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July 12, 2026
 

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CIA

CIA Director John Ratcliffe speaks during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington on April 6.
WORLD
Jul 1, 2026
CIA chief compares cutting-edge AI to nuclear weapons
John Ratcliffe’s comments form a tacit defense of Washington’s recent hard line on controlling the release of the most powerful AI technology.
Critics argue the selection of Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to lead U.S. intelligence reflects a preference for political loyalty over expertise.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2026
Pulte will drag U.S. intelligence from bad to worse
Pulte, though, appears to be worse. He seems even less qualified for the job than Gabbard (who at least had military experience).
From left: FBI Director Kash Patel, Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. James Adams, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard, Acting National Security Agency Director Lt. Gen. William Hartman and CIA Director John Ratcliffe testify before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 18.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2026
Top U.S. spy agencies feud over turf and mission
The infighting between the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has flared for more than a year.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during the National Defense Academy's graduation ceremony in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in March. The Japanese leader currently has the political and procedural leverage to pursue sweeping reforms, including the creation of an intelligence agency modeled on the CIA.
EDITORIALS
May 29, 2026
Long overdue, Japan updates its intelligence infrastructure
The government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is taking steps to improve that capability with passage of the National Intelligence Council Law.
Former Cuban President Raul Castro watches a May Day rally in Havana in May last year.
WORLD / Politics
May 16, 2026
U.S. plans to unveil criminal charges against ex-Cuban leader Raul Castro
Federal prosecutors expect to unseal an indictment against the 94-year-old Raul Castro in ​Miami on May 20.
A woman walks past a billboard featuring an image of the late supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on a building in Tehran on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2026
U.S. spy agencies examine how Iran would react to Trump declaring victory
A quick de-escalation could ease political pressure on the U.S. president but also leave behind an emboldened Iran that could eventually threaten U.S. allies in the region.
Japan’s Cabinet approved a bill to create the National Intelligence Secretariat and Council, but unlike the U.S. intelligence model with independent oversight, placing the prime minister in charge risks conflicts that could undermine effectiveness.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 27, 2026
Will Japan’s new National Intelligence Council function properly?
The most important concept is the independence of intelligence services from policymaking.
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency is recruiting Iranians on social media as the U.S. builds up its military presence in the Middle East.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 26, 2026
CIA launches fresh social media push to recruit Iranians as Trump threatens military action
The CIA recruitment effort comes amid a massive buildup of U.S. military forces in the Middle East.
An honor guard from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army shouts during a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in November 2025.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 13, 2026
CIA makes new push to recruit Chinese military officers as informants
The spy agency rolled out ‌a video depicting a disillusioned mid-level Chinese military officer, part of a U.S. campaign to ramp up human intelligence gathering on Beijing.
Attendees watch a cybersecurity presentation during the RSA Conference in San Francisco, California, on April 26, 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 10, 2026
CIA looks to speed up access to new tech in race against China
The U.S. spy agency announced plans for a new acquisition framework that would cut red-tape and optimize vendor vetting to quicken the ability deploy more innovative tools.
U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, addresses the media in the Oval Office on Sept. 5, the day he signed an executive order to rename the Department of Defense the Department of War.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2026
Trump has killed American deterrence
Trump has shown countless times that he cannot keep promises. His reversals on TikTok, tariffs and Ukraine demonstrate that his commitments have the lifespan of a mayfly.
President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela during a news conference in Caracas on Sept. 15.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 19, 2025
Trump said to authorize CIA plans for covert action in Venezuela
While Trump publicly emphasizes Venezuela’s role in the drug trade and illegal immigration, he has privately discussed the country’s huge oil reserves and access to them.
Ahmad Habibi and his younger brother Mahmood Habibi pose for the camera in Canada in 2014.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 11, 2025
How a CIA hit on al-Qaida ensnared a U.S. citizen in Afghanistan
Interviews reveal that the Taliban likely detained Mahmood Habibi because the CIA had penetrated the company where he worked.
CIA director John Ratcliffe departs after a briefing with members of Congress in Washington on June 27.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 3, 2025
Trump’s CIA backs 2016 assessment that Putin wanted him to win
The latest findings put CIA director John Ratcliffe in a bind with Trump, who has called Russian election interference “a total hoax” and blasted the original conclusions.
Russian American dual citizen Ksenia Karelina attends a court hearing in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in August 2024.
WORLD
Apr 10, 2025
Russia and U.S. bring spa worker and tech smuggler back home in prisoner swap
A lawyer for Ksenia Karelina, who was found guilty last year of treason for donating money to a U.S.-based charity supporting Ukraine, said she was on her way back to the U.S.
An M777 howitzer crew firing at Russian targets near the front lines of the Dnipro region, Ukraine, on Feb. 12
WORLD / Politics
Mar 6, 2025
U.S. cuts intelligence for Ukraine, adding pressure for peace deal
The move underscores Trump’s willingness to play hardball with an ally as he pivots to a more conciliatory approach to Moscow.
The P4 laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China, in April 2020
WORLD
Jan 26, 2025
CIA now favors China lab leak theory to explain COVID’s origins
A new analysis that began under the Biden administration is released by the C.I.A.’s new director, John Ratcliffe, who wants the agency to get “off the sidelines” in the debate.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump is interviewed by "Fox and Friends" co-host Pete Hegseth at the White House in Washington in April 2017. Trump nominated Hegseth to be the next U.S. defense secretary on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 13, 2024
Trump’s picks: A Fox News host, an ex-spy chief and the world’s richest man
The U.S. president-elect announced a spate of unconventional picks for key posts — including his defense and CIA chiefs — in his next government.
Then-U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe speaks to members of the media during a break of the Senate impeachment trial against then-President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington in January 2020.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 13, 2024
Trump picks John Ratcliffe to be CIA director
The pick signals that the second Trump White House will get even more hawkish on China — and prove reassuring for American allies such as Japan.
A billboard depicting Hamas' slain leader Yahya Sinwar during a rally in Yemen's Huthi-controlled capital Sanaa
WORLD / Politics
Oct 20, 2024
U.S. ‘fusion cells’ assist in Israel’s hunt for Hamas leaders
Officials have insisted that the U.S. aren’t directly supporting Israel on the ground in Gaza, but the search for Hamas leaders was different.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
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