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August 23, 2025
 

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MIDDLE EAST

U.S. President Donald Trump’s support for Israel’s attack on Iran has sparked outrage among MAGA loyalists who see it as a betrayal of his anti-war promises.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2025
Trump's MAGA coalition won't survive a bunker-buster in Iran
As the U.S. president weighs whether to join Israel’s war against Iran, a rift cleaves his own base, not to mention the world.
Members of an inspection team check the apparent remains of a ballistic missile in northern Israel on Wednesday following the attacks by Iran.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2025
It will take democracy and regime change to end Iran’s nuclear threat
Thanks to Khamenei, Iran has spent almost four decades on a path to war with Israel, which he calls a “cancer” in the region that must be annihilated.
The anti-interventionist part of the Republican Party is watching with alarm as U.S. President Donald Trump has gone from seeking a peaceful diplomatic settlement with Iran to possibly having the United States support Israel's military campaign.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 19, 2025
Trump faces uproar from MAGA base over possible Iran strike
Some of Trump's biggest Republican allies are in the unusual position of being at odds with a president who largely shares their isolationist tendencies.
Israeli air defense systems intercept Iranian missiles over the Israeli city of Tel Aviv early on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 19, 2025
Trump wraps situation room meeting as Iran plan remains mystery
The White House offered few clues about whether Trump had decided to join Israel's offensive aimed at destroying Tehran’s nuclear program.
Israel’s rapid military gains in Iran have exposed deep vulnerabilities in Tehran’s defenses, but they also raise urgent questions about how far Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is willing to go and at what cost.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 18, 2025
Success in Iran leaves Israel at a strategic crossroads
In Iran, it’s vital that Netanyahu follow his Hezbollah model if his campaign of military shock and awe doesn’t quickly succeed.
Israeli military vehicles maneuver in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Jun 18, 2025
Israeli tanks kill 59 people in Gaza crowd trying to get food aid, medics say
Palestinian medics said at least 59 people were killed and 221 wounded in the incident, at least 20 of them in critical condition.
A GBU-57 or Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb, known as a "bunker buster," at Whiteman Air Base in Missouri in May 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 18, 2025
Bunker-buster bomb draws focus as Trump weighs Iran options
The U.S. has a wide range of military assets in the Middle East and across the globe to bring to bear in a potential fight against Iran.
A picture of Major Gen. Hossein Salami (left), head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Tehran and a cutout of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a protest in support of Iran, in Baghdad on Monday
WORLD / Politics
Jun 17, 2025
Iraq treads a tightrope to avoid spillover from Israel-Iran conflict
Iraq, which has been for years navigating a delicate balancing act between Tehran and Washington, has long been a fertile ground for proxy battles.
A satellite image shows the Fordo nuclear facility in Iran in January.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 17, 2025
Iran’s best-protected nuclear site is deep underground
Only the U.S. military has the 30,000-pound bomb capable of reaching the facility and the bomber that can carry it.
Smoke billows from an explosion at the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) building in Tehran on Monday after it was struck in an Israeli attack.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 17, 2025
Israel and Iran trade blows as air war rages into fifth day
The Israeli military said Tuesday it had killed Iran's top military commander — a close confidant of the country's supreme leader — amid rising fears of a wider conflict.
Smoke billows from a site in the city of Haifa, Israel, on Monday, following a fresh barrage of Iranian missiles.
WORLD
Jun 16, 2025
Iran lauds 'new method' as missiles hit Israel's Tel Aviv and Haifa
Iranian missiles struck the two large cities on Monday, fueling concerns that ongoing battles between the two archenemies could lead to a broader regional conflict.
Rocket trails line the sky above Jerusalem on Friday after Iran launched a salvo of missiles at Israel.
WORLD / FOCUS
Jun 16, 2025
What is Israel's multilayered defense against Iranian missiles?
The system has been used to defend Israel amid attacks by Iran, which has fired hundreds of ballistic missiles and suicide drones since Friday.
Missiles fired from Iran are pictured in the night sky over Jerusalem on Saturday.
WORLD
Jun 15, 2025
Israel and Iran strike at each other as Trump says conflict can be easily ended
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Israel's attacks, which began on Friday, were aimed at sabotaging nuclear talks with the U.S.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on April 7. Netanyahu is playing a risky game by launching a war against Iran that may not stop its nuclear program and could trigger a wider conflict beyond Israel’s control.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 15, 2025
Netanyahu’s big gamble risks a quicker Iranian bomb
Whether the air strikes can indeed succeed is a very big "if.” It’s more likely that Israel can do no more than delay Iran’s nuclear program.
Rocket trails line the sky above Netanya, Israel, on Friday. Air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem and loud blasts were heard the same day, as the Israeli military said it had detected missiles launched from Iran.
WORLD
Jun 14, 2025
Iran retaliates for Israeli attack with missile strikes
Attacks by Israel and Iran have shown no signs of abating, stoking fears of a broader regional conflagration in the Middle East.
A woman walks with a sign depicting Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as people gather for a protest against Israel's wave of strikes on Iran in central Tehran on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 14, 2025
Israel's attacks on Iran hint at a bigger goal: regime change
The moves appear aimed at diminishing Iran's credibility both at home and among its allies in the region — factors that could destabilize the Iranian leadership, experts said.
People in Tehran protest Israeli attacks on Iran on Friday. Iran’s supreme leader and government are facing what many regard as an existential moment as they try to decide how to respond to Israel’s ongoing attacks on its military hierarchy, air defenses and nuclear program.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 14, 2025
Israeli strikes back Iran's leadership into a corner
Iran's leaders, humiliated and increasingly preoccupied with their own survival, cannot afford to appear weak in the face of Israeli military pressure, officials say.
First responders gather outside a building that was hit by an Israeli strike in Tehran on Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2025
Japan condemns Israeli strikes against Iran and urges restraint
Tokyo is concerned that further instability in the Middle East will have significant negative effects on the supply of oil.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces the launch of a targeted military operation against Iran in a video statement on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 13, 2025
After years of waiting, Israel's Netanyahu finally makes his move on Iran
Iran once ridiculed Netanyahu as the boy who cried wolf for his constant warnings about Tehran's nuclear program, and his repeated threats to shut it down.
Smoke billows from a site targeted in an Israeli strike in Tehran on Friday.
WORLD
Jun 13, 2025
Israel attacks Iran’s nuclear program in major escalation
Explosions were heard across Tehran, Natanz — home to one of Iran’s key nuclear sites — and other cities, according to local and social media.
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.
Alicia Keys closed Summer Sonic, but J-pop owned it
Summer Sonic’s 2025 lineup demonstrated its strength, showcasing the latest in J-pop, including “new kawaii” act Fruits Zipper.
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

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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