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US

A rare earth open-pit mine in Mountain Pass, California. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order that taps the Cold War-era Defense Production Act as part of an effort to domestically process a range of critical minerals.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 21, 2025
U.S. moves to curb China’s grip on critical minerals
Trump invokes emergency powers for more U.S. mining, citing economic and security concerns.
Elsie, a 45 year-old aid worker, who uses a pseudonym to protect her anonymity, used to spend her days wandering the narrow streets of Msogwaba township, near the South African city of Mbombela, to visit hundreds of children living with HIV.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 20, 2025
U.S. aid cuts threaten South Africa's young HIV patients
Around 13% of South Africa's population live with HIV, and about 640,000 children were orphaned by the virus in 2023.
The European Commission informed Google parent Alphabet in a "preliminary view" that its search engine treated its own services more favorably compared to rivals.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 20, 2025
EU skewers Google and Apple over tech rules — despite Trump threats
The moves risk opening up a new front in the already fraught relationship between the EU and U.S. President Donald Trump.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 20, 2025
Powell downplays growing risks, sees tariff impact as transitory
His use of the word "transitory” was surprising because the Fed employed the same word when inflation exploded following the onset of COVID-19.
Hino Motors pleaded guilty on Wednesday over a multiyear emissions fraud scheme in the United States and must pay $1.6 billion in penalties.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 20, 2025
Toyota's Hino pleads guilty to U.S. emissions fraud and is fined $1.6 billion
Hino admitted that between 2010 and 2019, it used "illicit short-cuts" and submitted false applications for engine certification approvals.
An example of a Russian disinformation poster that was spread via Telegram. Some analysts said that reducing work to counter Moscow's hybrid war tactics would prove dangerous for the U.S.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 20, 2025
U.S. suspends some efforts to counter Russian sabotage
Since U.S. President Donald Trump took office, much of the work on monitoring and countering Russia's hybrid warfare campaign has come to a standstill.
A protester stands near the U.S. Department of Education headquarters in Washington on March 12.
WORLD
Mar 20, 2025
Trump will sign order to shut down Department of Education, White House says
Abolishing the Department of Education would be the first attempt by the U.S. president and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk to shut down a cabinet-level agency.
U.S. President Donald Trump (left), who had stormy exchanges earlier with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, described their call on Wednesday as "fantastic.”
WORLD / Politics
Mar 20, 2025
Trump and Zelenskyy pledge in phone call to work for end to war in Ukraine
Describing the move as a step toward fully ending Ukraine's war with Russia, the Ukrainian president said his country is "ready to implement it."
Protesters demonstrate against the Dakota Access Pipeline near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, in 2016.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 20, 2025
Jury finds Greenpeace liable for more than $660 million in damages
The verdict was a major blow to the environmental organization.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 20, 2025
Putin advances strategic aims while ceding little to Trump
The agreement to a narrow ceasefire in which Russia and Ukraine would stop attacking each other's energy facilities gives Moscow an edge against Kyiv.
Alex Miller, CEO of Alimentation Couche-Tard, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo last week.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 20, 2025
Couche-Tard seeks to reassure investors on Seven & I approach
The parent company of the Circle K chain has been pursuing Seven & I for months, bidding almost $50 billion for it, but has been rebuffed.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, at the White House on Feb. 24. American conservatives want Europe to take on more military responsibility but often scorn its structure, making France the strongest candidate for leadership.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 2025
Why U.S. conservatives should fall in love with France
For American conservatives who sincerely want a capable Europe, just supporting European populism is not enough.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas presents the white paper on the future of European defense, in Brussels on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 20, 2025
EU proposes joint defense push amid Russia fears and U.S. worries
EU countries have already begun boosting their own defenses in response to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Elon Musk and President Donald Trump's assertion that U.S. aid cuts to programs including PEPFAR and USAID in Africa aren't causing harm is not true. Children and others are already dying as a result.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2025
Musk says aid cuts haven’t killed anyone. That's not true.
In South Sudan, one of the world’s poorest countries, the efforts by Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump are already leading children to die.
A 7-Eleven convenience store, operated by Seven & I Holdings, at the company's headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 19, 2025
Seven & I signs confidentiality pact with Canada’s Couche-Tard
The nondisclosure agreement (NDA) will pave the way for discussions around antitrust issues in the United States, Seven & I said.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference in January in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 19, 2025
Bank of Japan holds steady at 0.5% as trade war escalates and inflation rises
The move was widely expected, with economists unanimous in seeing back-to-back rate increases as unlikely from the central bank, which made one in January.
The number of foreign visitors to Japan exceeded 3 million in February, the first time for the month.
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2025
Japan records 3.25 million visitors in February
The number shot up 16.9% from a year before, boosted mainly by an increase in travelers from China during the Lunar New Year holiday period.
The evolving national security landscape demands a shift in focus from traditional military power to economic resilience, technological leadership and the growing risks posed by both adversaries and allies.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2025
Trump's actions and the ‘new national security economy’
Soft power is poorly understood and it is no substitute for situations when brute force is required, but it has genuine influence in subtle ways.
After U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin's phone call, talks aimed at advancing toward a broader peace plan will begin immediately, the White House, though it was unclear whether Ukraine will be involved.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 19, 2025
Putin spurns a Ukraine ceasefire but Trump calls talk a win
The Russian leader agreed only to limit attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, with experts saying Moscow could be playing for time.
Japan's shipments abroad have advanced in the first two months of this year, as Japanese companies brace for the rollout of higher tariffs in the United States.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 19, 2025
Japan’s exports rose more quickly in February ahead of Trump tariffs
Global trade flows face potential major disruptions as the U.S. continues to escalate its tariff campaign, targeting nations where Japanese carmakers have manufacturing bases.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.