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Elbridge Colby appears at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee to be undersecretary of defense for policy at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 5, 2025
Trump Pentagon policy pick pushes Japan and Taiwan to boost defense spending
Tokyo should boost its defense budget to 3% of GDP "as soon as possible,” said Elbridge Colby, Trump's pick for the top policy job at the Pentagon.
U.S. President Donald Trump is applauded by Vice President JD Vance (center) and House Speaker Mike Johnson, as Trump arrives to deliver his address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 5, 2025
In speech, Trump warns of tariff ‘disturbance’ as he touts trade plans
Data shows new strains on the economy as factory activity stagnates, inflation simmers, consumer confidence ebbs and stocks lag behind equity markets in other countries.
A ship sails through the Panama Canal after Hong Kong's CK Hutchison agreed to sell its interests in a key Panama Canal port operator to a BlackRock-backed consortium on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 5, 2025
BlackRock to buy Hong Kong firm's Panama Canal port stake amid pressure
The $22.8 billion deal, coming amid pressure from the White House, will give the BlackRock-backed group control of ports along the strategic waterway and dozens of others.
A person takes a photo of the Google Cloud logo during the 2025 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona on Tuesday. The administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden in November had called for Google to sell its Chrome web browser and make other changes to its business.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 5, 2025
Google urges DOJ to reverse course on breaking up company
Representatives argue that the Alphabet unit’s critical importance to the U.S. economy and national security requires a softer touch.
MAGA hats adorn a row of monitors on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 5, 2025
Day one of Trump’s trade war delivers wild ride for Wall Street
The S&P 500 index tumbled 2% shortly after the open Tuesday, wiping out its $3.4 trillion advance since Election Day on Nov. 5.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (second from left), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (right) and envoys meet in Riyadh on Feb. 18.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 5, 2025
Putin agrees to help Trump broker nuclear talks with Iran
Discussions are in their initial stages and it’s not clear whether any talks between the U.S. and Iran would yield any progress.
Many Japanese companies are exporting more to the United States to get ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 5, 2025
Japanese firms boost exports to U.S. to get ahead of tariffs
Overall, Japanese exports to the U.S. jumped 8.1% in January to ¥1.5 trillion ($10 billion), the highest for the month in at least 19 years.
John Bozzella, president of the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA), president and CEO of the United States-based Alliance for Automotive Innovation (Auto Innovators), speaks at the Paris Automotive Summit during the 2024 Paris Auto Show on Oct. 15, 2024.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 5, 2025
Automakers warn that Trump tariffs will hike vehicle prices as much as 25%
Many in the industry warn that the tariffs will disrupt the integrated supply chain across North America that has been in place for more than 25 years.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during an emergency Arab summit in Cairo on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 5, 2025
Arab states adopt Egyptian alternative to Trump's 'Gaza Riviera'
While hurdles remain, Egypt's $53 billion reconstruction plan would avoid displacing Palestinians from the enclave.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks to reporters in Washington on Tuesday morning. Vance’s comments on the Anglo-French proposal to protect Ukraine have sparked criticism in Britain.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 5, 2025
JD Vance denies disrespecting U.K. and France over Ukraine peacekeeping force
Vance's comments caused politicians in both countries to say he was dishonoring troops killed fighting alongside U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine plan to sign a minerals deal that fell through on Friday, sources said.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 5, 2025
U.S. and Ukraine now plan to sign minerals deal, sources say
The deal from last week offered Kyiv no explicit security guarantees but gave the U.S. access to Ukraine's natural resources.
U.S. military aid to Ukraine halted at 3:30 a.m., a source with knowledge of the matter said, after U.S. President Donald Trump paused assistance late on Monday following a clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 4, 2025
U.S. military aid pause is a blow to Ukraine, but not fatal for now
The U.S. pause could have a real impact on the war within months, undermining Ukraine's air defenses and precision strike capabilities in particular.
Trucks wait in line to cross into the United States near the border customs control at the World Trade Bridge, in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, last November.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 4, 2025
Trade wars intensify as U.S. tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China take force
Beijing condemned the move and swiftly retaliated, saying it would impose 10% and 15% levies on a range of agricultural imports from the United States.
Nihon Hidankyo Assistant Secretary-General Jiro Hamasumi delivers a speech at the third meeting of signatories to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons on Monday at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2025
Nihon Hidankyo executive urges abolition of nuclear weapons at U.N. meeting
"Atomic bombs are the 'devil's weapons' that rob people of their future," said Jiro Hamasumi, assistant secretary-general of Nihon Hidankyo.
Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Koo gives a short speech during a media briefing in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 4, 2025
Taiwan says U.S. will 'not abandon' Asia-Pacific region
The remarks by Taiwan's defense minister came days after U.S. President Donald Trump's fiery clash with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 4, 2025
Trump pauses military aid to Ukraine after clash with Zelenskyy
The pause will last until the U.S. president determines the country’s leaders demonstrate a good-faith commitment to peace, a senior defense official said.
A herd of sheep move across a solar farm in Haskell, Texas, on Dec. 2, 2024.
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 4, 2025
Sheep grazing under solar panels help U.S. farmers to survive crop-price slump
Instead of plowing fields, Raines spent the year ferrying his flock of sheep to solar farms, to munch on the grass that grows around the gleaming panels.
Lithuania will become the first country in the EU to leave a multilateral arms regulation agreement when it withdraws on March 6.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 4, 2025
Lithuania to walk out on global disarmament treaty
Lithuania's controversial move comes at a time of heightened tensions in international relations over its neighbor Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump, and C.C. Wei, chief executive officer of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., announce investments in the United States, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 4, 2025
TSMC announces $100 billion investment in new U.S. chip plants
The announcement comes amid concerns Taiwan could lose its "silicon shield" against a Chinese invasion if its companies build too many factories overseas.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meets with Russia's President Vladimir Putin after the Group of 20 Summit in Osaka in June 2019. Putin managed to pocket every concession made by Abe over the years and demanded more.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 4, 2025
Abe’s Russia outreach flopped — Trump should take note
Supporters of Trump’s policy argue that China is the bigger threat and the U.S. should steer Moscow away from Beijing.

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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