and the greenback. It’s a bigger leap to project the currency's demise.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2025

King dollar’s reign looks secure — for now

The greenback survived Trump's first term at the pinnacle and will likely endure his second.
U.S. soldiers take part in a live-fire exercise as part of the Balikatan drills with Philippine troops, at Laoag, Ilocos Norte, Philippines, in May 2024.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2025

In a first, Japan will join major Philippine-U.S. drills as participant

The Self-Defense Forces will dispatch about 150 personnel and a warship to the multidomain Balikatan exercises, which begin next week.
Nomura Holdings is seeking to build scale in the U.S. asset management market despite recent volatility caused by escalating trade tensions.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 23, 2025

Nomura bets big on U.S. market rebound with $1.8 billion deal

Nomura's executive officer said the latest disruptions don’t change the fact the U.S. remains the largest asset management market in the world.
A view shows the BRICS Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2025

BRICS meeting in Brazil discusses Ukraine, Gaza and Trump's trade war

Ministers from the bloc — which has traditionally been cautious in comments about the Ukraine war — met to hone their agenda ahead of a leaders' summit in July.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the BRICS Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Rio de Janeiro on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2025

At BRICS meeting, China vows to stand firm against ‘bully’ Trump

On Tuesday, China’s Foreign Minister warned BRICS nations not to cave to U.S. tariffs, urging resistance to pressure amid growing trade tensions.
A man watches a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 22, 2023

North Korea fires cruise missiles into Yellow Sea, but remains silent on U.S. soldier's fate

Experts say cruise missiles, which fly far slower than ballistic weapons, present a unique danger in that they can fly low and maneuver, making them potentially very difficult to intercept.
Amazon packages at a distribution center in Washington
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 30, 2025

Amazon denies tariff label pivot after Trump called to complain

The administration’s broadsides against Amazon on Tuesday highlighted the potential political risk for companies if they decide to break out the cost of tariffs for customers.
Hou Yu-ih, mayor of New Taipei City, during a protest against the ruling Democratic Progressive Party in Taipei, on July 16. Taiwanese voters are preparing to choose their next president in January, in a vote that will define cross-strait and U.S.-China relations for years to come.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 21, 2023

Popular Taiwan mayor stumbles in bid to lead in U.S.-China hotspot

His failure to articulate a critical policy at the bedrock of Taiwan’s international status drew widespread criticism online.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walks in front of an intercontinental ballistic missile in this undated photo released in March 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 25, 2023

From 'Young General' to 'Supreme Leader': The evolution of Kim Jong Un

North Korea's thinking on its relations with the U.S. has undergone dramatic changes, and Kim Jong Un's past evolution offers indications of where the country might be headed.
A woman walks on the bottom of a dried pond on a hot day in Mauharia, India, in May 2022.
ENVIRONMENT
Jul 29, 2023

Warming world 'brutalizes' women as heat waves deepen gender divide

The impacts of rising heat are disproportionately dangerous and costly to women — be it at home or on the job — according to a new report.
Bradley Fighting Vehicles on Jan. 25 at the Transportation Core Dock in North Charleston, South Carolina, ahead of shipment as part of a U.S. military aid package to Ukraine.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Aug 8, 2023

Is China going unchecked while the West supports Ukraine?

Some have criticized Washington's efforts to help Kyiv as having a negative impact on its ability to deter a possible contingency from Beijing.
A man poses for pictures at a booth showing off a book by Chinese leader Xi Jinping during the China International Import Expo at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai in November 2018.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 31, 2023

Survey finds historically high negative views of China

In the survey, only about 28% of respondents had a favorable opinion of China despite Beijing’s diplomatic initiatives over the past year.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stands for the U.S. national anthem before a meeting with his Australian counterpart ahead of the Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations in Brisbane on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 31, 2023

U.S. defense tieup efforts pay dividends with Australia deals

The agreements will mean not only more U.S. troops in Australia, but also the integration of Japan into more military initiatives between the two.
BUSINESS
Aug 2, 2023

Japan shares post biggest one-day drop this year

Then benchmark 225-issue Nikkei average closed down 2.30% at 32,707.69 — its sharpest one-day drop since Dec. 20.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, attend a document signing ceremony during the Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi, Russia, in October 2019.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 2, 2023

China’s weaponization of race and history

BRICS nations seek a more equitable global architecture that represents the interests of the Global South as China uses race to challenge the West.
Migrants at a base near Tripoli hand out food to other migrants after they were detained by the Libyan navy in September 2015.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 2, 2023

An immigration wake-up call

Well-designed immigration policies in advanced economies could ease inflationary labor-market shortages and preventing humanitarian tragedies.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the White House in Washington last month.
BUSINESS
Aug 5, 2023

Biden order curbing investment to China expected in coming days

The goal of the order is to prevent U.S. capital and expertise from accelerating the development of tech that would support China's military.
Simone Biles performs on the balance beam during the U.S. Classic in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Gymnastics
Aug 6, 2023

Simone Biles wins U.S. Classic in return to gymnastics competition

The meet was the last chance to qualify for the U.S. nationals on Aug. 24-27 at San Jose, California.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami