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Israeli soldiers organize armored personnel  near the border with Lebanon on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 16, 2023

After Iran warning, Washington pushes to avert wider Israel war

The ramped-up moves come amid concerns that an invasion of the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces could prompt Iran to enter the conflict.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a public rally in Mashhad, Iran, in March.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 22, 2023

Iran's quandary: How to stay out of Israel's war on Hamas

Standing on the sidelines in the face of an all-out Israeli invasion of Gaza would significantly set back an Iranian strategy for regional ascendancy.
A Philippine-flagged boat is blocked by a China Coast Guard vessel during an incident that resulted in a collision between the two ships in the disputed waters of the South China Sea in this screen shot taken from video on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / EXPLAINER
Oct 23, 2023

After collisions at sea, could Sino-Philippine tensions boil over?

Tensions are rapidly surging between Manila and Beijing in the South China Sea, where the two countries have overlapping claims.
Israeli soldiers patrol an area near the northern border with Lebanon on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 24, 2023

Iran facilitating attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq, Washington says

The U.S. has rejected calls for a cease-fire in Israel as it says the country has a right to self-defense.
A Hello Kitty balloon is paraded down 6th Ave during the 91st Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City in November 2017.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 24, 2023

Soft power and Japan's role in a complex world

While hard power zeroes in on what can be physically controlled such as an empire by force, soft power is an empire by invitation.
Then-Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu attends the 20th IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in June.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 25, 2023

Chinese defense chief’s ouster opens door to better military ties with U.S.

Although questions remain over Li Shangfu’s fate, his firing has opened an avenue for resuming high-level military talks with the U.S.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei  speaks before an audience in Tehran on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 28, 2023

U.S. airstrikes send twin messages to Iran, American officials say

The airstrikes were the latest gamble by the United States to modify Iran’s behavior, few of which have worked in the past.
The midway in Springfield, Massachusetts, lit up at night. Framingham, Massachusetts mayor Charlie Sisitsky said its geothermal pilot project could more than halve emissions and cut energy consumption for some properties by up to 70%.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Nov 2, 2023

U.S. cities expand geothermal energy to whole neighborhoods

The U.S. federal government is to back 11 pilot geothermal projects.
Palestinian Hamas militants take part in a rally marking the 31st anniversary of Hamas' founding, in Gaza City, in the Gaza Strip, in December 2018.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 4, 2023

How Hamas aims to trap Israel in Gaza quagmire

The militant group has prepared for a drawn-out war and believes it can hold up Israel's advance to force its archenemy to agree to a cease-fire.
A Philippine supply boat sails near a China Coast Guard ship during a resupply mission for Filipino troops stationed at a grounded warship in the South China Sea on Oct. 4.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 4, 2023

U.S. and China hold talks on South China Sea and maritime issues

The U.S. said it had underscored its concerns about "dangerous and unlawful" Chinese actions in the contested South China Sea.
U.S. Treasury secretary Janet Yellen (right) and He Lifeng, China's vice premier, shake hands during a meeting in San Francisco, California, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 10, 2023

Yellen seeks 'substantive' talks with Chinese vice premier ahead of APEC summit

U.S. Treasury officials have sought to downplay expectations for any breakthroughs from the meetings in San Francisco.
U Moe Zaw Oo, the deputy foreign minister of the National Unity Government of Myanmar, a shadow government seeking recognition as the legitimate leadership of the country, at the group’s headquarters in Washington on July 17
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 13, 2023

Fighting to govern Myanmar, from a teeny office in Washington

The U.S. capital attracts political refugees from all over the world who hope proximity to power will draw attention to their national plights.
The U.S.-China relationship faces challenges arising from the two countries' economic interdependence and geopolitical competition.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2023

Navigating a successful U.S.-China diplomatic reset

International cooperation is needed to ensure a U.S.-China reset and political posturing must not be allowed create long-term instability or conflict.
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrives for the leaders and spouses dinner during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 18, 2023

Philippines' Marcos meets China's Xi amid South China Sea tensions

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, seeking ways to come up with mechanisms to lower tensions.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping during the final session of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco on Friday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 18, 2023

A rare opportunity to see China’s leader up close and (sort of) personal

President Xi Jinping of China is one of the most self-contained Chinese leaders in decades, who reveals next to nothing about his personal life.
U.S. President Richard Nixon in the Oval Office of the White House in June 1972
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 19, 2023

Nixon's 1953 trip to Okinawa and its lasting impact

Nixon’s trip to Okinawa 70 years ago this month planted seeds for his agreeing to its reversion when he became the U.S. president.
A Walmart worker organizes products for the Christmas season in 2016.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 30, 2023

Walmart shifts to India and reduces imports from China

The shift shows how the rising cost of importing from China and escalating political tensions are pushing U.S. firms to import more from other countries.
Baimagambet Kabenov, 82, one of the oldest residents in Kaynar, poses for a picture with his wife Rymbibi Zhumagazina in the village in the Abai Region of Kazakhstan. The village neighbors the former Semipalatinsk Test Site, one of the main locations for nuclear testing in the former Soviet Union.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 30, 2023

'Let us be a lesson': Kazakhs warn against return to nuclear tests

The effect of radiation from hundreds of tests has had a devastating impact on the environment and health, and continues to affect lives today.
U.S. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in her chambers at the Supreme Court in Washington in 2003.
WORLD
Dec 2, 2023

Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female U.S. Supreme Court justice, dies at 93

The court said in a statement that O'Connor died in Phoenix of complications related to advanced dementia and a respiratory illness.
U.S. President Joe Biden during a meeting in the Oval Office on Thursday
WORLD / Politics
Dec 3, 2023

Muslim Americans face 'Abandon Biden' dilemma — then who?

Opposition from Muslim and Arab American communities could complicate the president's path to an Electoral College victory.
Senate Republicans voted unanimously to block an emergency spending bill to provide $110.5 billion in funds for Ukraine, Israel and other security needs.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 8, 2023

Prospects dim for new Ukraine aid in U.S. Congress

Senate Republicans voted unanimously to block the emergency spending bill to provide $110.5 billion in funds for Ukraine, Israel and other security needs.
Ukrainian soldier fire a mortar near Kyiv on Nov. 8.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 13, 2023

Pentagon has a workaround to send Ukraine arms despite aid stalemate

The tactic: Continue to provide arms from U.S. stockpiles in hopes of waiting until later for the money to replace them.
A law requires the Pentagon to inform Congress and extensively justify any program when costs exceed the original estimate by 15%, 25% or as much as 50% depending on the categories measured.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 15, 2023

New U.S. ballistic missile costs risk project termination

A U.S. Air Force review will take about 45 days before a determination is made as to whether the ICBM program exceeds congressional cost thresholds.
The Colorado Supreme Court building in downtown Denver on Tuesday. The Colorado Supreme Court, which barred former U.S. President Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballot, is composed of seven justices who were all appointed by Democratic governors.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2023

Colorado ballot case adds fuel to Trump's nomination drive

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that the former president was barred from its state ballot for engaging in "insurrection."
Iraqi security forces' stationed in Baghdad's Tahrir Square following U.S. air strikes on Tuesday
WORLD
Dec 27, 2023

Houthi attacks and U.S. strikes raise risk of wider Middle East war

The number of nonstate groups and the unpredictability of actions by Israel and Iran makes it difficult to forecast when incidents might escalate.
A wafer is pictured at Semicon Taiwan in Taipei
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 30, 2023

This startup shows it won't be easy to contain China's chip industry

The story of Seida illustrates the challenges the West faces in thwarting Chinese development of advanced microchip technology.
(From left) The Democratic Progressive Party's Lai Ching-te, who is also Taiwan's vice president, faces off against the main opposition Kuomintang's Hou Yu-ih and the Taiwan People's Party's Ko Wen-je on Saturday's presidential election.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 9, 2024

Close race emerges as Taiwan election enters final stretch

Expectations that front-runner Lai Ching-te would simply stroll to victory on Saturday have been dashed, with his polling lead having narrowed significantly.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is being treated for prostate cancer, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
WORLD
Jan 10, 2024

Biden unaware of Pentagon chief's prostate cancer until Jan. 9

Lloyd Austin, who is 70, has been hospitalized since Jan. 1 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
A snow plow drives down an empty street in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 13, 2024

Coldest weather ever during Iowa caucus threatens Trump’s lead

Caucus-time temperatures on Monday are forecast to be as low as minus 27 degrees Celsius, which would be the coldest ever for the event.
Li Qiang at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Jan 17, 2024

In Davos, Chinese premier takes aim at trade 'barriers'

Li's remarks came as the World Economic Forum's 54th annual conference is preoccupied with a slew of global risks, including wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

Longform

Wealthier women in the prewar era had been the targets of various media-related health campaigns that mistakenly encouraged them to avoid everything from riding bicycles to reading novels when their monthly cycles came around.
Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly