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Economic coercion has become a prominent tool in global geopolitics, with both China and the U.S. relying on it to pursue their policy goals, and more so with Donald Trump now in office.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2025

When big countries wave their big economic sticks

There is no agreed definition of economic coercion under international law; like pornography, we know it when we see it.
Rock patterns formed by crystalized minerals along the Dead Sea shore near Kibbutz Ein Gedi in eastern Israel on Dec. 30. The Dead Sea, nestled where Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian territory meet, has famously been dying for years.
ENVIRONMENT
Jan 29, 2025

Dead Sea an 'ecological disaster,' but no one can agree how to fix it

Tackling cross-border environmental issues is no longer a priority for governments in the region.
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on Jan. 16
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2025

Syria's al-Sharaa declared president for transition, consolidating his power

Al-Sharaa said the first priority in Syria was to fill a vacuum in government "in a legitimate and legal way."
Manchester City's Savinho celebrates after scoring against Club Brugge during their Champions League match at Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Jan 30, 2025

Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain stay alive in Champions League

On a dramatic night in which only two of the closing 18 matches were dead rubbers, Man City got the win it needed to avoid an embarrassing exit.
Relatives of people who died in Spain's disastrous floods, as well as protesters, demonstrate against Valencia's regional leader, demanding his resignation for his handling of the emergency, in Valencia, Spain, on Dec. 29.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2025

Chinese online operation called for toppling Spain's government: report

The online operation from China, called Spamouflage, has been operating in several countries since 2017, online analysis outfit Graphika said.
Customers walk past an Apple logo inside an Apple store in New York in 2018.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 30, 2025

Apple and SpaceX link up to support Starlink network on iPhones

In an under-the-radar move, the latest iPhone software update now supports Starlink satellite technology.
Nippon Ishin no Kai leaders Hirofumi Yoshimura (left) and Seiji Maehara attend the party's executive meeting in the city of Osaka in December.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 30, 2025

Shared concerns could bring LDP and Nippon Ishin together on 2025 budget

Nippon Ishin's challenge is to get the LDP to secure free high school education and ensure support for the financially troubled Osaka Kansai Expo.
The Deepseek and Alibaba app icons. Alibaba released a new version of its Qwen 2.5 artificial intelligence model on Wednesday, stating it surpasses the highly acclaimed DeepSeek-V3.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 30, 2025

Alibaba releases AI model it says surpasses DeepSeek-V3

The unusual timing of the release points to the pressure Chinese AI startup DeepSeek's meteoric rise in the past three weeks has placed on domestic competition.
An ocean vista at a resort in Thailand on Dec. 26
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2025

'The White Lotus' is already driving a travel boom in Thailand

Ahead of the HBO show’s third season premiere, Thai tourism authorities, hoteliers and travel agents are readying for a surge in visitors.
The koji room at Fukuwagura brewery in Mie Prefecture, where metals such as stainless steel, which are easy to manage for hygiene, are widely used
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jan 30, 2025

Japanese food makers step in to preserve sake breweries' legacy

The initiatives by food companies coincide with a growing recognition of traditional sake-making techniques.
Workers construct an array of solar panels for a floating photovoltaic solar energy farm near Cottbus, Germany, in August 2024.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 30, 2025

Red tape and rare earths: EU 'compass' charts economic future

The publication of the "competitiveness compass" aims to mark a change of tack toward a more business-friendly Brussels.
France's Antoine Dupont runs with the ball during a practice in Marcoussis, France, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Jan 30, 2025

France set to open Six Nations campaign against 'transitioning' Wales

France's results have vastly improved since Galthie took over in 2020.
An attendee records a virtual address by U.S. President Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 23.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2025

Trump threats risk stretching Europe's fragile unity to breaking point

The European Commission urged member states in a private meeting last week to remain united, with some comparing the situation to the Brexit negotiations.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin during a joint news conference in Helsinki on July 16, 2018
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2025

Analysts are skeptical about U.S. and Russia's nuclear talks

Moscow, in particular, seems to have no interest in reducing its arsenal of nuclear warheads as its invasion of Ukraine enters its fourth year next month.
A member of the M23 armed group (center) stands in front of two Guatemalan soldiers from the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) as they monitor access to the border crossing into Rwanda on Tuesday.
WORLD
Jan 30, 2025

What is happening in Congo and why are M23 rebels fighting?

The latest advances are part of a major escalation of a decades-old conflict over power, identity and resources.
A young couple (Ryuya Wakaba and Mai Fukagawa) fulfill a lifelong dream of moving to the countryside, only to find their new community may have sinister intentions toward them in “Welcome to the Village.”
CULTURE / Film
Jan 30, 2025

‘Welcome to the Village’: Tradition takes a twisted turn in the countryside

The ancient tradition of “murahachibu,” ostracizing community members as punishment, gets a contemporary twist in Hideo Jojo’s slow-burn thriller.
“The Rose of Versailles” centers on the real-life Marie Antoinette (voiced by Aya Hirano) and the fictional Oscar Francois de Jarjayes (Miyuki Sawashiro) a few years before the French Revolution.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 30, 2025

‘The Rose of Versailles’ opts for empty opulence

Riyoko Ikeda’s seminal manga that tackled themes of political and sexual revolution gets a film adaptation that lacks the depth of its source material.
Takeda Pharmaceutical's headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 30, 2025

Takeda picks first female CEO of centuries-old drugmaker

Julie Kim, 54, has been running Takeda’s U.S. operations since 2022 and will assume the role of CEO in June next year, subject to shareholder approval, the company said.
Players in Jakarta, Indonesia, take part in the “Red Light, Green Light” game from the Netflix series “Squid Game.”
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jan 30, 2025

'Cute and murderous': How the iconic killer doll in 'Squid Game' came to life

Young-hee, the innocent-looking robotic doll who has a deadly role in the mega-hit Netflix series, is partly inspired by the production designer's daughter.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in Washington on Thursday about the midair crash between an American Airlines plane and a military helicopter.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 31, 2025

Trump blames diversity programs over midair collision

The crash was nation's most deadly commercial airline accident in over a decade.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce speaks on stage after the AFC championship game in Kansas City, Missouri, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 31, 2025

Travis Kelce embraces Chiefs' role as villains ahead of Super Bowl

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is offering no apologies for his team's success.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has already indicated that the State Department will be instrumental in helping U.S. President Donald Trump achieve his policy to "curb mass migration."
WORLD / Politics
Jan 31, 2025

Rubio to take up Panama canal and migration in Latam visit

The new U.S. secretary of state will find a region reeling from the Trump administration's shock-and-awe approach to diplomacy.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a letter to the U.N. stating the U.S.' withdrawal from the Paris Agreement during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena, in Washington, on Jan. 20.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 31, 2025

The global climate order teeters under a second assault from Trump

Inflation and threats to energy security have eroded the political strength of climate-forward leaders and emboldened Trumpian populists around the world.
YouTuber Kazuki Nakata looks at his indoor farm at his home in Kawasaki on Monday. The 37-year-old now has nearly 90,000 subscribers eager to learn how to stretch out store-bought vegetables and grow new ones amid soaring produce prices.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 31, 2025

Japanese look for creative ways to fight soaring food prices

As the price of agricultural products has risen, Japanese have also been eating less of them.
Ukrainian military vehicles close to the border with Russia’s Kursk region, in Ukraine on Jan. 9.
WORLD
Jan 31, 2025

North Korean troops no longer seen on front lines fighting Ukraine

The North Korean troops, sent to bolster Russian forces trying to push back a Ukrainian offensive inside Russia’s borders, have not been seen at the front line for about two weeks.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani speaks to reporters at the parliamentary building on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 31, 2025

Top U.S. and Japan defense officials agree to beef up military ties

The newly appointed U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, confirmed that the U.S.-Japan defense treaty covers the uninhabited Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
Former U.S. figure skaters Dick Button and Tenley Albright are introduced during an exhibition event after the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Boston in January 2014.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
Jan 31, 2025

U.S. figure skating great Dick Button dies at 95

Long before he became known for his on-air observations, Button dominated the figure skating world with his athleticism.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during an Upper House plenary session in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 31, 2025

Ishiba aims to get assurances from Trump over Senkaku Islands

Ishiba also said he intends to seek assistance from Trump in resolving the issue of Japanese nationals kidnapped by North Korea decades ago.
Donald Trump’s rapid use of tariffs, disregard for conventional diplomacy and fixation on strength risk undermining the global economic order, isolating the U.S. and triggering widespread economic harm.
EDITORIALS
Jan 31, 2025

The Trump test begins: Tariffs, power plays and economic risk

The speed with which the U.S. president reached for this tariff tool — against an ally no less — is proof that his threats are not empty words.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s reluctance to engage with newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump while strengthening ties with China raises concerns about Japan’s strategic priorities.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 31, 2025

Ishiba nudges his ‘little Japan’ closer to China

Prime Minister Ishiba’s reluctance to engage with Trump while strengthening ties with China raises concerns about Japan’s strategic priorities and its alliance with the U.S.

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