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Donald Trump has halted most U.S. government-funded aid globally for 90 days, while moving to dismantle USAID, which he accused of being run "by a bunch of radical lunatics."
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 11, 2025

U.S aid freeze risks handing influence to China in Beijing's backyard

Trump has halted most U.S. government-funded aid globally for 90 days, while moving to dismantle USAID, which he accused of being run "by a bunch of radical lunatics."
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after signing a proclamation renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, while flying over the gulf aboard Air Force One en route to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 12, 2025

White House media protest after reporter barred over 'Gulf of Mexico' policy

The Associated Press was informed by the White House it would be barred unless it aligned its editorial standards with the U.S. president's order on renaming the body of water.
Elon Musk, with his son, speaks to reporters alongside U.S. President Donald Trump during an executive order signing in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Tuesday. Musk stated that he was providing maximum transparency, while offering no evidence for his sweeping claims that the federal bureaucracy is corrupted by cheats and officials who have approved money for “fraudsters.”
WORLD / Politics
Feb 12, 2025

Flanked by Musk, Trump orders U.S. agencies to assist with government layoffs

With his 4-year-old son by his side, Musk stood alongside Trump in the Oval Office at the White House before the order was signed.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 12, 2025

As Trump hits delete, the race is on to save LGBTQ+ and climate data

Thousands of U.S. government web pages are being altered or deleted following a slew of executive orders from President Donald Trump.
Japanese companies face mounting pressure as U.S.-China tensions grow, forcing them to navigate security concerns, economic dependencies and shifting trade policies.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 12, 2025

For Japanese firms, the China dilemma is set to intensify

“America First” and “Make America Great Again” are simple slogans that can be fitted to any outcome. All that ultimately matters is the final say of the president.
Ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada says the company believes joint lunar missions between United States and Japan will remain on course after the leaders of the two countries met last week.
BUSINESS
Feb 13, 2025

Ispace upbeat as Trump keeps Artemis lunar missions with Japan

Launched last month, Ispace's Resilience lander will approach the moon in about three months for the company's second lunar touchdown.
Oil pump jacks in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, on June 4, 2023
WORLD / Politics
Feb 13, 2025

Russia braces for oil output cuts as sanctions and drones hit

The level of complexity involved in refining and selling Russian oil is said to be becoming too much, with everyone "waiting for this war to be over."
U.S. President Donald Trump with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in November 2017. For Xi, the concerns about Trump provide an opportunity to thwart a broader convergence between America and its allies.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 14, 2025

Trump gives Xi chance to court U.S. allies and repair global image

For Xi, the concerns about the U.S. president provide an opportunity to thwart a broader convergence between America and its allies.
U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Thursday
WORLD / Politics
Feb 14, 2025

Trump floats idea of U.S., Russia and China halving defense spending

Trump’s proposal highlights how willing he is to upend standard foreign-policy craft and foster closer ties with two U.S. adversaries.
Ukrainian soldiers from the Shkval Special Forces Assault Battalion during training exercises in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine on Thursday
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 15, 2025

Trump team makes confused start to Ukraine diplomacy

This was a disorienting week for those anxious over how the new Trump administration will fulfill Donald Trump's vow to end the Ukraine war.
The Trump administration has fired scores of the Centers for Disease Control's "disease detectives," the researchers are hired annually through a competitive process that each year whittles down hundreds of applicants — including doctors, nurses, scientists and more — to a class of a few dozen.
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 15, 2025

Trump admin fires CDC 'disease detectives' as bird flu fears rise

Established in 1951, the Epidemic Intelligence Service is a two-year post-doctoral training program whose officers have been on the front line of investigating outbreaks.
Israeli-Argentinian hostage Yair Horn (center) stands next to Palestinian militants as others take pictures of him on stage during a handover to a Red Cross team in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Saturday as part of the sixth hostage-prisoner exchange.
WORLD
Feb 16, 2025

Hamas and Israel complete sixth hostage-prisoner swap of Gaza truce

Palestinian militants released three Israeli hostages on Saturday in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian inmates freed by Israel.
One of the representatives of 2024 Nobel Peace Prize winner Nihon Hidankyo, Terumi Tanaka, speaks during the Nobel Peace Prize awarding ceremony in Oslo City Hall on Dec 10.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2025

Over 80% in U.S. unaware of Nihon Hidankyo's Nobel Prize: poll

The proportion of respondents who said that they knew of Nihon Hidankyo's award and the reason behind it stood below 10% in all seven countries polled.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 16, 2025

Trump suggests no laws are broken if he’s ‘saving his country’

U.S. President Donald Trump shared a quotation on social media, making it clear it was one he wanted people to absorb.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) speaks to German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 61st Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 17, 2025

Ukraine, Europe will be part of 'real' peace talks with Russia, says Rubio

America's top diplomat plays down European concerns of being cut out of this week's talks between Washington and Moscow to end Russia-Ukraine war.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off carrying 53 Starlink internet satellites, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on May 18, 2022.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 18, 2025

Vietnam paves way for Musk's Starlink amid U.S. tariff threats

A regulatory change can be seen as "an olive branch" to SpaceX amid nervousness in Vietnam about tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.
The new French ambassador to Singapore said France and Europe do not want their Asian partners to have to choose between the United States and China.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 18, 2025

Asia should not have to pick U.S. or China, France's envoy to Singapore says

France sees increasing pressure, "maybe more on the U.S. side," that partners in Asia make a choice, its envoy to Singapore said.
A Ukrainian serviceman in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Nov. 29
WORLD / Politics
Feb 19, 2025

European forces would struggle to guarantee Ukraine peace without U.S.

Deterrence in the form of U.S. medium-range missiles and ultimately nuclear weapons will remain crucial, experts say.
After U.S. President Donald Trump said he plans to impose tariffs of 25% on automobile imports to the United States, Japanese automakers are cautiously looking for ways to handle the situation.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2025

Major Japanese automakers wary of Trump tariffs

The U.S. president says he plans to impose tariffs of 25% on automobile imports to the U.S., though he has not said which countries would be subject to them.
An explosion of a drone and tracers are seen in the sky over the city during a Russian drone strike in Kyiv on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 20, 2025

Dismay and defiance in Kyiv as Trump takes 'enemy's side'

Ukrainians decry the U.S. President's accusation against their leader of starting the war with Russia, saying they had no other choice than to fight.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya attends the Group of 20 foreign ministers' meeting at the Nasrec Expo Center in Johannesburg on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 21, 2025

At G20, Japan FM vows to continue support for Ukraine amid Trump tensions

The top diplomat reiterated the importance of standing up to Moscow, calling the war in Ukraine a “major challenge to the rule of law."
A list with the file name "Prohibited words" has been circulating since at least last week in official work chats, according to two U.S. Food and Drug Administration scientists.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 21, 2025

White House says FDA memo banning 'woman' and 'disabled' made in error

The erroneous FDA list likely resulted from a misinterpretation of U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order against 'gender ideology,' a White House spokesman said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (front right), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (second left) and other officials and advisers attend talks in Riyadh on Tuesday where they met to discuss ways on ending the Ukraine war.
EDITORIALS
Feb 21, 2025

America's allies get a rude awakening

U.S. allies are understandably confused and dismayed by the Trump administration’s statements and behavior.
Japan is the world's No. 2 LNG buyer, a major investor in energy infrastructure and a trading hub with a glut of LNG that could help open new markets for U.S. gas in Southeast Asia.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 22, 2025

Trump seeks to reshape Asia's energy supplies with U.S. gas

While the Alaska LNG proposal faces hurdles, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and others are buying into the idea of increasing U.S. gas imports more broadly.
A White House reporter for the Associated Press is told by a member of the Trump administration that AP is barred from joining White House press pool coverage, in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 22, 2025

Associated Press sues White House officials to restore access

Last week, the White House barred AP reporters from pooled events, objecting to the wire service's references to the Gulf of Mexico in articles.
U.S. President Donald Trump during the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, on Saturday
WORLD / Politics
Feb 23, 2025

Trump tells CPAC his goal is a ‘lasting’ Republican majority

GOP allies, foreign leaders and Elon Musk joined Trump at CPAC on Saturday, rallying around his vision for tax cuts and government spending.
Tracers are seen in the night sky as Ukrainian servicemen fire at a drone during a Russian drone strike in Kyiv on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 23, 2025

U.S. could cut Ukraine's access to Starlink internet services over minerals, say sources

Ukraine's continued access to SpaceX-owned Starlink was brought up in discussions between U.S. and Ukrainian officials.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer addresses military personnel onboard HMS Iron Duke on Dec. 17, 2024 in Tallinn, Estonia.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 23, 2025

Starmer faces defining moment in campaign to sway Trump

The trip has taken on new urgency after Trump officials berated European leaders over security while conceding to some of Moscow's demands regarding Ukraine.
From left: "Conclave" cast members Sergio Castellitto, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini and Ralph Fiennes pose with the awards for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards, in Los Angeles.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Feb 24, 2025

Vatican thriller 'Conclave' wins top prize in SAG Awards upset

"Conclave" surprises with a SAG Award win for best cast, suggesting it may have a real shot at upsetting the Oscars' Best Picture race.
Ichiro Fujisaki
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2025

Ex-Japan envoy concerned over Trump's foreign aid cuts

Former Japanese Ambassador to the United States Ichiro Fujisaki has shown concern that China may expand its influence over developing countries.

Longform

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