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August 23, 2025
 

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MIDDLE EAST

A building where, according to Syrian security forces and residents, U.S. forces took part in a predawn raid that targeted a member of the Islamic State group, a U.S. official and a Syrian security source said, in Atmeh, Syria, on Wednesday
WORLD
Aug 21, 2025
Senior IS member killed in U.S. military operation in Syria, official says
It was the second known raid in northern Syria by U.S. troops since former President Bashar Assad was ousted in December.
An Israeli tank on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 21, 2025
With moves on West Bank and Gaza City, Israel defies global outcry
The developments raised questions about whether the new ceasefire proposal could move forward.
Left: Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani attends a regional forum in Mecca earlier this year. Right: Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer attends a special session of the Knesset in Jerusalem, in 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 20, 2025
Syrian and Israeli diplomats met in Paris to discuss 'de-escalation,' report says
The attempt at diplomacy comes amid tensions as Israel has occupied territory and hit targets across Syria.
Israeli women take part in a protest demanding the end of the war in the Gaza Strip near Kibbutz Nahal Oz, close to the Israeli border with Gaza, on Aug. 10.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 20, 2025
As Netanyahu expands Gaza war, some reservists grow more disillusioned
They accuse the government — the most far-right administration in Israel's history — of perpetuating the war for political reasons.
The sun sets over Gaza on Tuesday, as seen from the Israeli side of the border between Gaza and Israel. Mediators Egypt and Qatar have been pushing proposals to restart indirect talks between the sides on a U.S.-backed ceasefire plan.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 20, 2025
Israel weighs Hamas offer of 60-day Gaza truce and hostage release
Efforts to pause the fighting gained new momentum over the past week after Israel announced plans to seize control of Gaza City at the heart of the Palestinian enclave.
A Palestinian child in need of medical treatment is evacuated through the King Hussein Bridge crossing in Jordan on March 4.
WORLD
Aug 19, 2025
U.S. charity says halt in visitor visas for Gazans will harm wounded kids
The U.S. State Department said it was stopping all visitor visas for Gazans while it conducted "a full and thorough" review.
An Israeli tank maneuvers on the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD
Aug 19, 2025
Hamas agrees to Gaza truce deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar
The proposal would see Hamas release half of the hostages it still holds in return for the freeing of Palestinian prisoners and a partial withdrawal of Israeli troops.
Protesters shout slogans and hold photos of hostages during a demonstration calling for a hostages deal on Sunday in Tel Aviv.
WORLD
Aug 18, 2025
Anti-war protests erupt in Israel ahead of Gaza City operation
Organizers said that as many as half a million people attended the main rally at Tel Aviv’s "hostage square” in the evening, a massive turnout by Israeli standards.
An Israeli tank maneuvers near Gaza City as seen from Israeli side of the border on Saturday.
WORLD
Aug 17, 2025
Israeli military prepares to relocate residents to southern Gaza
Gaza residents will be provided with tents and other gear as they are moved from combat zones to the south of the enclave "to ensure their safety," the Israeli military said.
Laura Loomer, an influential far-right supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill in Washington in June
WORLD
Aug 17, 2025
U.S. suspends visas for Gazans after far-right influencer posts
The announcement came one day after a series of furious social media posts by Laura Loomer.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday. Ishiba plans to launch a new economic initiative to strengthen ties with India, the Middle East and Africa at an event near Tokyo next week.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 14, 2025
Ishiba to launch new regional economic initiative
The initiative is aimed at helping Japanese companies expand operations in India, the Middle East and Africa.
Palestinians scramble to collect aid supplies from trucks that entered through Israel, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 13, 2025
Israel's overnight bombardment of Gaza City kills at least 11
Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya is in Cairo for talks to revive a U.S.-backed ceasefire plan.
Demonstrators hold a banner during a protest outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem on Aug. 7.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 12, 2025
Hamas hostage videos silenced Israeli media's talk of Gaza aid crisis
The mood in Israel hardened dramatically when Hamas released a video of a skeletal Israeli hostage followed by a video of another who said he was being forced to dig his own grave.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks during a news conference in Canberra on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 12, 2025
Australia's Albanese says Netanyahu 'in denial' over suffering in Gaza
The Netanyahu government's reluctance to listen to its allies contributed to Australia's decision to recognize a Palestinian state, Albanese says.
Palestinians carry aid supplies they collected from trucks that entered Gaza through Israel, in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 11, 2025
Australia to recognize Palestinian state at United Nations next month
Australia’s move follows similar stances from France, Britain and Canada.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a press conference in Jerusalem on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 11, 2025
Netanyahu defends Gaza plan condemned at home and abroad
Foreign powers are already upset about the hunger crisis besetting Palestinians in Gaza, while relatives of hostages are calling for a general strike to protest the latest plans.
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike where Al Jazeera says its journalists Anas Al Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh and three photojournalists were killed, in Gaza City on Monday.
WORLD
Aug 11, 2025
Israel kills Al Jazeera journalist it says was Hamas leader
Calling Al Sharif "one of Gaza's bravest journalists," Al Jazeera said the attack "is a desperate attempt to silence voices in anticipation of the occupation of Gaza."
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends a news conference at the Chancellery in Berlin on July 29.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 9, 2025
Germany suspends arms exports to Israel for use in Gaza
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said It was "increasingly unclear" how Israel's latest military plan would help disarm Hamas and save the remaining hostages.
A Palestinian girl carries buckets of water in Gaza City on Wednesday
WORLD / Politics
Aug 7, 2025
Israeli military chief opposes Gaza war expansion, raising pressure on Netanyahu
Taking the rest of Gaza could trap the military in the territory and could lead to harm to the hostages being held there, the military chief warned.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (center) chairs a meeting of a Cabinet session to discuss the issue of disarming Hezbollah at the presidential palace of Baabda, east of Beirut, on Aug. 5.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 6, 2025
Lebanon plans to disarm Hezbollah by year-end
The unprecedented move forms part of a November ceasefire between Israel and militant group Hezbollah following months of hostilities.
Japan to revise romanization rules for first time in 70 years
The Agency for Cultural Affairs is recommending replacing the government’s long-standing Kunrei system with more widely used Hepburn-style spellings.
JR East cancels luxury train run over crew's boozing
East Japan Railway said Thursday that it will cancel one trip of a luxury overnight sleeper service, which was originally scheduled to depart from Ueno Station in Tokyo on Aug. 30, after crew members were found to have been drinking alcohol on duty.
Women-only communities flourish in China
Chen Yani (right), nicknamed "Keke," eats lunch with friends and guests in a female co-living space she founded called "Keke's Imaginative Space" in Hangzhou, in eastern China's Zhejiang province, on July 14.
Demystifying the manufacturing success of China
China’s massive scale, strong education system and competitive local governance have enabled it to reach the technological frontier and dominate high-tech manufacturing despite its low per capita gross domestic product.
Infectious diseases to watch for in Japan this summer amid surge of cases
An illustration of a colony of the Bordetella pertussis bacterium that causes pertussis, or whooping cough. As of Aug. 10, there were 64,467 cases reported this year, according to the latest data from the Japan Institute for Health Security.
Is the LDP’s catch-all approach to politics still effective?
Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi visits Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Aug. 15. Political commentator Toru Hashimoto has suggested that Takaichi ought to lead a group of like-minded hawkish politicians out of the Liberal Democratic Party and form their own party.
Fingers sore from too much phone time? You might have ‘sumaho yubi.’
A catch-all term for tendonitis and arthritis caused by excessive smartphone use, 'sumaho yubi' may be difficult to treat for gadget-crazy Japan.
As farm minister, Koizumi is held ‘hostage’ by Ishiba
Farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi (center) attends a Lower House session on Aug. 1. Locking Koizumi into the Cabinet is Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s way of turning a potential rival into a team player, according to one expert.
Big burgers and bigger ambitions for Japan's Burger King
Kazuhiro Nomura, president of BK Japan Holdings, which operates Burger King in Japan
Tokyo crowned No.1 'workation' spot
Workations were a burgeoning trend in the corporate world for years before the COVID-19 pandemic turbocharged it.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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
By Alex K.T. Martin

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